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01/30/2006
CWA Offers
Expectations for State of Union Address WASHINGTON, Jan. 30 /Christian Wire Service/ -- Concerned Women for America's (CWA's) Dr. Janice Shaw Crouse, an expert in Presidential Communication, is speaking out about what conservatives can expect from President Bush's State of the Union address, and what Bush will need to do in order to use the address to effectively communicate his agenda. Dr. Crouse said, "The State of the Union address provides the President with an opportunity to reach millions of people around the world unfiltered by the hostile media both here and abroad. In this annual speech, he can promote his agenda, establish his priorities, answer skeptics and — by vigorously defending both his own and America’s honor — relieve conservatives’ anxieties. Polls have shown that when the president lets unfounded accusations stand, his administration and the nation are discredited –– and national security is thereby jeopardized. Just as importantly, the morale of his constituency plummets. On the other hand, when he decisively answers his critics, his approval ratings rise. "The President must have two major goals: He must refute the scurrilous attacks on Truth that have saturated public discourse over the past months. He must courageously defend America against those who give comfort to the enemy by undermining our national credibility and impugning the character of those who protect our nation. Americans were appalled at the ungrounded, bitter, partisan attacks on Samuel Alito and conservatives will not be satisfied with anything less than a strong response. Regardless of the embarrassment, President Bush needs to condemn Washington’s perennial problem of greed and bribery in no uncertain terms." Crouse continued, "Equally important, he must defend those moral values that are the sinews of our nation’s strength. Those who are undermining marriage, faith and morality are attacking the foundation of freedom and democracy. The President is at his best when he is resolute. If he does not reassure and encourage his conservative base by standing up for the essential principles of America, conservatives will be in trouble in the elections this fall; certainly, the liberals are trying to capture the values territory. Being perceived as weak on values and national defense has cost the liberals dearly at the polls ever since the Reagan revolution." Dr. Crouse’s experience as a presidential speechwriter during the first President Bush’s administration enriched her academic specialty in presidential rhetoric from the State University of New York in Buffalo (SUNYAB), having authored scholarly papers and presented research at scholarly meetings. Concerned Women for America (CWA) is the nation’s largest public policy women’s organization.
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