For those that watched the SOTU and then - like me - afterwards forgot what was said, this is for you. The preceding is an outline of the veritably conservative speech with a few quotes from the speech and personal comments.

I felt that, from a conservative, policy-making standpoint, this was one of the best SOTU addresses. As a worker in his 20’s, it is a welcome relief to hear a President speak for sweeping reform of Social Security. President Bush has a clear plan for his conservative agenda, he has a Republican Congress and nothing should stand in his way.

1. Introduction

“Mr. Speaker, Vice President Cheney, Members of Congress, fellow citizens:”

a. We share the experience of election with Iraq, Palestine, Ukraine and Afghanistan.

“As a new Congress gathers, all of us in the elected branches of government share a great privilege: we have been placed in office by the votes of the people we serve. And tonight that is a privilege we share with newly elected leaders of Afghanistan, the Palestinian territories, Ukraine, and a free and sovereign Iraq.”

b. SOTU speech will outline the particulars of the goals in the Inauguration speech.

“Two weeks ago, I stood on the steps of this Capitol and renewed the commitment of our Nation to the guiding ideal of liberty for all. This evening I will set forth policies to advance that ideal at home and around the world.”

2. The State of the Union

a. Present strong, yet we have to wonder about the future state of the Union.

b. For the future to be strong, we must be good stewards of the present.

c. Over the past four years we have:

i. Provided tax relief
ii. Overcome a recession
iii. Opened up to new markets abroad
iv. Prosecuted corporate criminals
v. Raised homeownership to record heights
vi. Added 2.3 million jobs

d. We must add to the achievements by:

i. Being more flexible
ii. Being more innovative
iii. Being more competitive
iv. Restraining government spending

e. My budget will:

i. Hold growth of discretionary spending below inflation
ii. Make tax relief permanent
iii. Stay on track to cut deficit in half by 2009
iv. Reduce or eliminate over 150 government programs

“The principle here is clear: a taxpayer dollar must be spent wisely, or not at all.”

v. Prepare the next generation to fill 21st century jobs
vi. Reward entrepreneurs by passing legal reform
vii. Reform health care:

(1) Make it more affordable
(2) Give families greater access to good coverage
(3) Allow more control over health decisions
(4) Can be done by:

(a) Tax credits for low-income workers to buy insurance
(b) A community health center in every poor county
(c) Improved information technology
(d) Association health plans for small businesses
(e) Expanded health savings accounts
(f) Medical liability reform

viii. Have environmentally responsible energy

“Nearly four years ago, I submitted a comprehensive energy strategy that encourages conservation, alternative sources, a modernized electricity grid, and more production here at home, including safe, clean nuclear energy. My Clear Skies legislation will cut power plant pollution and improve the health of our citizens. And my budget provides strong funding for leading-edge technology — from hydrogen-fueled cars, to clean coal, to renewable sources such as ethanol. Four years of debate is enough — I urge Congress to pass legislation that makes America more secure and less dependent on foreign energy.”

3. Social Security

a. Has problems:

i. At start 16 workers paid for ever 1 drawing benefits. Now, 3 pay for every 1 drawing benefits
ii. Living longer
iii. 2018, S.S. will be paying out more than it takes in
iv. 2027, $200 billion shortfall
v. 2033, $300 billion shortfall
vi. 2042, system exhausted and bankrupt
vii. Unless dealt with now, future recourse will be:

(1) Drastically higher taxes
(2) Massive new borrowing
(3) Sudden and sever cuts in benefits or other programs

“Fixing Social Security permanently will require an open, candid review of the options. Some have suggested limiting benefits for wealthy retirees. Former Congressman Tim Penny has raised the possibility of indexing benefits to prices rather than wages. During the 1990s, my predecessor, President Clinton, spoke of increasing the retirement age. Former Senator John Breaux suggested discouraging early collection of Social Security benefits. The late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan recommended changing the way benefits are calculated.”

b. Solution must:

i. Be permanently sound
ii. Not raise the payroll tax
iii. Ensure lower-income workers have peace of mind
iv. Have no change for those retired or nearing retirement
v. Be gradual
vi. Be a better deal for younger workers through a voluntary retirement account

4. Values of a free society

a. Must be protected

“So many of my generation, after a long journey, have come home to family and faith, and are determined to bring up responsible, moral children. Government is not the source of these values, but government should never undermine them.”

b. Marriage cannot be re-defined.

i. Constitutional amendment must be passed

c. Medical research must always protect human life

i. No human embryos grown for experimentation or grown for body parts
ii. Human life is not a commodity
iii. Medical research must be:

(1) Ambitious
(2) Aggressive
(3) Always ethical

5. The Appointment of Judges

“Because courts must always deliver impartial justice, judges have a duty to faithfully interpret the law, not legislate from the bench. As President, I have a constitutional responsibility to nominate men and women who understand the role of courts in our democracy, and are well qualified to serve on the bench — and I have done so. The Constitution also gives the Senate a responsibility: Every judicial nominee deserves an up-or-down vote.”

6. Social issues

a. Continue support of faith-based and community groups
b. Reauthorize the Ryan White Act to encourage HIV/AIDS prevention
c. Expand use of DNA evidence for court system

7. National Protection

a. Since 9/11:

i. New Homeland Department
ii. Focused FBI on terrorism prevention
iii. Reformed intelligence agencies
iv. Broke up terror cells
v. Expanded research on biological and chemical attack defense
vi. Improved border security
vii. Trained more than a half million first responders
viii. Removed top Al Qaeda commanders

b. Must continue to support the War on Terror

c. Other countries have stood with us

i. In Afghanistan, an international force is helping provide security
ii. In Iraq, 28 countries have troops on the ground, plus U.N., E.U. and NATO

d. Conditions of peace

“In the long term, the peace we seek will only be achieved by eliminating the conditions that feed radicalism and ideologies of murder. If whole regions of the world remain in despair and grow in hatred, they will be the recruiting grounds for terror, and that terror will stalk America and other free nations for decades. The only force powerful enough to stop the rise of tyranny and terror, and replace hatred with hope, is the force of human freedom.”

“The United States has no right, no desire, and no intention to impose our form of government on anyone else. That is one of the main differences between us and our enemies. They seek to impose and expand an empire of oppression, in which a tiny group of brutal, self-appointed rulers control every aspect of every life. Our aim is to build and preserve a community of free and independent nations, with governments that answer to their citizens, and reflect their own cultures. And because democracies respect their own people and their neighbors, the advance of freedom will lead to peace.”

8. Situation in Iraq

“We will succeed because the Iraqi people value their own liberty — as they showed the world last Sunday.”

[…]

“One of Iraq’s leading democracy and human rights advocates is Safia Taleb al-Suhail. She says of her country, ‘we were occupied for 35 years by Saddam Hussein. That was the real occupation. … Thank you to the American people who paid the cost … but most of all to the soldiers.’”

[…]

“We will succeed in Iraq because Iraqis are determined to fight for their own freedom, and to write their own history.”

9. Conclusion

“In these four years, Americans have seen the unfolding of large events. We have known times of sorrow, and hours of uncertainty, and days of victory. In all this history, even when we have disagreed, we have seen threads of purpose that unite us. The attack on freedom in our world has reaffirmed our confidence in freedom’s power to change the world. We are all part of a great venture: To extend the promise of freedom in our country, to renew the values that sustain our liberty, and to spread the peace that freedom brings.

“Thank you, and may God bless America.”