Photo

Speaks out

Published: Friday, January 31, 2003

What were your reactions to President George W. Bush’s State of the Union speech? Gabriel Valentin

Third-year, political science

“The president sent a very clear message of his intentions for the year and I agree with what he said about Iraq posing a threat to our country. It just solidified my beliefs that war is inevitable and there does seem to be enough justification for me to go to war right now. As far as his domestic agenda, I’m sold and I think it’s great, but I’m not very sure about the aid to Africa part. It seems that we should be more worried about fixing the problems, like homelessness, within the United States before extending our help to other countries. The most compelling thing out of the speech was his push for alternative fuel sources and the realization that we can’t be so dependent on other countries. Overall, I have seen better speeches made by the president, but the content of this mattered more than his presentation.” Karisma Rodriguez

Second-year, English

“He wasn’t really speaking realistically and I didn’t think his promises were feasible. I was angry concerning the environmental part of the speech, because it was obvious that he didn’t really care that much. When he addressed the war, I felt he was being sanctimonious, using arguments that sounded more like a good guy or bad guy approach to the war, than actually addressing the reasons or benefits of it. He claimed he wanted to save the Iraqi people from their oppressive regime, but I don’t think a war that will kill millions will do that. In short, it only reaffirmed my beliefs that the war is fruitless. I thought he delivered it alright for a speech he obviously didn’t write, but he didn’t seem passionate about the issues or honest for that matter, which completely turned me off to his proposals.” Thang Pham

Third-year, business economics

“I thought the war with Iraq would have been the first issue the president addressed, but surprisingly it was the last. In a way he did a really smart thing because he put the economy first which I thought meant he still considers our economic growth to be more important than all other external war matters. His statements concerning the war seemed really general though, and I would have liked it if he went into more detail. However, I was glad when he announced that Colin Powell will be making more specific statements involving the evidence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq soon and I look forward to hearing that. Before and after the State of the Union, it was still the same Bush for me. My feelings about his leadership haven’t changed.” Ian Wolterstorff

Second-year, undeclared

“The speech was very similar to other State of the Union speeches, but now there is a threat of war and President Bush has to assume a position of power and a threatening appearance, especially when addressing war with Iraq. However, after his speech I found there is really a lack of reason for war and a lack of respect for our foreign relations. I think this war has more imperialistic intentions than the president was willing to admit in his speech to the nation. Also, I noticed at the very end he included religious innuendos, mentioning God, and I thought this was inappropriate and a mixture of church and state. He assumed the entire nation would associate with God and his influence. Still, I thought this was one of the better speeches he has given since the content was so important.” Karuna Karmarkar/Daily Bruin