Reaction to State of the Union

Hosted by
"Our nation is at war, our economy is in recession- yet the state of our union has never been stronger." With those words, President Bush tried to warn, rally and reassure the nation during perilous times. Democrats are responding by trying to define the limits of bi-partisanship in an election year. We sample reactions to the President's speech from the Left, the Right and the Center, hear conflicting views on economic and defense pronouncements, and what it means for the future. Newsmaker: Global Crossing and Questionable Accounting Today, telecommunications firm Global Crossing declared bankruptcy. It's the nation's fifth largest failure, with 22 billion dollars at stake. Its auditor is Andersen, the same firm that handled Enron. Tim Rutten, staff writer for the Los Angeles Times, reports that one Global Crossing official warned of misleading accounting techniques which could have misled investors about the company's health. Reporter's Notebook: Bush Praises Musharraf for attempts to de-radicalize As the war began in Afghanistan, there was uncertainty about Pakistan and whether its leader would stand up to Islamic extremists and sympathizers in Pakistan's Army. Last night, President Bush praised General Pervez Musharraf for his strong leadership and for supporting America's war against the Taliban. Could Islamic Pakistan become a more secular country? Thomas Simons is a former ambassador to Pakistan.
"Our nation is at war, our economy is in recession- yet the state of our union has never been stronger." With those words, President Bush tried to warn, rally and reassure the nation during perilous times. Democrats are responding by trying to define the limits of bi-partisanship in an election year. We sample reactions to the President's speech from the Left, the Right and the Center, hear conflicting views on economic and defense pronouncements, and what it means for the future.
  • Newsmaker: Global Crossing and Questionable Accounting
    Today, telecommunications firm Global Crossing declared bankruptcy. It's the nation's fifth largest failure, with 22 billion dollars at stake. Its auditor is Andersen, the same firm that handled Enron. Tim Rutten, staff writer for the Los Angeles Times, reports that one Global Crossing official warned of misleading accounting techniques which could have misled investors about the company's health.
  • Reporter's Notebook: Bush Praises Musharraf for attempts to de-radicalize
    As the war began in Afghanistan, there was uncertainty about Pakistan and whether its leader would stand up to Islamic extremists and sympathizers in Pakistan's Army. Last night, President Bush praised General Pervez Musharraf for his strong leadership and for supporting America's war against the Taliban. Could Islamic Pakistan become a more secular country? Thomas Simons is a former ambassador to Pakistan.

Credits

Host:

Warren Olney