SOTU Responses Galore

By: Rob
Published On: 1/28/2008 10:48:37 PM

Later tonight, Drum Major Institute will be doing its rapid response to the last (thank God!) State of the Union address of the Bush presidency.  In the meantime, Think Progress is doing a great job breaking down the speech.  Here's an example:

SOTU: State Of The Economy Is Failing For Americans Who Need It Most

Bush said: "In the long run, Americans can be confident about our economic growth."

FACT - NUMBER OF AMERICANS LIVING IN POVERTY HAS INCREASED: In 2006, the latest year for which Census Bureau figures are available, 12.3 percent of Americans were living in poverty, compared with 11.7 percent in 2001, the year of the last recession. 36.5 million people were in poverty (Reuters, 1/23/08, Census)

FACT - HOURLY AND WEEKLY WAGES FELL IN 2007: Both hourly and weekly earnings fell in 2007, a sharp reversal from the gains in 2006. After growing by about 2% in 2006, both hourly and weekly earnings fell, after adjusting for inflation, by about 1% last year. (EPI, 1/16/08)

FACT - NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED IS RISING: Between December 2006 and December 2007, the national unemployment rate increased by 13.6 percent in seasonally adjusted terms, from 4.4 to 5.0 percent. The number of unemployed civilians in the United States increased by 13.2 percent between December 2006 and December 2007. (BLS)

And we'll have video of the Democratic response from Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius (text) once it's available.

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