Bush's SOTU Mimics Cass Ballenger's Lawn Jockey

Bush White-Washes Reality

Congressman Jesse L. Jackson, Jr., today said that "President Bush's State of the Union Address reminds me of Congressman Cass Ballenger's black lawn jockey. While trying to interpret the Trent Lott controversy to his constituents - and with the North Carolina NAACP protesting a black lawn jockey in front of his house - Congressman Ballenger had his staff white-wash the black jockey. It's the perfect metaphor for President Bush and the Republicans - they try to white-wash every underlying reality.

"President Bush wants to appear to be protecting the American people and look strong on homeland security, and he blames a past Democratic-controlled Senate for not adequately funding homeland security. But the reality is, HE threatened to veto a $5 billion bipartisan spending bill that contained $90 million for health care for ground zero first responders. And, following the President's directive, it is the Senate GOP that slashed $200 million from the President's promised $3.5 billion for first responders. Finally, the reality is that FEMA documents show state and local first responders requiring at least $736 million more than the $3.5 million Bush has requested.

"In education, President Bush says he wants to, `Leave No Child Behind.' But the reality is, he is under funding his own top education program.

"President Bush projects an 'I'm just an average cowboy' image, but the reality is he gives the vast majority of his tax cuts to the top five percent who already have money and his biggest special interest corporations.

"The President blames our economic woes on others. He blames the conversion of inherited soaring budget surpluses to skyrocketing budget deficits, slow economic growth, and a recession on the Clinton Administration; blames our economic woes on the events of 9/11; and blames the corporate scandals that followed - all of which are partially true. But they are mostly white-wash. Why? Because he fails to accept any responsibility for the reality - that the major cause of the surging deficits, slow growth, and rising unemployment is his gigantic tax cuts to the big corporations and the people who already have money.

"In last year's state of the Union address, he said his economic plan could be summarized in one word - jobs! He should have added a word - lost jobs. The reality is, one year later, unemployment is up to 6% with 8.6 million people actively looking for work who are unemployed, 2 million private sector jobs have been lost, and he has the worst job creation record of any administration in the last 58 years.

"It is time for the Democrats to wash the white-wash off of Cass Ballender's lawn jockey and deal effectively with America's reality - by targeting all tax cuts and other economic stimulants to the immediate need to create jobs and put America back to work," Jackson concluded.