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 (AP)  A politically weakened President Bush implored
a skeptical Congress Tuesday night to embrace his unpopular plan to
send more U.S. troops to Iraq, saying it represents the best chance
in a war America must not lose. "Give it a chance to work," he
said.
   

   Facing a political showdown with Democrats and Republicans
alike, Bush was unyielding on Iraq in his annual State of the Union
address. He also sought to revive his troubled presidency with
proposals to expand health insurance coverage and to slash gasoline
consumption by 20 percent in a decade.


      Democrats - and even some Republicans - scoffed at his Iraq
policy.

      "We need a new direction," said freshman Sen. Jim Webb, picked
by the Democrats to deliver their response to Bush. "The majority
of the nation no longer supports the way this war is being fought;
nor does the majority of our military," said Webb, a Vietnam
veteran opposed to Bush's invasion of Iraq, in his prepared
remarks.

      Republican Sen. Norm Coleman of Minnesota, also took issue with
Bush. "I can't tell you what the path to success is, but it's not
what the president has put on the table," he said.

      It was a night of political theater as Bush went before the
first Democratic-controlled Congress in a dozen years with his
lowest approval ratings in polls.

      Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California, the first woman
to lead the House, sat over Bush's shoulder, next to Vice President
Dick Cheney. Reaching out to the Democrats, Bush opened with a
tribute to Pelosi and paused to shake her hand. He also asked for
prayers for Sen. Tim Johnson, hospitalized for more than a month
after suffering a brain hemorrhage. The speech audience included up
to a dozen House and Senate members who have announced they are
running for president or are considered possible contenders.

      Bush divided his speech between domestic and foreign issues but
the war was topic No. 1.

      With Congress poised to deliver a stinging rebuke on his troop
increase, he made a personal plea to lawmakers.

      "I have spoken with many of you in person. I respect you and
the arguments you made," Bush said. "We went into this largely
united, in our assumptions and in our convictions. And whatever you
voted for, you did not vote for failure."

      "Our country is pursuing a new strategy in Iraq and I ask you
to give it a chance to work," Bush said. "And I ask you to
support our troops in the field and those on their way."

      He said the Iraq war had changed dramatically with the outbreak
of sectarian warfare and reprisals.

      "This is not the fight we entered in Iraq, but it is the fight
we are in," the president said. "Every one of us wishes that this
war were over and won. Yet it would not be like us to leave our
promises unkept, our friends abandoned and our own security at
risk.

      "Ladies and gentlemen: On this day, at this hour, it is still
within our power to shape the outcome of this battle," the
president said. "So let us find our resolve and turn events toward
victory."

      In his address, Bush reached out to Democrats, saying,
"Congress has changed but our responsibilities have not. We are
not the first to come here with government divided and uncertainty
in the air. Like many before us, we can work through our
differences and achieve big things for the American people."

      Key Republicans have joined Democrats in drafting resolutions of
opposition to the plans he announced two weeks ago to send an
additional 21,500 troops to Iraq. Bush said his approach had the
best chance to succeed, but clearly many lawmakers - and
overwhelming majority of Americans - disagreed.

      "Many in this chamber understand that America must not fail in
Iraq because you understand that the consequences of failure would
be grievous and far reaching," the president said. "If American
forces step back before Baghdad is secure, the Iraqi government
would be overrun by extremists on all sides."

      In such a case, he forecast "an epic battle," Shiite
extremists backed by Iran against Sunni extremists aided by
al-Qaida and supporters of Saddam Hussein's government, leading to
violence that could spread across the Middle East. "For America,
this is a nightmare scenario," Bush said.

      Unlike the friendly Republican-dominated Senate and House of the
past six years, the new Congress has not shied from challenging the
president.

      "Our citizens don't care much which side of the aisle we sit on
- as long as we are willing to cross that aisle when there is work
to be done," said Bush, who for six years ignored Democrats'
demands to be included in decisions.

      He pressed Congress to help find ways to overhaul entitlements
such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid before they impose
huge problems for future generations.

      "Somehow we have not found it in ourselves to act," he said.
"So let us work together and do it now."

      On immigration, too, the president made a plea to lawmakers that
he has made before. Members of his own party were the main obstacle
to success in that area - a fact Bush acknowledged even as he
pressed for a better result now than Capitol Hill is run by
Democrats more amenable to his ideas.

      "Convictions run deep in this Capitol when it comes to
immigration," he said. "Let us have a serious, civil and
conclusive debate."

      Bush said his energy proposals would cut American imports by the
equivalent of 75 percent of the oil coming from the Middle East.
His prescription, as always, relied primarily on market incentives
and technological advances - not government mandates.

      "America is on the verge of technological breakthroughs that
will enable us to live our lives less dependent on oil," he said.
"These technologies will help us become better stewards of the
environment - and they will help us to confront the serious
challenge of global climate change."

      Bush called for changing the tax code to encourage more people
not covered by medical insurance to buy a plan, and to discourage
others from keeping the most costly health care plans.

      Under Bush's proposal, employer-financed health care benefits
would be considered taxable income after a deduction of $15,000 for
families and $7,500 for individuals. Those buying their own plan
would get the same deductions on their taxes.

      The White House said 80 percent of workers with health insurance
through their jobs would see a tax cut as a result of the change.
But about 20 percent would see a tax increase - those workers whose
health insurance cost more than the standard deduction.

      "With this reform, more than 100 million men, women and
children who are now covered by employer-provided insurance will
benefit from lower tax bills," Bush said. "At the same time, this
reform will level the playing field for those who do not get health
insurance through their job."

      The administration sought to make Bush's energy initiatives - in
particular a 20 percent cut in gasoline usage by 2017 - an
eye-catching centerpiece of his address, the one major element not
revealed until hours before the speech. "It is in our vital
interest to diversify America's energy supply, and the way forward
is through technology," Bush said.

      The cut would be achieved primarily through a sharp escalation
in the amount of ethanol and other alternative fuels that the
government mandates must be blended into the fuel supply. The rest
would come from raising fuel economy standards for passenger cars,
a plan that Bush has proposed in the past but failed to win from
Congress.

      Acknowledging that some would say such a drastic increase in
alternative fuels is unrealistic, the White House argued that the
new mandate - which would need approval from Congress - would spur
investments in the industry and give technological research a
boost.

      While setting cutback goals, the president spurned appeals from
environmentalists and some major corporations to impose mandatory
ceilings on U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in hopes of slowing
climate change.

Gallery

Mondale: Iraq war is a "great tragedy"

Pawlenty sets Minn. energy goal: 25 percent renewables by 2025

Construction concerns stall new ethanol  plants

Debate over troop surge heats up

Coleman on Iraq: Politics or principles?

National Guard confirms longer tour in Iraq

Politics and Government News

A politically weakened President Bush implored
a skeptical Congress Tuesday night to embrace his unpopular plan to
send more U.S. troops to Iraq, saying it represents the best chance
in a war America must not lose.

Bush defends Iraq plan to skeptical Congress, nation: "America must not fail"

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