European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 30, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Thursday january 30, 1992 the stars and stripes a Page 13 commentary Douglas Jeh president s speech notable for its Candor in a state of the Union address designed to serve As his election year Anthem president Bush needed to be Many things to Many people tuesday night. And in seeking to Rouse a nation mired in gloom and increasingly mistrustful of his leadership he offered both the rhetoric of determination and the Promise of Swift action. A let me Tell you right from the Start and right from the heart i know we re in hard times a he declared a but i know something else this will not  he called for tax cuts and tax credits easier terms for borrowers and special Breaks for Home buyers reduced spending for defense and increased spending for children wider Access to health insurance for individuals and government Aid for sick cities. Yet to a Middle class audience squeezed by recession and Uncertain about the nations Long term prospects Bush a proposals at nearly every step May seem too modest. And in a sign that he knows the National unease will persist his Blunt ultimatum to Congress to act by March 20 or face a political fight served As a preemptive plan to pass the blame. A of course Congress Isnit going to pass this whole thing a one Campaign official said of Bush a ultimatum. A but now when voters sound off we can make sure the president Isnit the Only one who takes the  As an annual assessment of the unions state before a joint session of Congress the presidents speech was notable for a Candor that acknowledged the Depths of a your troubles at  but the Bond he had to forge was not so much with democrats in the House and Senate who were poised for partisan Battle just As Bush was but with voters. In an informal sampling around the nation this week Middle class a swing voters who supported Bush and Ronald Reagan in the past made Clear that they intend to hold Bush to a High Standard in the upcoming presidential election. The president insisted tuesday night that he Felt their troubles a right from the  but he was Stern in drawing the line against initiatives he said would be excessive. In particular while offering a package of defense cuts that could help finance Domestic programs he vowed to resist All attempts to Cut further into the Pentagon a funding. A this deep and no deeper a he told Congress. As he poured out his election year Cornucopia of proposals it was also doubtful to what extent its most immediate Reward a an executive order to reduce income tax withholding a could succeed in making voters feel More flush. A ok-s0timeimwfs0me Tutu miss Bush described the Back in your pockets proceeds As potential fuel for consumer spending. But it would put just $7 a week in the average voters pocket and not reduce taxes owed on april 15 a raising the risk that it would be greeted As no More than an empty gesture. Much of the language and details that otherwise spilled Forth offered perhaps More clues about the Way Bush intends to position himself in his re election Campaign than of any broader strategy to recalibrate the nations course. With appeals to family values and tax benefits for children nest time Home buyers and those without health insurance Bush cast himself anew As a a Kinder gentler candidate committed to goals Central to most americans Domestic lives. Reaching out to minority voters he struck a similar no nonsense tone in condemning racial hatred. And by opening his address with an eloquent reminder of what had been gained abroad he returned to a role in which he is most accustomed. The end of the cold War Means that children must no longer cower beneath school desks in response to the Quot Long drawn out nuclear dread a he declared. A with those words and the almost incidental announcement that the United states would drastically reduce its nuclear missile Arsenal still further Bush left Little doubt that it is on foreign affairs that he remains Best equipped to strike the most compelling note. At a time when the nations attention has turned to matters at Home however the outlines of his Domestic programs made Clear just How Broad a spectrum of the american electorate his economic Agenda must please. From the seeming invulnerability of his Triumph in the persian Gulf last year Bush now finds himself challenged by conservative republicans As Well As democrats and his grip on the crucial Center is suddenly in doubt. Reflecting the degree to which presidential politics has become a Battle for the allegiance of the Middle class the Bush growth proposals include provisions to Benefit Ordinary americans who have children May be buying a Home for the first time or must buy their own health insurance. Yet among those who May have most to gain Are wealthy voters who can Benefit from a Sharp reduction in the capital gains tax a reduction larger than originally planned because Republican conservatives had complained that a draft proposal was too modest. And if Low paid workers May find a few More dollars in their pockets the Industry most favored by the package is the real estate business for which Bush defended costly tax cuts on grounds that it was most adept at leading the Economy from Tough times. From the perspective of presidential politics what