Boston University students who watched President Bush’s State of the Union address Tuesday night mostly agreed the speech was effective, although they did not agree with the content.
The most polarized opinions were of the president’s strong language for the countries his administration accuses of supporting terrorism. He called Iran, Iraq and North Korea an “axis of evil.”
“I agree that the ‘axis of evil’ needs to be dealt with … [Bush] expressed that in a very charismatic and non-threatening way,” said Matthew Tabor, a College of Arts and Sciences senior.
Tabor said the State of the Union was a “solid speech” from a “solid leader” and Bush’s strong words for terrorist nations were reminiscent of Churchill’s words for Hitler.
Kayleigh Shoen, a College of Communication junior, was “disgusted” by President Bush’s diction, but she said the issues he addressed were important.
“I think he definitely did a good job,” Shoen said. “But it makes me really uncomfortable when he uses the word evil.”
The overall reaction to the speech was positive.
CAS senior David Micki agreed the United States needs to be watchful of Iran, Iraq, North Korea and other nations that the Bush administrations believes harbor terrorists.
“He stated very clearly what he wanted to do for the next year,” Micki said.
Raakhee Mirchandani, a COM junior, said Bush did a good job, compared to other speeches he has given since Sept. 11. She also said the content was “on point.”
Emerson College sophomore Chris Moscardi agreed the speech was “a pretty decent speech,” though he is not normally a supporter of Bush.
Despite being a Democrat, College of General Studies freshman Blair Ellin admitted she thought Bush gave a good speech, although she said she does not usually agree with him.
School of Management junior Justin Char said the speech played off the war on terrorism to distract from what he deemed Bush’s poor handling of domestic issues.
“The speech had a duel nature,” Char said. “But [Bush] didn’t cover [domestic issues] as much as I hoped he would.
“He hasn’t handled domestic issues well.”
Char was particularly disappointed by the president’s reluctance to speak directly about the Enron scandal.
Bush asked congress to enact new safeguards for retirement and 401(k) plans, but did not refer specifically to Enron.
“I think he did a pretty good job for George Bush,” Char said.
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