posted on February 4, 2006 01:19:34 PM new
Bush: U.S. Economy Must Stay Competitive
Saturday, February 4, 2006 10:56 AM EST
The Associated Press
By DEB RIECHMANN
WACO, Texas (AP) — The United States cannot afford to be complacent and must meet head-on the competition from burgeoning economies such as China and India, President Bush said Saturday.
Bush used his weekly radio address to echo a theme he stressed in his State of the Union address Tuesday: To stay competitive in the world economic market, this country must invest in basic research, business innovation and give students a firm grounding in math and science.
"We're seeing the rise of new competitors, like China and India, who are making great strides in technology," the president said. "In response, some people want to wall off our economy from the world. That is called protectionism. The American people should not fear our economic future because we intend to shape our economic future."
Bush took that message in visits to 3M Corp. in Minnesota on Thursday, and Intel Corp. in New Mexico and an advanced-placement high school science class in Dallas on Friday before going to his ranch outside Waco.
The budget he is proposing next week includes $5.9 billion to help keep America economically competitive.
Bush has proposed doubling over 10 years the federal aid to basic research programs in the physical sciences and engineering at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Energy Department's Office of Science the and National Science Foundation. The first year would cost $910 million; the 10-year commitment would be $50 billion.
"The increased funding I have proposed will support America's creative minds as they explore promising areas, such as nanotechnology, supercomputing, and alternative energy sources," Bush said.
A second part of Bush's proposal calls for spending $4.6 billion to back tax credits U.S. companies get for investing in research and development projects. The tax credit expired on Dec. 31, and the House and Senate are working on bills to extend it for one year. Bush wants to make it permanent.
"If we ensure that America's children succeed in life, they will ensure that America succeeds in the world," Bush said.
Rep. George Miller of California, the senior Democrat on the House Education committee, applauds Bush's emphasis on competitiveness. But he said the Republican-controlled Congress this week passed a bill that cuts $12 billion from the federal student aid programs.
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EVERYDAY WE LISTEN TO MORE BUSH BULL ROAR!
BUSH SAID "If we ensure that America's children succeed in life, they will ensure that America succeeds in the world,"
WHILE BUSH AND THE CONSERVATIVE LAWMAKERS CUT FUNDING FOR COLLEGE BY 12 BILLION THIS WEEK.
posted on February 4, 2006 03:01:49 PM new
Give 'em hell, George
January 31st, 2006
One of the great ironies beneath the hatred by Democrats of President George W. Bush is that the president whom Bush most closely resembles is one of the great heroes of the Democratic Party, President Harry S Truman. The similarities between Presidents Bush and Truman are so obvious that it is a wonder that they have not been highlighted earlier.
These two men, disdained during their presidencies, faced plummeting poll numbers, presided over unpopular foreign military actions, and were committed to using American power to promote and defend democracy even when other countries objected. Each won reelection and pursued his policies despite fierce attacks from opponents and eroding political support within his own party.
Like President Bush, President Truman was regarded as an intellectual lightweight. Both were thought of as inarticulate and bumbling in their speech. Each shared a combination of Southwestern and Midwestern twang to go along with the geographic values of their home regions.
The mainstream media reviled both President Bush and President Truman. Yet each won highly controversial elections. Fortunately in 1948 even oppositional mainstream media did not accuse Truman of electoral fraud. Can you imagine what David Boies, Warren Christopher, and Al Gore could have made of the infamous “Dewey Defeats Truman” headline had they been working for candidate Thomas Dewey?
Truman and Bush both believed in the projection of American power throughout the world. In the pursuit of that power each used the United Nations when the UN was useful to the United States – Truman in Korea and Bush in Afghanistan. Yet each did not hesitate to create alternative coalitions of the willing when the situation demanded. Think of NATO for Truman and Iraq for Bush.
And at times each was willing for the US to go it alone, as with the Truman Doctrine to save Greece from a Communist takeover.
Each involved the United States in what became in political terms an unpopular war. In Korea there are still nearly 35,000 American troops over fifty years after the cease-fire. General Eisenhower ran against the war by saying that if elected he would “go to Korea,” and part of his success came from campaigning against that war. Currently the opposition party believes it can defeat or weaken Bush by running against the war in Iraq.
Truman was president when another nation – The Soviet Union – developed nuclear weapons, partially with the help of Leftist scientists in the West. Bush is president while another hostile and dangerous opponent – Iran – is attempting to develop nuclear weapons, also with the help of sympathetic scientists outside their country.
No president had lower job approval ratings than President Truman, 22% at their lowest, yet he demonstrated his greatest political strength when he campaigned directly against the opposition party – The “Do Nothing” 86th Congress. President Bush’s job approval ratings declined after attempting to win opposition leader Senator Harry Reid’s approval with the Harriet Meirs nomination to the Supreme Court. He too has been at his strongest when engaged in a campaign directly against the opposition party, as in 2002 and 2004, and weakest when he has attempted compromise with them.
Finally, no presidents have been greater friends and supporters of Israel than President Harry S Truman and President George W. Bush. Truman made the United States the first nation to recognize the State of Israel. Bush has supported Israel’s efforts to protect itself with the security fence and had been the first president to demand real reform from the Palestinian Authority.
Some may say that differences in domestic matters eclipse their foreign policy and national security similarities. President Truman was a liberal while President Bush is a conservative. Yet President Truman angered the unions when he used the Taft-Hartley Act to end the steel strike, and President Bush initiated the largest increase in Medicare since its inception, each angering many members of their respective parties.
In retrospect President Truman is now a revered figure. His inarticulateness is now seen as “plain speaking.” His stubbornness is now seen as determination. His actions in Korea helped spread democracy and produce all the “Asian Tiger” economies of that region. And his initiatives outside of the UN, such as NATO and in Greece, are regarded as huge American successes that contributed greatly to peace and stability.
Time will tell whether President Bush, like President Truman, will be as revered by history as he was reviled while in office. I am inclined to believe he will.
Dr. Steven Marmer is a psychiatrist in Southern California.
"“More Iraqis think things are going well in Iraq than Americans do. I guess they don’t get the New York Times over there.”—Jay Leno".
posted on February 5, 2006 12:36:09 AM new
Absolutely GREAT article, bear.
I've seen another one, years ago...can't remember the two presidents they compared...for some reason I THINK it was JFK and Lincoln...but am not swearing to it.
Anyway...their administrations were quite similar in the way your article does this one.
AND imho, I think this President, too, will one day be given the honor he deserves for his place in our history - be one of our greatest Presidents.
posted on February 5, 2006 05:59:31 AM new
Bear,
Do all the copy and paste you want the facts are below. You and liar_K can say anything you want but the facts are below about another LIAR GEO BUSH.
EVERYDAY WE LISTEN TO MORE BUSH BULL ROAR!
BUSH SAID THIS WEEK "If we ensure that America's children succeed in life, they will ensure that America succeeds in the world"
BUSH SAID THAT WHILE BUSH AND THE CONSERVATIVE LAWMAKERS CUT FUNDING FOR COLLEGE BY 12 BILLION THIS WEEK.
Hey Bear and LIAR_K if funding for college wasn't cut by 12 BILLION this week PROVE IT.
