Bush: Oil, economic reforms necessary for U.S.

President Bush's State of the Union Address resulted in contrasting reactions from IU students on both sides of the political spectrum. \nBush concentrated on the Iraq War for much of the speech, but he didn't say anything new, said Emma Cullen, president of the IU College Democrats.\n"Obviously something needs to change and... he didn't say anything," she said.\nBut Shane Kennedy, chairman of the IU College Republicans, said nothing needs to change in Iraq and was satisfied with Bush's speech.\nKennedy and IU College Republicans hosted a public viewing of the speech in Woodburn Hall Tuesday night. \n"(Americans) are already committed," he said. "(The Republicans) have a good vision for the future."\nBush began the first portion of his speech talking about defending America and spreading democracy around the globe. \n"He spent the first two-thirds of the speech reminding people why they like him," said Michael Wagner, an associate instructor in political science who specializes in American politics and public policy.\nWagner said one of the only new ideas Bush introduced in his speech was a call to end America's reliance on Middle Eastern oil.\n"Hopefully his commitment to alternative fuels is real," Cullen said. "(But) I'll believe it when I see it."\nKennedy said that ending America's use of Middle Eastern oil is important today especially with "the price gouging that is currently going on with the companies."\nAnother major new proposal from Bush was the creation of a commission that would study entitlement programs, including Social Security, Wagner said.\nBoth Kennedy and Cullen agreed that it was important to fix Social Security, but Kennedy said Bush's plan to privatize Social Security last year would have done that and blames the Democrats for blocking the plan. \n"(The Democrats) have yet to step forward to give any alternatives," Kennedy said.\nCullen said the president should have formed the commission before he tried to reform Social Security last year, saying his process was backward.\nMany other commissions have studied Social Security in the past with no effect, Wagner said, adding that they just end up recommending politically impossible solutions.\nBy forming a commission to study Social Security, Bush is backing down from his previous plan to form private accounts, Wagner said.\nCullen said the domestic policy portion of this speech reminded her of the "compassionate conservative" Bush ran as during the 2000 presidential campaign. She said she just hopes he doesn't get "hijacked by the religious right again"