Pro-family leaders say President Bush missed a golden opportunity to define the final two years of his administration by not speaking in defense of the family Tuesday night during his annual State of the Union address.
Family Research Council President Tony Perkins praised Bush for challenging Congress to protect Americans against Islamo-fascism and for how he dealt with the bulk of issues he touched on in the 50 minute-long address -- health care, energy, education, Iraq, immigration and spending reform.
It's what Bush didn't say that caught Perkins' attention.
"The president failed to challenge the new majority to advance core family and cultural issues -- issues of faith, family and freedom -- that many in the new congressional majority campaigned upon last fall," he said
The speech neglected any mention of strong families -- and the "culture of life" the president has referenced in past speeches.
"As the new leadership of this Congress seeks to advance ineffective and unethical stem-cell research, not to mention funding for Planned Parenthood," Perkins said, "the president failed to draw a line in the sand on behalf of life."
He added that Bush could have mentioned marriage, the child tax credit, or even permanent tax relief -- but did not. Instead, he sent a basic message challenging the new Congress to join him in advancing bipartisan solutions to strengthen the union.
"Our citizens don't much care which side of the aisle we sit on -- as long as we're willing to cross that aisle when there is work to be done," Bush told senators and representatives.
But Kristi Hamrick, a spokeswoman for American Values, said the president aimed at the wrong target.
"Frankly, his speech was really a reaction to his critics and to the Democratic House and Senate leadership," she said. "They are the ones who want to talk about global warming. They are the ones who want to say that Iraq is in a shambles. He lost a golden opportunity to set the stage -- to describe the issues that were most important to the American people."
Hamrick said Bush, who has two years left in the White House, was trying to be pragmatic but shouldn't have leaned so far toward the liberals.
"He needs to take charge of the last two years of his presidency, as Ronald Reagan did," she told CitizenLink.
The president did get credit from pro-family analysts for mentioning a few values issues, including the fight against HIV/AIDS in Africa and the issue of judicial nominees.
"As president, I have a duty to nominate qualified men and women to vacancies on the federal bench," Bush said, "and the United States Senate has a duty, as well, to give those nominees a fair hearing and a prompt up-or-down vote on the Senate floor."
Jan LaRue, chief counsel of Concerned Women for America, gave the president kudos for reminding the Senate about the overarching issue of judicial nominees.
"Every issue he addressed last night is on a docket of a court somewhere in this country," she said, "many of them on the calendar of the Supreme Court of the United States."
Still, pro-family leaders wonder if the president was signaling a shift on other pro-family issues, given the new political situation.
"What will become of the culture of life, the defense of marriage, and permanent family-friendly tax policies?" Perkins asked. "These are the very issues that the president has fought for in the past six years."
(Paid for by Focus on the Family Action)
