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State of Union analysis: Nation is anxious
 | The State of the Union |
 State of the Union address Jan. 28: In his last State of the Union address, President Bush pressures Congress on spending, defends the Iraq troop surge and warns Iran on nukes. |
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 Can an Afghan ‘surge’ be successful? Nov. 29: CNBC’s Carl Quintanilla speaks with msnbc military analyst Barry McCaffrey. |
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Major challenges will dog Bush for his remaining year in office, with high levels of public anxiety. The war in Iraq remains deeply unpopular, with a majority of Americans believing it was a mistake. And while Bush’s decision to increase troop levels seems to have paid off in decreased street violence — “among the terrorists, there is no doubt” it is working, he contended — there is still no clear indication of when sizable numbers of U.S. troops can be brought home.
The fighting is worse now in Afghanistan than it was in January 2002, when Bush asserted in that year’s State of the Union that “our nation is at war, our economy is in recession, and the civilized world faces unprecedented dangers.”
It turns out the recession he was referring to actually ended in November 2001 and that it was a relatively mild one. By contrast, some economists are suggesting the U.S. now could be headed for a deep consumer-led recession, with increasing home foreclosures, continuing difficulty in obtaining credit and skyrocketing gasoline and home heating fuel costs.
“We have unfinished business before us, and the American people expect us to get it done,” Bush said.
It doesn’t seem like it’s a conducive time for Bush to burnish his legacy, something presidents often try in their final State of the Union addresses.
Bush “doesn’t spend a lot of time thinking about that,” his spokeswoman, Dana Perino, said Monday. “The president thinks his legacy will shake itself out when people look at the record, and history will tell.”
That may take awhile, Bush himself suggests. He likes to tell audiences and interviewers that historians are still arguing over the legacy of George Washington, the country’s first president.
EDITOR’S NOTE — Tom Raum has covered Washington for The Associated Press since 1973, including five presidencies.
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