2006 State of the Union Address

2006 State of the Union Address
	President George W. Bush during the speech, with Vice President Dick Cheney and House Speaker Dennis Hastert behind him
Date	January 31, 2006
Time	9:00 p.m. EST
Duration	51 minutes
Venue	House Chamber, United States Capitol
Location	Washington, D.C.
Coordinates	38°53′19.8″N 77°00′32.8″W / 38.888833°N 77.009111°W
Type	State of the Union Address
Participants	George W. Bush; Dick Cheney; Dennis Hastert;
Previous	2005 State of the Union Address
Next	2007 State of the Union Address

The 2006 State of the Union Address was given by the 43rd president of the United States, George W. Bush, on January 31, 2006, at 9:00 p.m. EST, in the chamber of the United States House of Representatives to the 109th United States Congress. It was Bush's fifth State of the Union Address and his sixth speech to a joint session of the United States Congress. Presiding over this joint session was the House speaker, Dennis Hastert, accompanied by Dick Cheney, the vice president, in his capacity as the president of the Senate.

The address outlined the President's legislative proposals for the upcoming year and referenced the

NSA spying controversy, the successful nomination of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, and the Administration's proposed ban on same-sex marriage

.

Newly elected

Spanish

.

Introduction

President Bush began his

September 11, 2001 attacks with "national achievement." When discussing the American political system, Bush used anaphora

, repeating "two" at the beginning of each clause, "two parties, two chambers, and two elected branches."

Bush shifted his tense from the

2005 State of the Union address

, he stated "Tonight the state of our Union is strong – and together we will make it stronger."

Terrorism and isolationism

He again used anaphora by repeating "We will choose," paralleling "pursuing the enemies of freedom," applicable to both the

terrorists in general, with "Retreating "from our duties in the hope of an easier life," a direct attack on Criticism of the Iraq War, which particularly calls for withdrawal. He paralleled choosing "to build our prosperity by leading the world economy" with the alternative "shut[ting] ourselves off from trade and opportunity," a warning against protectionism and isolationism

.

The President cited a foiled terror plot in Los Angeles, where terrorists supposedly planned to hijack a plane and fly it into the Liberty Tower.

Democracy versus tyranny

Bush stated that America's involvement in

Democracies

give hope and "respect the rights of their citizens and their neighbors."

The president pointed out that there are 98 more Democratic countries in 2006 than there were in 1945, in addition to

Purple Revolution in Iraq, and political discourse in Lebanon and Egypt, as evidence that Democracy, freedom, and self-governance have grown throughout the world. Although many social and political analysts would agree that more people live in free and fair societies than at the end of World War II, all of the examples Bush provided lay in the Middle East

.

He went on to say that the "demands of justice, and the peace of this world, require... freedom" for the citizens of nations in the

Burma, Zimbabwe, North Korea, and Iran

.

Radical Islam

Shifting away from the comparison of

Religion of Peace

He stressed that "

behead a bound captive

, the terrorists hope these horrors will break our will."

He indirectly referenced the Beatitudes by saying the terrorists hope that breaking the will of the U.S. will allow "the violent to inherit the Earth."

Retreat from evil

In a verbal attack on "isolationist" and "appeasing" sentiments, Bush condemned "the false comfort of isolationism" for sending the "signal to all that we no longer believe in our own ideals, or even in our own courage."

Energy

Bush stated that America is addicted to oil often originating from unstable parts of the world.^[2] He announced increased funding in clean-energy research: renewable energy, for instance biofuels and nuclear energy. He also stated the goal of 75% oil import replacement by 2025 based on new technologies.