The original article can be found on SFGate.com here:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/02/01/ANALYSIS.TMP ---------------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday, February 1, 2006 (SF Chronicle)
Analysis: President's appeal for harmony rings false
Marc Sandalow, Washington Bureau Chief
Washington -- President Bush's call for Republicans and Democrats to work together, for America to engage the world and for the nation to quit its addiction to oil will sound to many skeptics like Barry Bonds calling for an end to steroid use in baseball.
It was not Bush's failure to solve these problems over the course of the
first five years of his presidency that required him to highlight them in
his State of the Union address, his critics insist; it was Bush's
contributions to these problems that elevated each to a matter of
significance.
For Bush to convince an increasingly skeptical public that his vision for
the nation -- and his agenda for the rest of his presidency -- is one they should embrace, and to dig his way out from his weak standing in the
polls, he will need to demonstrate that his soothing rhetoric is more than just words. Partisanship, stormy international relations and heavy oil consumption have thus far been hallmarks of Bush's tenure.
Among the things that made Bush's address so different from the thousands
of speeches he has delivered since his election was his conciliatory tone
toward his adversaries and his invitation for opponents to work with him
on developing solutions -- not simply to accept his prescription. The tone
of the 51-minute address was appeasing more than resolute, and more
deliberative than is customary.
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