Bush embarked on his presidency attempting to sell himself to Congress and to the American people after an election that some claim provided him with no clear mandate as president. He has already toured the country and endeavored to woo a number of influential Democrats, following up on his campaign promise to do away with partisan politics.
Some campaign promises, however, could prove more difficult to keep.
On Monday Bush laid out an ambitious agenda before Congress, touching on subjects ranging from education reform to the restructuring of the military, plans which all paled by the side of Bush's controversial tax cut.
Although the new president began rallying support for his tax cut during the election, Monday's speech to Congress was his first real opportunity to build public support for the proposal, which has been greeted with mixed emotions ever since he presented it as a candidate.
The most disputed aspect of Bush's new plan is its size -- the president intends to return $1.6 trillion to taxpayers over the upcoming decade.
"Tax relief is right and tax relief is urgent," Bush said in his speech to Congress.
As anticipated, the plan met with significant Democratic skepticism, despite the president's call to overcome partisan politics.
"If what we heard tonight sounds too good to be true, it probably is," Dick Gephardt, Minority Leader of the House, warned in an piece by NBC News.
"President Bush's budget numbers simply don't add up," Gephardt continued, echoing campaign criticisms of "fuzzy math."
The controversy once again airs the long-debated difference between big tax cuts versus more modest tax cuts, with a few differences -- most notably Bush's new promise to reduce the debt as fast as is economically prudent, a traditionally Democratic platform.
"Many of you have talked about the need to pay down our national debt. I listened and I agree," Bush noted in his speech.
Although Bush did not go as far as many opponents hoped, advisors expect that the new facet of Bush's economic plan will reassure the American people that Bush shares their priorities, and therefore undercut Democratic opposition to the tax cut.
"Much of the president's argument is that because the surplus is large, you don't have to make any unpleasant choices," a senior administration official said in the Washington Post.
"There is ample money to meet our needs, pay down debt, have a contingency fund and still reduce taxes," he continued.
Bush also attempted to reassure the people that despite fears, his new budget would continue to fund the government programs they care about most.
"Our new governing vision says government should be active but limited, engaged but not overbearing," Bush said.
Bush also called for quick action in his speech -- he intends to jump-start the slowing economy by returning $1.6 trillion to taxpayers over the next ten years " and Congress responded.
House Speaker Dennis Hastert said yesterday that the House would vote on a version of Bush's tax cut proposal early next week " a rather unusual, and rather expedited, treatment.
Bill Thomas R-Calif., chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, intends to offer legislation closely resembling Bush's plan that would make tax relief retroactive to Jan. 1, 2001 while simultaneously accelerating the cut for the lowest bracket taxpayers.
