The presidency of George W. Bush was flanked by the worst foreign attack on U.S. soil and the beginning of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. His State of the Union addresses dealt with foreign endeavors and economic proposals.
Here are 10 quotes from these addresses that represent his years in office.
The nation was still recovering from the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, when Bush delivered his State of the Union address on January 29, 2002.
1. “We last met in an hour of shock and suffering. In four short months, our nation has comforted the victims, begun to rebuild New York and the Pentagon, rallied a great coalition, captured, arrested, and rid the world of thousands of terrorists, destroyed Afghanistan's terrorist training camps, saved a people from starvation, and freed a country from brutal oppression.”
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2. “What we have found in Afghanistan confirms that, far from ending there, our war against terror is only beginning.”
3. “If we stop now, leaving terror camps intact and terrorist states unchecked, our sense of security would be false and temporary. History has called America and our allies to action, and it is both our responsibility and our privilege to fight freedom's fight.”
4. “For too long our culture has said, ‘If it feels good, do it.’ Now America is embracing a new ethic and a new creed, ‘Let's roll.’”
Bush maintained his concerns for security at home while conflicts still raged with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan during the address of February 2, 2005.
5. “To make our economy stronger and more competitive, America must reward, not punish, the efforts and dreams of entrepreneurs. Small business is the path of advancement, especially for women and minorities.”
6. “It is time for an immigration policy that permits temporary guest workers to fill jobs Americans will not take, that rejects amnesty, that tells us who is entering and leaving our country and that closes the border to drug dealers and terrorists.”
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7. “Right now, a set portion of the money you earn is taken out of your paycheck to pay for the Social Security benefits of today's retirees. If you're a younger worker, I believe you should be able to set aside part of that money in your own retirement account, so you can build a nest egg for your own future.”
Bush’s last State of the Union address on January 28, 2008, occurred in the midst of a growing recession.
8. “In the long run, Americans can be confident about our economic growth. But in the short run, we can all see that that growth is slowing.”
9. “We share a common goal: making health care more affordable and accessible for all Americans. The best way to achieve that goal is by expanding consumer choice, not government control.”
10. “In the long run, men and women who are free to determine their own destinies will reject terror and refuse to live in tyranny. And that is why the terrorists are fighting to deny this choice to the people in Lebanon, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the Palestinian Territories. And that is why, for the security of America and the peace of the world, we are spreading the hope of freedom.”
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