There was a little something for just about everybody in President Bush’s State of the Union address.

Job training, immigration reform, support for community colleges and Pell Grants, a tough stand on foreign policy and the war in Iraq, an attack on activist judges and gay marriage, bemoaning steroid use, supporting faith-based programs, and helping inmates as they are released from prison. He even invoked President Clinton.

Tough and compassionate, there was plenty in the president’s words to applaud.

What was missing from the speech is the problem.

Fiscal reality must have been hiding in a secure location somewhere away from the Capitol. How does the president expect to cut the deficit in half while launching new government spending and making all of his $1.7 trillion in tax cuts permanent? The answer is he doesn’t.

The president gave new attention to the privatization of Social Security, but the system cannot afford to pay its current level of benefits if billions are drained away for personal savings accounts. The president didn’t say how to make the math work.

Rein in the costs of health care, that’s a great idea. But the Medicare prescription drug plan that has passed Congress prohibits the government from negotiating for lower costs, and re-importing cheaper drugs from Canada is on the administration’s no-no list.

A tip of his cap to job training and community colleges does not answer how the economy replaces the 2.4 million jobs that have been lost in the last three years. Stocks may be higher and corporate profits may be up, but jobs aren’t rebounding. The president echoed that disconnect.

People are hurting, but you couldn’t tell it from the speech.

On the environment, nary a word.

President Bush began his address talking about security, terrorism and Iraq. He aggressively defended his actions and policies, making it clear he would not shrink from challenges levied by would-be Democratic challengers.

But the president also used carefully crafted language to dodge the issue of Iraq’s supposed weapons of mass destruction. He spoke of “weapons of mass destruction-related program activities,” not real weapons.

It was a good performance. The country was warned to remain leery of a dangerous world, while told to be optimistic about the future. Sensible advice.

We were hoping for answers, though. Instead, we got the beginnings of a re-election stump speech.

President Bush talked about using the federal government to solve problems – make us safer, healthier, wealthier and happier. He offered good suggestions about easing difficult times and setting an example for our children and the world. We agree: Government has an important role to play in the lives of its citizens.

But his fiscal policies are choking off the resources necessary to accomplish his grandest ambitions for a better world and a more perfect union.
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