Bush says U.S. addicted to oil, must make changes

By Steve Holland

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Bush will say “America is
addicted to oil” and must develop technologies to address
soaring gasoline prices in a State of the Union speech on
Tuesday night that argues against a U.S. retreat from Iraq and
the war on terrorism.

In excerpts of the 9 p.m. EST speech released by the White
House, Bush argued the United States must remain aggressively
engaged around the world, rejecting critics who feel Washington
is provoking ill will and should pull back.

With oil prices close to record levels and Exxon reporting
record profits of $10.7 billion, Bush will highlight the need
to improve technologies in order to reduce U.S. oil imports.

“America is addicted to oil, which is often imported from
unstable parts of the world,” Bush said in the excerpts. “The
best way to break this addiction is through technology.”

The president’s speech will be delivered to a joint session
of the U.S. Congress, where Democrats seeking gains in midterm
elections have been criticizing Bush on a range of issues that
include the Iraq war, Hurricane Katrina relief and a domestic
spying program.

He is coming off one of the toughest stretches of his
presidency, and his job approval ratings hover in the high 30s
to low 40s in most polls.

Bush argued the United States should shape events abroad
rather than being shaped by them and that under his leadership
there will be no pulling back. He warned against the temptation
to take “the road of isolationism and protectionism,” saying it
ends in “danger and decline.”

“In a time of testing, we cannot find security by
abandoning our commitments and retreating within our borders.
If we were to leave these vicious attackers alone, they would
not leave us alone. They would simply move the battlefield to
our own shores,” he said.

The comments amount to a rejection of those Democrats and
others who argue U.S. policies in Iraq and in the war on
terrorism are doing more harm than good abroad.

Bush said the United State must improve its economic
competitiveness to take on challenges from such competitors as
China and India.

“The American economy is pre-eminent, but we cannot afford
to be complacent,” he said.

Sweeping proposals along the lines of his big Social
Security revamp — which fizzled after its high-profile
roll-out a year ago — were not expected in the annual speech
before millions watching on television.

Bush is seeking to boost his standing after a year in which
his popularity hit an all-time low as the public grew
increasingly concerned about the Iraq war, angry about high
gasoline prices and disappointed by a influence-peddling
scandal involving Jack Abramoff, a major Republican
fund-raiser.

The scandal has implicated a least one Republican member of
Congress.

An NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll conducted January
26-29 of 1,011 adults showed Bush’s approval rating at 39
percent, unchanged from last month.

Bush will follow the speech by traveling to sell his agenda
to the public. Later this week he will visit Tennessee and
Minnesota — states that have tight, contested Senate races —
followed by a stop in New Mexico, and then spend the weekend at
his Crawford, Texas, ranch.

Bush’s challenge is to outline a plan that Republicans who
control Congress can use to try to avoid what has been the
historical norm — the party in power loses seats in midterm
elections, election years in which a president is not chosen.

“It is very important that the president thematically shows
where we’re going in terms of the vision and an agenda,” Senate
Majority Leader Bill Frist said told CNN.

The Tennessee Republican predicted his party would maintain
control — and perhaps even gain seats — if he and his
colleagues “follow and deliver meaningful solutions to the real
challenges of the American people.”

Bush also will focus on initiatives to address the soaring
cost of health care by expanding the use of tax-preferred
savings accounts and giving tax breaks to Americans without
employer-provided health insurance.

The speech went through more than 30 drafts and ran 38
minutes in practice sessions without applause.

“I hope the president, in his State of the Union, will
really try to do what he said he’s going to do for five years:
that is, be a uniter, not a divider,” Senate Minority Leader
Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, said on CNN. “Everything that
he’s done is just the opposite of what he has said.”

(Additional reporting by Patricia Wilson, Tabassum Zakaria
and Caren Bohan)