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February 08, 2005

Fletcher Students Assess Bush's Vision

Reprinted from Tufts E-News

Coming off a hard-fought election campaign that placed several contentious issues on the front burner, President Bush delivered a State of the Union address on Feb. 2 to a partisan Congress and a divided populace. Among those listening was a group of international relations students from The Fletcher School, who offered their insights to National Public Radio.

Brian Doench, whose home state of Ohio played a critical role in the outcome of the presidential race, homed in on the centerpiece of Bush’s second-term domestic agenda – the introduction of private investment accounts to the Social Security system.

According to the 29-year-old Doench, the proposal is very similar to the retirement plans that people like him already have.

“In my experience, most people plan to supplement their Social Security,” he told NPR. “Even right now, I don't know that many people who can actually survive solely on Social Security checks.”

Other students focused on the foreign affairs portion of Bush’s speech. With U.S. troops still stationed in Iraq and diplomatic battles in Israel and Iran looming, interest was high in Bush’s take on the next four years on the international stage.

One Fletcher student says that Bush’s talk was less harsh than past references– such as the placement of Iran, Iraq and North Korea in an “axis of evil” during 2002’s State of the Union.

“He toned down his rhetoric,” said Rudy Jaafar, a 26-year-old from Lebanon. “He did not look for those big, broad sweeps where American democracy is fighting evil in this world and some countries are part of evil.”

A fellow student, however, saw traces of that rhetoric sprinkled throughout the address.

“At least 19 mentions of ‘freedom' and at least 21 mentions of ‘terror,'” tallied Melissa Tritter. “‘Terror' is the winner in that speech.”

According to NPR, the Fletcher students they interviewed about the speech found favor with Bush’s mentions of Iran and Syria, but wondered about Bush’s plans for Afghanistan, the environment and the nation’s global economic concerns.

Karoun Demirjian, 23, told NPR that while Bush’s presentation gets an A, the content of his speech gets a B-.

“I think that though he addressed the topics that we all expected he would address with poise and with good speech and with new ideas, I don't think that the United States' foreign policy can or does rest entirely on Iraq and its direct environs,” Demirjian explained. “And I don't think that he moved beyond that very much.”

Posted by jessica at February 8, 2005 01:19 PM