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CNN Live At Daybreak
What Can We Expect from Bush's State of the Union?
Aired January 28, 2003 - 05:02 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Let's get right to the president's State of the Union address. Mr. Bush's speech is set to begin tonight at 9:01 Eastern time before a joint session of Congress. He'll lay out the case against Iraq and he'll talk about his plan for reviving the economy. That economic plan, by the way, calls for $674 billion in tax cuts.
Now, more details of what else we can expect tonight in the president's State of the Union address.
Our Senior White House Correspondent John King has that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN KING, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The economy and Iraq dominate the president's agenda for a State of the Union speech that comes in a political climate far different than a year ago.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Instead of the wind being at his back, the wind is going to be at his face. And that means he's going to have to work a lot harder to consolidate American public opinion.
KING: The prospect of war within weeks makes an always important speech all the more urgent.
KEN DUBERSTEIN, FORMER REAGAN CHIEF OF STAFF: Setting the rationale, reviewing one more time why we're in this position with Iraq has to be a core message of the State of the Union address.
KING: Mr. Bush's Iraq policy faces rising skepticism among the American people and lacks the deep bipartisan support he enjoyed in the weeks and months after the September 11 attacks.
SEN. EDWARD KENNEDY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: Now is not the time to start a war. Now is the time to continue those inspections and continue to develop the support within the international community. That's the course to follow.
KING: The state of the economy is the president's major domestic challenge. Growth picked up last year and an economy that lost 1.4 million jobs in 2001 lost a much more modest 181,000 jobs last year. But the national unemployment rate is six percent and consumer confidence is shaky.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The American public wants one thing, get us back to work and get the economy growing.
KING: Mr. Bush's prescription? Another big tax cut, $670 billion over 10 years.
GLEN BOLGER, REPUBLICAN POLLSTER: The president doesn't want to fall into the trap that his father did, which was be perceived as doing nothing and thinking well, the economy is going to solve itself.
KING: Other State of the Union priorities include reauthorizing the 1996 welfare reforms that put an emphasis on work requirements and a major Medicare overhaul that would give the elderly more choices in health care and a prescription drug benefit. The Medicare debate ripples with partisan tension.
KENNEDY: We can't hold prescription drugs hostage to what the administration wants to do in terms of its other Medicare reforms.
KING: The State of the Union audience will underscore the president's challenge. Republicans now control the White House and both chambers of Congress.
DUBERSTEIN: You've got to be careful about over reaching. You've got to be careful about interpreting a 51-49 majority in the Senate as a blanket mandate to do whatever you want.
KING (on camera): As Mr. Bush puts the finishing touches on his speech, some senior officials here are voicing frustration that all the immediate focus on Iraq is overshadowing initiatives on the economy and other domestic issues that could prove much more critical to the president come reelection time.
John King, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: And CNN's Dana Bash will join us live from the White House in our next hour. Also, of course, CNN's strong stable of anchors and correspondents will be providing live coverage of tonight's speech. That will begin at 8:45 Eastern time.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired January 28, 2003 - 05:02 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Let's get right to the president's State of the Union address. Mr. Bush's speech is set to begin tonight at 9:01 Eastern time before a joint session of Congress. He'll lay out the case against Iraq and he'll talk about his plan for reviving the economy. That economic plan, by the way, calls for $674 billion in tax cuts.
Now, more details of what else we can expect tonight in the president's State of the Union address.
Our Senior White House Correspondent John King has that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN KING, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The economy and Iraq dominate the president's agenda for a State of the Union speech that comes in a political climate far different than a year ago.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Instead of the wind being at his back, the wind is going to be at his face. And that means he's going to have to work a lot harder to consolidate American public opinion.
KING: The prospect of war within weeks makes an always important speech all the more urgent.
KEN DUBERSTEIN, FORMER REAGAN CHIEF OF STAFF: Setting the rationale, reviewing one more time why we're in this position with Iraq has to be a core message of the State of the Union address.
KING: Mr. Bush's Iraq policy faces rising skepticism among the American people and lacks the deep bipartisan support he enjoyed in the weeks and months after the September 11 attacks.
SEN. EDWARD KENNEDY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: Now is not the time to start a war. Now is the time to continue those inspections and continue to develop the support within the international community. That's the course to follow.
KING: The state of the economy is the president's major domestic challenge. Growth picked up last year and an economy that lost 1.4 million jobs in 2001 lost a much more modest 181,000 jobs last year. But the national unemployment rate is six percent and consumer confidence is shaky.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The American public wants one thing, get us back to work and get the economy growing.
KING: Mr. Bush's prescription? Another big tax cut, $670 billion over 10 years.
GLEN BOLGER, REPUBLICAN POLLSTER: The president doesn't want to fall into the trap that his father did, which was be perceived as doing nothing and thinking well, the economy is going to solve itself.
KING: Other State of the Union priorities include reauthorizing the 1996 welfare reforms that put an emphasis on work requirements and a major Medicare overhaul that would give the elderly more choices in health care and a prescription drug benefit. The Medicare debate ripples with partisan tension.
KENNEDY: We can't hold prescription drugs hostage to what the administration wants to do in terms of its other Medicare reforms.
KING: The State of the Union audience will underscore the president's challenge. Republicans now control the White House and both chambers of Congress.
DUBERSTEIN: You've got to be careful about over reaching. You've got to be careful about interpreting a 51-49 majority in the Senate as a blanket mandate to do whatever you want.
KING (on camera): As Mr. Bush puts the finishing touches on his speech, some senior officials here are voicing frustration that all the immediate focus on Iraq is overshadowing initiatives on the economy and other domestic issues that could prove much more critical to the president come reelection time.
John King, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: And CNN's Dana Bash will join us live from the White House in our next hour. Also, of course, CNN's strong stable of anchors and correspondents will be providing live coverage of tonight's speech. That will begin at 8:45 Eastern time.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
