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Bush: 'America is addicted to oil'

WASHINGTON — President Bush offered the United States a modest menu of energy, health and education proposals and warned against the "false comfort of isolationism" in a State of the Union address on Tuesday that sought to reassert his control over the nation's agenda heading into a pivotal midterm election campaign.

In one of his most striking declarations, Mr. Bush said that "America is addicted to oil" and set a goal of replacing 75 percent of the nation's Mideast oil imports by 2025 with ethanol and other energy sources.

But even that goal was more modest than it might have appeared— the United States gets less than 20 percent of its oil from the Persian Gulf —and the speech was notable largely for a lack of big new proposals from a president who for five years has not shied away from provocative and politically risky initiatives.

To his familiar call about ending"tyranny in our world," Mr. Bush added a new framework that sought to address the anxieties created by a rapidly changing economy and an aging society. The answer, Mr. Bush, was not to turn inward.

"In a complex and challenging time, the road of isolationism and protectionism may seem broad and inviting, yet it ends in danger and decline," Mr. Bush said, his voice forceful and steady after days of practicing his delivery and editing and re-editing his words. "The only way to protect our people, the only way to secure the peace, the only way to control our destiny is by our leadership, so the United States of America will continue to lead."

The only alternative to American leadership, he said, "is a dramatically more dangerous and anxious world."

In an echo of President Dwight D. Eisenhower's response after the United States was stunned by the launch of Sputnik in the 1950's, Mr. Bush called for an increase in financing for basic science and for better teaching of science and math in the nation's schools.

He warned that the two parties must find a way to work together to deal with the rapidly rising costs of supporting an aging society. He pushed his proposals to give individuals more control over and responsibility for their own health care costs.And at a time when high global energy prices are slowing the economy and pinching consumers, he pushed for greater energy independence.

"Americans should not fear our economic future, because we intend to shape it," the president said.

The speech was also notable for what Mr. Bush did not mention. He offered no new ideas for rebuilding New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, and made no proposal to clamp down on lobbying abuses in Congress that have led to the investigation of Jack Abramoff, a formerly powerful lobbyist and a major fund-raiser for Mr. Bush. Mr. Abramoff pleaded guilty on Jan. 3 to conspiracy, fraud and tax evasion, and prosecutors have said that he used campaign contributions, lavish trips and meals to influence lawmakers and their aides.

Mr. Bush delivered his address after one of the most difficult years of his presidency but on a day of political triumph, just hours after his nominee, Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr., had been confirmed by the Senate as the 110th justice in the history of the Supreme Court. Justice Alito, dressed in the sweeping black robes of his new court, took his seat with the other justices in the front row of the chamber of the House of Representatives.

The president strode into the packed chamber shortly after 9 p.m. for the traditional back-slapping, hand-grabbing, cheek-kissing walk down the aisle. The promenade under the bright television lights effectively kicked off Mr. Bush's lastcampaign as a sitting president to gain support in Congress for his agenda, this time before an audience of dogged Democrats and nervous Republicans, who find themselvesmired in a contentious leadership battle and the influence-peddling investigation in their top ranks on Capitol Hill.

Mr. Bush stepped before Congress as a far less popular president than he was during his State of the Union address just a year ago, when he was emboldened by his victory over Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts in the 2004 presidential race. He spoke optimistically then about the war in Iraq and about rewriting the nation's Social Security system, a signature initiative that failed.

When it came to foreign policy, Mr. Bush broke no new ground, and used language drawn from previous speeches. He held out the possibility of reducing the 140,000 American troops in Iraq over the next year, but made no promises. He grimly warned Iran not to pursue its nuclear weapons ambitions, calling it "a nation now held hostage by a small clerical elite that is isolating and repressing its people." And he called on the militant Islamic group Hamas, the overwhelming victor in last week's elections by Palestinians, to "recognize Israel, disarm, reject terrorism and work for lasting peace."

Mr. Bush continued his vigorous defense of his administration's secret program ofeavesdropping without warrants and suggested that it couldhave caught some of the Sept. 11 hijackers, although he provided few details. "We now know that two of the hijackers in the United States placed telephone calls to Al Qaeda operatives overseas," Mr. Bush said. "But we did not know about their plans until it was too late."

