Special State of the Union Update

Teaching Elephants to Talk Tip
By Matt Lewis
Feb. 3, 2005

President Bush’s State of the Union address was a very good speech. Following are a few of the things we can learn from it:

• President Bush connected with average Americans. By using a simple metaphor of college tuition, he connected with regular folks – and illustrated the fact that time is running out: “I recognize that 2018 and 2042 may seem like a long way off. But those dates are not so distant, as any parent will tell you. If you have a five-year-old, you're already concerned about how you'll pay for college tuition 13 years down the road.”
  
• He told us “what’s in it for us.” He didn’t take for granted that people will “get” the fact that personal accounts are good for them. Wisely, he lays out the case that this is not only the philosophically right thing to do – but that it is also in our own self interest: “Here is why personal accounts are a better deal. Your money will grow, over time, at a greater rate than anything the current system can deliver - and your account will provide money for retirement over and above the check you will receive from Social Security.”
  
• He personalized it. By introducing “real” people, President Bush was able to personify his conviction that Iraq is worth fighting for. “Ladies and gentlemen, with grateful hearts, we honor freedom's defenders, and our military families, represented here this evening by Sergeant Norwood's mom and dad, Janet and Bill Norwood.”
  
• President Bush talked directly to a special audience. Like President Reagan, President Bush invoked the name of Franklin Roosevelt. Bush wasn’t pandering to Washington Democrats (they will never support him). Instead, he was reaching out to millions of Americans watching at home on television. “As Franklin Roosevelt once reminded Americans, "each age is a dream that is dying, or one that is coming to birth."