Democratic response to 2006 State of the Union address

The response to the 2006 State of the Union Address was delivered by Virginia Governor Tim Kaine on January 31, 2006, after United States President George W. Bush delivered his 2006 State of the Union address. The theme of Kaine's speech, "A Better Way," advocates the Democratic Party's policies and states' rights. Kaine delivered the speech from Virginia's historic Executive Mansion in Richmond and the speech was televised nationwide.

Kaine begins his speech by recalling his work as a Catholic missionary in Honduras where he learned the value of measuring one's "life by the difference [one] can make in someone else's life." Kaine mourns the loss of Coretta Scott King, as Bush did in the introduction of his speech, who "embodied that value."

Kaine's diction emphasizes the role of elected officials as public servants, portraying the duties of office as a "higher calling" and referring to the federal government's duty to "serve the American people" as a frustrated "mission" due to the Bush administration's "poor choices and bad management."

Kaine attacks the government's most controversial actions and positions; the Federal response to Hurricane Katrina (See also: Criticism of government response to Hurricane Katrina), "Families in the Gulf Coast see [the government's mistakes] as they wait to rebuild their lives," the United States economy, "Americans who lose their jobs see [the government's mistakes] as they look to rebuild their careers," the Iraq War, "and our soldiers in Iraq see that as they try to rebuild a nation."

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