Bush´s State of Union address focuses on Iraq War, energy, health care

Source: CCTV.com | 01-24-2007 15:13

Related : 65% Americans oppose Bush´s new plan on Iraq

US President George W. Bush has addressed Congress in his annual State of the Union speech in Washington DC.

Focusing on the controversial Iraq War, energy and health care, the address was heard by a nation increasingly opposed to the Iraq war and to his drive to send more troops. Congress is entirely controlled by Democrats for the first time since he took office.

A poll released on Monday gave Bush a job approval rating of just 33 percent, the lowest in 12 years and placing him at the weakest point of his presidency. The US President defended his new Iraq strategy in an attempt to quell the uproar since he unrolled it two weeks ago. He called for the Democrat-controlled Congress to give the strategy "a chance to work".

Bush said, "Many in this chamber understand that America must not fail in Iraq --because you understand that the consequences in failure would be grievous and far reaching."

Facing a skeptical Congress and American public, Bush sought to revive his troubled presidency with proposals to slash gasoline consumption and expand health insurance coverage.

Bush's proposal aims to cut gasoline use by 20 percent by replacing the fuel with ethanol, and by voluntary improvements in automobile fuel economy.

George W.Bush, said, "Tonight I ask the Congress to join me to pursue a great goal. That's build on the work we've done and to reduce gas use in the United States by 20 percent in the next 10 years. When we do that we will cut our total imports by the equivalent of 3 quarters of all the oil now we've imported from middle east."