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The
2008 State of the Union addressThe State of the Union is an annual address presented by the President of the United States to the United States Congress. The address not only reports on the condition of the nation but also allows the president to outline his legislative agenda and his national priorities.The practice arises...
was a
speechPublic speaking is the process of speaking to a group of people in a structured, deliberate manner intended to inform, influence, or entertain the listeners...
given by
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
PresidentThe President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
George W. BushGeorge Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
on January 28, 2008, at 9 P.M. EST to a
joint sessionJoint sessions of the United States Congress are the gatherings together of both houses of the United States Congress...
of
CongressThe United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
. It was the last State of the Union Address of Bush's presidency. The speech was delivered in the United States House of Representatives in the United States Capitol. Sitting behind the president were the presiding officers of the United States Senate, Vice President
Dick CheneyRichard Bruce "Dick" Cheney served as the 46th Vice President of the United States , under George W. Bush....
, and the United States House of Representatives, House Speaker
Nancy PelosiNancy Patricia D'Alesandro Pelosi is the Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives and served as the 60th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2007 to 2011...
.
Topics
The
White HouseThe White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
indicated beforehand that the President's speech would mention the following policies:
Democratic response
In keeping with tradition of Democrats from red states giving the response,
Governor of KansasThe Governor of the State of Kansas is the head of state for the State of Kansas, United States. Under the Kansas Constitution, the Governor is also the head of government, serving as the chief executive of the Kansas executive branch, of the government of Kansas. The Governor is the...
Kathleen SebeliusKathleen Sebelius is an American politician currently serving as the 21st Secretary of Health and Human Services. She was the second female Governor of Kansas from 2003 to 2009, the Democratic respondent to the 2008 State of the Union address, and chair-emerita of the Democratic Governors...
delivered the Democratic response from the Governor's Mansion in Topeka. It has been noted that she focused not on the usual Democratic rebuttal, but more so on the need to get past partisan politics to get the important legislation passed in a timely manner. She was picked by Democratic congressional leaders to make the response because of her ability to reach across partisan lines.
Texas state Senator
Leticia Van de PutteLeticia R. San Miguel Van de Putteis a Democratic member of the Texas Senate representing the 26th District. She was previously a member of the Texas House of Representatives.-Family:...
gave the Democratic response in Spanish.
Libertarian response
Libertarian PartyThe Libertarian Party is the third largest and fastest growing political party in the United States. The political platform of the Libertarian Party reflects its brand of libertarianism, favoring minimally regulated, laissez-faire markets, strong civil liberties, minimally regulated migration...
Chair William Redpath issued a written response to the State of the Union on behalf of the national Libertarian Party.
Steve KubbySteven "Steve" Wynn Kubby is a Libertarian Party activist who played a key role in the drafting and passage of California Proposition 215. The proposition was a ballot initiative to legalize medical marijuana which was approved by voters in 1996. Kubby himself is well-known as a cancer patient who...
, a candidate for the Libertarian Party's 2008 presidential nomination, delivered his own "State of the Union address" via Internet video on January 25, 2008, three days before President Bush's speech. Framed as a preemption rather than merely a response, Kubby's speech attempted to predict the themes President Bush would strike and offered Kubby's own proposals in their stead.
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