One topic rules Bush's thinking

Washington - Few presidents have confronted such a daunting pair of challenges -- looming war and an economy stubbornly stuck in a jobless recovery -- but President Bush left no doubt last night that Iraq is the issue that dominates his own thinking.

Mindful that a recession was his father's undoing in 1992, Bush focused first on the domestic agenda, restating his proposal for a new tax cuts and offering initiatives to overhaul Medicare and add substantial funding to fight the scourge of AIDS in Africa.

But the passion in his State of the Union speech came in the second half, when he turned to the war on terrorism and the confrontation with Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, offering a muscular indictment of the Iraqi leader. "If this is not evil," Bush said after offering a listing of the way Hussein has tortured his own people, "then evil has no meaning."

Last night, in stark terms, Bush restated the case that others in his administration -- and chief U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix -- have made in recent days, that Hussein has failed to account for tons of chemical and biological agents, has frustrated weapons inspectors, has shown "utter contempt" for a string of U.N. resolutions and will not change behavior until forced to do so. "He clearly has much to hide," Bush said.

The president appeared to have his eye more on the American people than on Republican and Democratic lawmakers or world leaders who demanded more evidence that Hussein is hiding weapons of mass destruction. Rather than offer new information to satisfy such critics, Bush used the speech to lay out in simple terms the urgency of confronting Hussein, and at times repeated assertions that have been previously challenged by other countries and experts.

Bush once again linked Iraq to his war on terrorism, restated what he calls the United States' obligation to act, and tried to discredit Hussein in the eyes of the American people to reassure them that there may be no other solution that war to eliminate the threat he poses.

The president has made this case before, beginning last September in a speech to the United Nations and in October in a speech in Cincinnati, but he has never commanded the kind of prime-time audience he did last night, nor at a more critical point in his presidency.

Ross Baker, a professor at Rutgers University, likened the tone and seriousness of the speech to Bush's address at Washington National Cathedral three days after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, when he prepared the nation for military action against Afghanistan.

"It was a speech of great gravity, delivered with controlled determination," Baker said. He added that the speech "may not satisfy everyone with the specificity of his arraignment," but said it likely "will convince many people who were uncertain that there is much to be concerned about."

More will follow in Bush's closing argument, starting this weekend when Bush meets with British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who faces deep opposition to war with Iraq at home and who has urged him to give the U.N. inspectors more time, and next week, when Secretary of State Colin L. Powell will present intelligence on Iraq's weapons programs. The decision to send Powell to the United Nations with new evidence was an implicit acknowledgement by the president that he must do more to persuade other nations to join his coalition.

The speech did not appear to quell criticism on Capitol Hill, particularly among the Democrats, who continued to call on Bush to explain in more detail the risks of war and the costs of a post-war occupation of Iraq.

Senate Minority Leader Thomas A. Daschle (D-S.D.) said Bush still must make a "more compelling case" before committing the country to war.

Sen. John F. Kerry (Mass.), a Democratic presidential candidate, said Bush has practiced "blustering unilateralism" in his war on terrorism and that instead of holding Hussein accountable has "too often ignored opportunities to unify the world against this brutal dictator."

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) said he would introduce a resolution requiring Bush "to come back to Congress and present convincing evidence of an imminent threat before we sent troops to war in Iraq." Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) dismissed Kennedy's call, saying the Massachusetts senator had had "ample time" during last fall's debate to get what he needed.

And Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (D-Conn.), another presidential candidate who has been hawkish on Iraq, said, "The president began to make an effective case tonight in a way that he hasn't done before."

White House officials had warned in advance not to expect a declaration of war in last night's speech, but with his fresh denunciation of Hussein, Bush demonstrated again his resolve to use force, perhaps soon, to disarm and dislodge the Iraqi leader. "The course of this nation," Bush said, "does not depend on the decisions" of others.

To those who have urged him to spend more time rallying other countries, Bush said, "We will consult, but let there be no misunderstanding: If Saddam Hussein does not fully disarm, for the safety of our people and for the peace of the world, we will lead a coalition to disarm him."

With the same assertiveness that marked his speech to the United Nations in September, Bush last night insisted that the burden is not on the United States or on the U.N. weapons inspectors, but on Iraq. "Some have said we must not act until the threat is imminent," Bush said. "Since when have terrorists and tyrants announced their intentions. . . . Trusting in the sanity and restraint of Saddam Hussein is not a strategy and it is not an option."

Critics will challenge some of the assertions Bush made last night. He restated the U.S. contention that Iraq had imported aluminum tubes that could be used to producer weapons-grade nuclear material and allegations by British intelligence that Baghdad had tried to purchase low-grade uranium from Africa. On Monday, International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei reported that it had found no evidence of nuclear activity after examination of suspected buildings.

Bush has proven since Sept. 11, 2001, that he has the capacity to rise to the moment with stirring rhetoric and clear direction. But with public opinion polls showing growing doubts about his leadership on the economy and ambivalence about his policy toward Iraq, last night's speech alone will not resolve the questions before him. What it will take is his ability to rally support at the United Nations, and with that, the support of the American people. As he said to Congress last night, "decisive days . . . lie ahead." -- Washington Post

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