May matter More than the nature of Bush s plan is that now a after months without an answer to the nations economic troubles a a the president now has a package he can Call his own. As his rivals question his priorities Bush a beginning in television advertisements in new Hampshire this weekend a will seek to cast their complaints As needless foot dragging. And glossing Over his own Long delay in formulating answers he warned that if Congress does not heed his deadline for action a the Battle will be  c Loa Antolos timo9paul West giving everyone a Little bit of something a the defining event of the Bush presidency a is How tuesday nights state of the Union speech was promoted in a recent Bush Quayle re election Campaign memo. If so his remains a presidency without definition. President Bush did not even try to project a new vision of where he wants to i Lead the nation. He seemed to admit As much Halfway through his address when a he said a the test of a plan Isnit whether its called new or  and if boosting Public Confidence would help trigger an economic Turna round americans May not have heard enough inspiring rhetoric to raise their spirits. Bush a lengthy grab bag of a speech was More like a collection of greatest hits from past orations including his own. Twice he warned that the recession a will not stand a As if he could dispel hard times by reprising the line he used against Saddam Hussein the tepid response from Congress could be a warning sign of How Little magic those words convey less than one year after the wars end. What Bush did bring to his speech however was a Little bit of something for everyone. And in that respect at least it May not have been a bad Way to begin a re-elec-t1n Campaign which is what tuesday night was really All about. Voters this year Are demanding answers from the politicians. And Bush showed tuesday night that he has got a very Long list one that is carefully tailored to Appeal to the groups that he must pull together if he is to win re election in november. There were a number of Juicy titbits for Republican special interests for instance. His proposal to a modify the passive loss Rule for Active real estate investors Drew lengthy applause. And when he repeated his plan for a capital gains tax Cut a the vast bulk of which would go to taxpayers earning More than $200,000 a year a Republican congressmen leapt to their feet and cheered lustily. Bush waited surprisingly Long to utter the words a Middle class a the magic catch phrase of Campaign �?T92. But his speech was loaded with goodies for that decisive voter group which is feeling stressed out and unloved these Days. There were cuts in withholding taxes and credits for families with children and tax Breaks for first Home buyers and student loan re payers and More. For poor kids he offered a bigger head Start. For the jobless compassion and extended Federal benefits. That brought democratic congressmen like Chicago a Dan Rostenkowski to their feet and a wry smile to Bush a face. A Well at last a the president cracked arching his Eyebrow. For a Man whose political career was supposedly hanging in the balance a his poll ratings were at an All time Low As he stood before the nation tuesday night a Bush looked remarkably Cool and in command. He began with a self deprecating joke about vomiting on the japanese prime minister. And by the time he got around to scolding the assembled democrats he looked positively smug. Bush a political Challenge As he pre Jares to formally declare his candidacy or re election in two weeks is at once both easier and More difficult than the one he confronted four years ago. As an incumbent he s Well aware that the election will be a referendum on his performance As president. That judgment it seems Clear right now will depend largely on whether the Economy is clearly recovering by the second half of the year. The Bush economic strategy a and by Extension the presidents political Fate a Isnit really dependent on the initiatives he threw out tuesday night. Instead he will succeed or rail on the strength of Steps that have already been taken such As the cuts in interest rates engineered by the Federal Reserve Board. His economic approach is like the hippocratic oath to first do no harm. By avoiding any sweeping election year fixes and signalling that in Advance he soothed Wall streets nerves the Stock Market hit a record High tuesday. Its a stay the course strategy that is not without risk. He a betting that the same economic forecasters who were wrong about the length of the ongoing recession Are right when they say recovery is just around the Corner. His package of economic incentives which contains More than a few of the gimmicks that he claimed he would avoid is an opening gambit in the election year bidding War for Public support. It Isnit his final offer but its a decent Start. And it might also be Worth remembering that it taxes two to make an election. As Low As Bush May have fallen for the moment at least the democrats seem to be sliding underneath. The George Bush who showed up tuesday night Wasny to the floating embarrassment of the past few months. And if he failed to meet the exalted expectations that he and his supporters created for him he also served notice that it would be a mistake to underestimate him this political year. C the Baltimore Sun