Newly ascendant Democrats challenge Bush

Obama statement
Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, a presumptive candidate for the 2008 Democratic nomination, was also tough on Bush's overtures.

“The president offered some serious proposals tonight on two issues — energy and health care — that we all agree must be addressed,” said Obama in a statement. “I'm glad he did, and I think it's important to respond in a constructive way. But the last election proved that politics-by-slogan and poll-tested sound bites aren't going to cut it with the American people anymore, and that's why the real test of leadership is not what the president said to Congress tonight, but how he works with Congress to find real solutions to the problems we face.

“Most Americans believe that escalation will not bring the war in Iraq to a responsible end, and that's why I've proposed not just a troop cap, but a phased redeployment that will start bringing our troops home,” Obama said.

Dems to Bush: Partisanship not an option
Democrats also hammered home a message that achieving bipartisanship must be as much a part of Bush’s agenda as proposals on the war, energy independence and health care.

“It will be clear to us whether he’s ready to work cooperatively to do that or if he’s saying, ‘I’m the decider,”’ Pelosi said, quoting Bush’s famous retort on Iraq.

She and Reid have rejected any suggestion that Democrats would withhold funding from the war in an effort to force Bush’s hand.

Webb, whose son is now serving in the military in Iraq, in a suggestion-veiled threat, said Bush should take “the right kind of action, for the benefit of the American people and for the health of our relations around the world.”

“If he does, we will join him,” Webb said. “If he does not, we will be showing him the way.”

The speech capped the Democrats’ effort to have the first, most frequent and last words on the president’s annual address.

Health care and the stem cell question
In the gallery above the chamber, the Democrats had reserved places as a reminder of a key factor in the Republicans’ loss of congressional control and the lone veto of Bush’s presidency. Actor Michael J. Fox, who has Parkinson’s disease, was attending as the guest of Rep. Jim Langevin, D-R.I., who is a quadriplegic, Langevin’s spokeswoman said.

NBC VIDEO Clinton wants 'redeployment' of troops Jan. 23: Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y. tells NBC's Brian Williams that the Democrats' "goal is to begin a phased redeployment" of U.S. out of Iraq. MSNBC

Both men have health problems that some scientists believe might someday be cured or treated by embryonic stem cell research. Bush last year vetoed a bill that would have allowed taxpayer money to speed up those studies, arguing that public funds should not be spent on research that destroys budding human life.

Fox then appeared in several campaign commercials for candidates that support the bill, sparking a controversy and helping tilt the election in the Democrats’ favor. The House earlier this month passed the same bill by a margin far short of the two-thirds majority required to override a second veto.

After Bush's address, New Jersey Gov. Jon S. Corzine, the chairman of the National Governors' Association's Health and Human Services Committee, spoke in a statement about the healthcare proposal put forward by the president.

“I welcome the president's focus on the ever-growing crisis of the uninsured and underinsured in our country. The 46 million uninsured individuals, including 1.2 million persons here in New Jersey, deserve our immediate attention. The President's comments are helpful, and I am certain other governors would agree this should be a starting point for a bipartisan discussion to finally address this pressing issue.”

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