Pre-SOTU
A lot of debate is going on about just what President Bush plans to talk about in his State of the Union address tomorrow night. Leaks so far seem to be that he will be pressing more domestic issues such as health care, immigration and energy concerns. Since the SOTU will be his second chance to defend his Iraq plan (which has already begun, much to the chagrin of the supposedly sovereign Iraqi government), chances are nothing new will really be said.
So lets take a look at some of the other issues Bush is likely to address. Let's start with health care.
According to the NY Times, Bush plans to push a taxation plan whereby those who don't have health insurance would get tax breaks so they could buy some but those who already have insurance through their employer would get taxed if the coverage was more generous than the government thinks you deserve. Makes you wonder what ever happened to all those warnings about the Democrats being the ones to raise taxes, doesn't it? Reviews so far are mixed, with most not too keen on the idea.
On the energy front, the AP reports that Bush will once again stress energy independence for the nation. Given how quickly the administration backed down from the pledge made at last year's SOTU, look for more of the same stale platitudes about the need to break our "addiction".
And speaking of addiction, many are worried that like a junkie looking for another fix, Bush intends to seek it this time with Iran. Whether Bush continues to rattle the saber remains to be seen. Regardless, I think Will Durst has the right idea about what to do Tuesday night. After it's over, I'm sure we could all use a stiff one.
Update: Paul Krugman (free via) weighs in on Bush's health care proposal.
(Filed at State of the Day)
So lets take a look at some of the other issues Bush is likely to address. Let's start with health care.
According to the NY Times, Bush plans to push a taxation plan whereby those who don't have health insurance would get tax breaks so they could buy some but those who already have insurance through their employer would get taxed if the coverage was more generous than the government thinks you deserve. Makes you wonder what ever happened to all those warnings about the Democrats being the ones to raise taxes, doesn't it? Reviews so far are mixed, with most not too keen on the idea.
On the energy front, the AP reports that Bush will once again stress energy independence for the nation. Given how quickly the administration backed down from the pledge made at last year's SOTU, look for more of the same stale platitudes about the need to break our "addiction".
And speaking of addiction, many are worried that like a junkie looking for another fix, Bush intends to seek it this time with Iran. Whether Bush continues to rattle the saber remains to be seen. Regardless, I think Will Durst has the right idea about what to do Tuesday night. After it's over, I'm sure we could all use a stiff one.
Update: Paul Krugman (free via) weighs in on Bush's health care proposal.
(Filed at State of the Day)
Post a Comment