Politicians React to State of the Union

WASHINGTON – Reaction to President Bush's State of the Union address Tuesday:

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"Tonight, we heard the president again call to make his tax policies permanent, despite his administration's failure to manage our staggering national debt. Over the past five years, we've gone from huge surpluses to massive deficits. No parent makes their child pay the mortgage. Why should we allow this administration to pass down the bill for its reckless spending to our children and grandchildren?" — Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, delivering the Democratic response.

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"Tonight, the president told the American people that when America leads, America wins. Unfortunately, when President Bush and the Republican Congress have led, the special interests have won and the American people have lost. That is the cost of the Republican culture of corruption." — House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

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"President Bush has succeeded and continues to succeed in offering once-in-a-generation levels of tax relief and trade agreements that produce opportunity for American workers. Those policies are a pretty easy sell in Congress for those who of us who believe in free markets." — Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa.

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"In previous State of the Union addresses, the president outlined some grand ideas on health care and energy policy, but then let those grand ideas be sabotaged by special interests. Seniors got a prescription drug benefit that is a mess and all Americans got three-dollar-a-gallon gasoline." — Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y.

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"The administration has not taken the initiative or pushed the chemical industry to improve security to make the American people safer. Closing these and other gaps in our security will take the kind of leadership, resources and commitment that this administration has not provided. Without this commitment, the state of our union will continue to be way too insecure." — Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn.

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"President Bush rightly focused on two key items in his speech that are essential to maintaining and increasing this economic growth: continuing efforts to reform the tax code for Americans and providing solutions to rein in rising health care costs." — Ways and Means Committee Chairman Rep. Bill Thomas, R-Calif.

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"Under this administration, 4 million people have fallen from the working class into the ranks of the poor. And the new jobs that are being created pay less than the ones we've lost. We need an aggressive national strategy to build the skills of our work force and to promote America's competitiveness in the global economy. The truth is that together, America can do better." — Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.