Bush’s speech receives poor marks from local politicians

Newport-Mesa’s representatives in Washington said President Bush’s State of the Union address this week lacked vision and reflected poorly on his grasp of the nation’s challenges.

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, a former speechwriter for the Reagan Administration, said he felt underwhelmed by Bush’s remarks.

“He gets a big fat D — barely a D — in his first part. For his second part, I’d give him a B, because he did talk about the progress that’s been made in his foreign policy,” he said. “So, he barely — barely — gets a C.”

Rep. John Campbell said he was pleased with Bush’s pledge to veto any tax hikes, but was flummoxed by his support of a balanced budget and low taxes — despite his unveiling of several new spending programs during the address.

“I was least pleased when he — in spite of calling for a balanced budget — laid out half dozen or more entirely new spending programs,” Campbell said. “So, I don’t know how that’s going to work. How are you going to veto all tax increases, spend more money and balance the budget?”

— Chris Caesar