Bush Presents the State of the Union Today

The US President George W. Bush will present the State of the Union, which will exhibit the direction of the national administration at the Senate and the House Joint Session in the afternoon of the 28th (morning of the 29th in Korean local time). At his second State of the Union, the President Bush`s plan and disposal for the threat to the US security and economical problems seems to be included.

It is predicted that the President Bush will talk about Iraq, Iran, and North Korea, which he defined as the `axis of evil` in last year`s State of the Union, but it is observed that he will not use the expression `axis of evil,` which induced an international adverse criticism.

The Washington Post reported on the 26th that the Director of the White House Public Affairs, Dan Bartlet said, “Since we are at diplomatic stage, do not expect such thing as declaration of war in this address.”

The President Bush looks this State of the Union address as a chance to recover his support rate since his support rate dropped below 50%, which is the lowest since the inauguration, due to the recent economical slump and the expansion of the objection to the war against Iraq. He spent all his effort to practice the address on the 26th also without making any official plan.

Ki-Heung Han eligius@donga.com