Reaction split along party lines
Both sides say Bush showed confidence
 |  Sen. Dianne Feinstein |
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 Bush speech Part I: The economy
 Bush speech Part 2: Social Security
 Bush speech Part 3: Faith-based initiatives
 Bush speech Part 4: War on terror
 Bush speech Part 5: Iraq
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TRANSCRIPT |
Full transcript of President Bush's State of the Union address...
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(CNN) -- Reaction to President Bush's speech Wednesday night was sharply divided along partisan lines.
Fellow Republicans cheered him for what they saw as his tenacity and devotion to freedom, and opposition Democrats accused him of misleading the American people about Iraq and Social Security.
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee told CNN's Larry King after the speech that the agenda the president outlined for his second term was "a bold list" that was "going to be tough" to maneuver through the Senate. But he said the president's agenda "is doable."
Frist also took issue with Democrats who said Bush failed to outline an exit strategy for Iraq -- and in fact had ruled out a timetable for U.S. withdrawal.
"The American people at this point know that there is an end game as much as there can be," Frist, said. "And that is to have enough security in Iraq so that [the Iraqis] can govern themselves."
And Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona called Bush's speech "his best performance to date, stylistically and in substance," and said the president seemed much more confident than he has in the past.
McCain termed Bush's calls for Middle East nations to expand democracy within their borders, "a strong message, particularly to our friends in the Middle East, including the Saudis and the Egyptians and the Syrians -- democracy is on the march."
But Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California said that though parts of Bush's speech were "overarching and impressive," other parts of it were "troubling."
She said what was "troubling," was "making all the tax cuts permanent, with the deficit that's a half a trillion dollars and expanding."
Historian Michael Beschloss, an authority on presidential addresses, noted that President Bush used the expression "freedom from fear," from one of President Franklin Roosevelt's wartime State of the Union addresses, without crediting Roosevelt. Beschloss said the use of that term, and Bush's allusion to the abolition of slavery, showed "he sees his presidency in very grand terms."
Most of the comments about the president's address concerned claims that Social Security, the retirement safety net for most Americans, is on the road to bankruptcy, and Bush's case for an alternative to the current program.
Democratic Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, who lost the presidential election to Bush in November, told The Associated Press "the problems facing Social Security 50 years down the road can be fixed tomorrow if Washington ends the borrow-and-spend policies that are running up a record deficit and dumping it on the backs of our children."
House Majority Whip Roy Blunt of Missouri countered that the president's remarks on Social Security "set the stage for a vigorous debate on the future'" of the program, adding: "The president has proven he's a man of his word," the AP reported.
But Rep. Charles Rangel of New York told the AP that Bush "left too many questions unanswered when it comes to Social Security ... [He] says he wants an open review of options, but he's not open to anything other than privatization."
Democratic Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts said he "look(s) forward to working with the president to put his words into action," according to the AP.
But Kennedy told the AP that he would not "stand by while he hides behind speeches and rhetoric while the American people wait for action that really improves their lives, instead of just improving the profits of HMOs or big corporations."
That sentiment was echoed by Democratic Rep. Louise Slaughter of New York, who told the AP that Bush "wants to place the retirement needs of millions of hard-working women and families in the hands of his corporate cronies."
Republican Sen. Trent Lott told the AP he "applaud[s] the president for putting the energy bill back at the top of his to-do list, because my biggest disappointment of the last Congress was our failure to enact a national energy policy."
But in a rare departure from party loyalty, Republican Rep. Tom Tancredo of Colorado blasted Bush for his comments on U.S. immigration policy.
"Until President Bush tells us he is willing to do everything possible to stop illegal immigrants from crossing our borders -- including the commitment of military assets to the task," Tancredo told the AP, "I can only assume the worst with regard to his motives.
"When the president tries to make us believe that open borders equals national security he loses all credibility."
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Associated Press contributed to this report.