The president built on the theme of his second inaugural address, and even in the face of the Hamas victory issued a strong call for democracy and elections in the Middle East. "In 1945, there were about two dozen lonely democracies on earth," Mr. Bush said. "Today there are 122."

Mr. Bush also reiterated that his administration's war on terrorism was not creating more terrorists, as critics of his policies believe.

"In a time of testing, we cannot find security by abandoning our commitments and retreating within our borders," Mr. Bush said. "If we were to leave these vicious attackers alone, they would not leave us alone. They would simply move the battlefield to our own shores."

On domestic policy, Mr. Bush offered a panoply of proposals in health care, energy and education that reflected the restrictions imposed on him by the growing budget deficit and a Congress that will be reluctant to take on divisive new legislation in an election year.

Mr. Bush called for the federal government to pay the costs of training 70,000 new high school teachers for Advanced Placement courses and for recruiting 30,000 math and science professionals as resources in school classrooms. He cast the proposal as essential to maintaining American competitiveness in a world economy that includes new powerhouses like India and China.

"We must continue to lead the world in human talent and creativity," Mr. Bush said. "Our greatest advantage in the world has always been our educated, hard-working, ambitious people and we are going to keep that edge."

In health care, Mr. Bush proposed changes in legislation to make it easier for employers to offer, and for individuals to buy, health savings accounts, which offer tax incentives to people to put aside money for medical expenses.

"Our government has a responsibility to help provide health care for the poor and the elderly, and we are meeting that responsibility," Mr. Bush said. "For all Americans, we must confront the rising cost of care, strengthen the doctor-patient relationship and help people afford the insurance coverage they need."

In energy policy,a major part of his address, Mr. Bush promoted the construction of nuclear power plants and renewed a call for the development of alternative fuel for automobiles, including ethanol, which is made from corn, as well as the development of fuel made from the wasteof plant crops. Mr. Bush said he was optimistic about fuel made from plant waste, like corn leaves and stalks, but research is still in the early stages and energy analysts say it is years away from commercial use.

Energy analysts also said that Mr. Bush's goal to replace 75 percent of America's Mideast oil imports by 2025 was not as meaningful as it appeared because the bigger suppliers to the United States are Mexico, Canada and Venezuela. The United States now imports about 12 million barrels of oil out of the 20.6 million barrels it consumes a day.

But for Mr. Bush, the emphasis on reducing foreign dependence on oil, particularly in the often volatile Persian Gulf, reflected a critical political dynamic this year: Republicans have been increasingly alarmed that escalating gas and home heating prices could prove a major issue in Congressional elections this year, particularly as oil companies are reporting record profits.

In a vivid display of increasing Democratic assertiveness against the president, the Democratic side of the House rose to its feet in applause when Mr. Bush made what he intended to be a conciliatory reference to the defeat of his Social Security proposal last year. Mr. Bush appeared taken aback before finally wagging his finger at the Democrats and saying, "The rising cost of entitlements is a problem that is not going away."

When Americans were asked to name the one or two everyday expenses that should be the top priority of the federal government to address in an NBC/Wall Street Journal poll released on Tuesday, 34 percent named gasoline and 20 percent named home heating care.

Democrats have long cast Mr. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney as friends of the oil industry at the expense of consumers, and they renewed that line of attack in response to the president's call to do more to achieve energy independence. Representative Rahm Emanuel, the Illinois Democrat who is the leader of his party's congressional campaign committee, noted that Republicans had pressed for tax breaks for oil companies even as their profits were surging.

Mr. Bush argued that the nation was in fact prosperous, but that Americans were anxious in the face of structural changes in the economy. He said that uneasiness helped account for the opposition to trade, calls for federal controls on the economy, and the sharp opposition to immigration seen in many states.

"Al these are forms of economic retreat, and they lead in the same direction toward a stagnant and second-rate economy," he said.

Mr. Bush called again for making permanent the temporary tax cuts that were passed in the first years of his administration, but which are scheduled to expire.

Mr. Bush, who has been under criticism from conservatives in his own party for allowing deficits to mount over the first year in office, did not specify which programs he had in mind, though he is likely to set them out in the budget proposal he will send to Congress on Monday.

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