2008 State of the Union Address

The 2008 State of the Union Address was given by the 43rd president of the United States, George W. Bush, on January 28, 2008, at 9:00 p.m. EST, in the chamber of the United States House of Representatives to the 110th United States Congress. It was Bush's seventh and final State of the Union Address and his eighth and final speech to a joint session of the United States Congress. Presiding over this joint session was the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, accompanied by Dick Cheney, the vice president, in his capacity as the president of the Senate.

2008 State of the Union Address
President George W. Bush during the speech, with Vice President Dick Cheney and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi behind him
DateJanuary 28, 2008 (2008-01-28)
Time9:00 p.m. EST
Duration52 minutes
VenueHouse Chamber, United States Capitol
LocationWashington, D.C.
Coordinates38°53′19.8″N 77°00′32.8″W
TypeState of the Union Address
Participants

Topics

The White House indicated beforehand that President Bush's speech would mention the following policies:[1]

Democratic response

In keeping with tradition of Democrats from red states giving the response, Governor of Kansas Kathleen Sebelius delivered the Democratic response from the Governor's Mansion in Topeka.[2] It has been noted that she focused not on the usual Democratic rebuttal, but more so on the need to get past partisan politics to get the important legislation passed in a timely manner. She was picked by Democratic congressional leaders to make the response because of her ability to reach across partisan lines.[3]

Texas state Senator Leticia Van de Putte gave the Democratic response in Spanish.[4]

Libertarian response

Libertarian Party Chair William Redpath issued a written response to the State of the Union on behalf of the national Libertarian Party.[5]

Steve Kubby, a candidate for the Libertarian Party's 2008 presidential nomination, delivered his own "State of the Union address" via Internet video on January 25, 2008, three days before President Bush's speech. Framed as a preemption rather than merely a response,[6] Kubby's speech attempted to predict the themes President Bush would strike and offered Kubby's own proposals in their stead.

See also

References
  1. 2008 State of the Union Policy Initiatives
  2. Text of State of Union Response: the Democratic response to the State of the Union address delivered by Kathleen Sebelius
  3. Sebelius response rejects divisive politics, Kansas City Star
  4. Terrence Stutz (January 28, 2008). "Texas Sen. Leticia Van de Putte to give Democrats' Spanish State of the Union response". The Dallas Morning News. Archived from the original on January 31, 2008. Retrieved January 28, 2008. She will deliver the Spanish Democratic response to the president's State of the Union speech tonight; Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius will give the English one. Ms. Van de Putte was selected for the role by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.
  5. The Libertarian Party's Response to the State of the Union Address Archived 2008-01-31 at the Wayback Machine, LP web site
  6. Libertarian Beats President Bush to the Punch on State of the Union, PRWeb
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