This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2007, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
WASHINGTON - After last night, President Bush may be glad he has to give only one more of those State of the Union addresses.
His challenge Tuesday night: Convincing America he is not on the wrong track. The audience: A majority of Democrats and critical Republicans. The wider audience: A nation increasingly unsure of his leadership.
Even most Utahns - always Bush's strongest fans in the reddest state in the nation - are not backing the president on the war in Iraq.
Tough crowd.
Not the same crowd that welcomed him in 2002 with 76 rounds of applause during his 48-minute speech, or an America that, at the time, gave his job performance an 83 percent approval rating.
This time, Bush clocked in at 49 minutes, but only got applause 57 times - a dozen times from the Republican side only.
The president, in a dark suit, white shirt, blue tie and obligatory lapel flag, appeared for the first time before a Democratic-controlled Congress, with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi sitting to his left behind him.
The scene prompted Bush to strike a bipartisan tone.
“Congress has changed, but our responsibilities have not,” Bush said to the packed House chamber. “We are not the first to come here with government divided and uncertainty in the air. Like many before us, we can work through our differences, and achieve big things for the American people.”
The president was hoping to convey that, “you know, it doesn't matter what side of the aisle we sit on, let's come together and work on these issues,” his top counselor, Dan Bartlett, told reporters. “Here are my ideas to how we can advance our goals in these areas.”
Did he succeed?
“This was a tough room as they say in show business,” said Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah. “He went in there knowing that a majority of the people in the room didn't approve of what he was doing in a whole lot of ways.”
Still, Bennett says, he pulled it out.
“I heard as I was leaving some of his detractors say that was the best State of the Union message he has ever given. Whether they translate that immediate reaction into giving him space in Iraqi policy or bashing him tomorrow morning, I don't know.”
Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said Bush expressed hope that both sides would work together.
“He reached out to them,” Hatch said, referring to the Democrats. “He went through a lot of programs that just make sense.”
Hatch, who watched from home still nursing an injured shoulder, said Bush “enjoyed” giving the speech, even with a not-so-receptive audience. “I think he stuck it to them,” Hatch said. “How can you disagree with anything he said?”
Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, said he was impressed with Bush's rhetoric in the speech and by how the audience responded.
“There seemed to be a different tone and tenor compared to others,” Bishop said.
As for Utah's lone Democrat in Congress, Jim Matheson said the speech was more subdued than others he has watched, but that may be because the situation in Iraq is somber. The bipartisan tone Bush used, Matheson said, could be a good start to push through meaningful reforms.