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The State of the Union Address
Bush Highlights War on Terrorism, Boosting Economy
 Listen to full NPR News coverage of President Bush's speech.
Listen to President Bush deliver his State of the Union address.
Listen to House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt offer a Democratic response.
 Read a transcript of the State of the Union speech.
Read a transcript of the Democratic response.
Jan. 29, 2002 -- Unfolding his blueprint for a relentless war against terror and a rebirth of
economic vitality, President Bush told a joint session of Congress Tuesday
that "the state of our union has never been stronger."
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President Bush delivers State of the Union address before a joint session of Congress Jan. 29, 2002.
Photo: Copyright 2002 Reuters Limited
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State of the Union History
• Jan. 8, 1790: George Washington delivers the first "Annual Message" to Congress in New York City's Federal Hall.
• Nov. 22, 1797: John Adams continues the tradition in Philadelphia's Congress Hall.
• Nov. 22, 1800: Adams becomes the first president to deliver the annual message in Washington, D.C.
• Dec. 8, 1801: Thomas Jefferson sends his address to Congress in written form. That tradition continues until 1913, when Woodrow Wilson delivers his message in person.
• Jan. 6, 1947: Harry Truman delivers the first televised "State of the Union Address."
• Jan. 4, 1965: Lyndon B. Johnson shifts the address from midday to evening to attract a larger television audience.
• Jan. 28, 1986: Ronald Reagan postpones his speech to Congress after the space shuttle Challenger explodes on the morning of the scheduled addresss.
Sources: U.S. Senate, Avalon Project at Yale Law School
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The 43rd president's initial State of the Union address followed a dramatic
first year in office punctuated by the Sept. 11 attacks, the assault on
Afghanistan and the sudden vulnerability of the American economy.
He offered as remedy a spending plan that he conceded will send the nation
into a new era of federal budget deficits. "While the price of freedom and
security is high, it is never too high," he said. "Whatever it costs to
defend our freedom and our country, we will pay."
"We will win this war, we will protect our homeland and we will revive our
economy," Mr. Bush vowed.
Buoyed by bipartisan roars, the president delivered a fierce challenge to
foreign regimes supporting terrorism, singling out North Korea, Iran and
Iraq as potential threats. He declared such nations "an axis of evil, arming
to threaten the peace of the world." He added later: "Evil is real and it
must be opposed.
"All nations should know America will do what is necessary to ensure our
nation's security," he added.
Mr. Bush reiterated his belief that major spending increases are necessary
to bolster the military -- including a pay raise for the rank and file --
and to improve homeland security. He said the nation can achieve those goals
without repealing the tax cut approved before the events of the past months
eroded the nation's budget surpluses.
"Time and distance from the events of Sept. 11 will not make us safer unless
we act on its lessons," he said, outlining a four-pronged approach to
homeland security that focuses on bioterrorism, emergency response, border
security and improved intelligence gathering.
The president touched on social needs such as medical insurance and said
recent education reform legislation was "a good start." He made a new call
for civic participation, asking all Americans to devote a portion of their
remaining lives to serving their communities and each other.
Turning to the floundering economy, which he acknowledged was in recession,
Mr. Bush said: "When America works, America prospers. So my economic
security plan can be summed up in one word: jobs."
"We must act at home with the same purpose and resolve we have shown
overseas," he said. "We will defeat this recession."
But the war against terror remained uppermost in the mind of a man who many
believe found his footing as president in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks.
He introduced the interim leader of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai, who sat next
to first lady Laura Bush in the audience, and declared: "America and
Afghanistan are now partners against terror."
Pursuing that thread, Mr. Bush said: "Our discoveries in Afghanistan showed
us the true scope of the task ahead. Our war against terror is only
beginning."
Warning: "tens of thousands of trained terrorists are still at large," Mr.
Bush added: "These enemies view the entire world as a battlefield... and we
must pursue them wherever they are."
U.S. Rep. Dick Gephardt (D-MO), the House minority leader, delivered a largely appreciative Democratic
response, saying: "As Americans, we need to put partisanship aside."
Gephardt focused on unemployment, raising the minimum wage and "corporate
abuse," as embodied by the Enron scandal unfolding on Capitol Hill.
Mr. Bush did not mention Enron by name in his speech, but said "corporate
America must be made more accountable to employees and shareholders and held
to the highest standards of conduct."
The president's approval ratings in recent polls have topped 80 percent. But
the ability to pass his agenda may be undermined by the Enron scandal, which
has drawn increasing scrutiny from Congress and the public.
And the Sept. 11 aftermath and stumbling economy are projected to bring back
budget deficits. Beyond Gephardt's words of reassurance, Democrats blame the
budget reversal on Mr. Bush's previous tax cuts-- and they wonder where the
money will come from to finance the war effort and homeland security.
Previous NPR Coverage
Citizens of Gettysburg, Pa., share their expectations for the speech with Linda Wertheimer.
The Tavis Smiley Show previews the speech.
Four Americans discuss the state of their union.
 Cokie Roberts sees the Enron scandal hanging over the State of the Union speech.
John Ydstie looks back at President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's first wartime State of the Union address.
Other Resources
• The White House.
• Watch and read previous State of the Union addresses.
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