(Sacramento) - Assemblymember Swanson (D-Oakland) gave a highly critical assessment of Presidents Bush's final State of the Union today in Sacramento. "The President's legacy after two terms is a 5 year war of choice that has lead to a painful loss of our nation's blood and resources. The President's policies have been polarizing, and have resulted in his administration neglecting a domestic agenda that has resulted in an economic crisis at home," Mr. Swanson stated.

Additionally, while the President stated he will withdraw 20,000 from Iraq, he also stated that he will increase troop activity in Afghanistan. "The President is playing a shell game with the American people, doing everything he can to continue a war that is ruinous to our budget, and to the lives and societies of many people abroad," Mr. Swanson added.

In terms of domestic issues, Mr. Swanson expressed his disappointment that the President remained silent on many important issues facing the country.

"The President spoke about the need to widen access to health care, but he did not explain why he vetoed the SCHIP bill, which would have provided quality access to health care for millions of impoverished children. The President stressed the need to address global climate change, and that we should create an international agreement to reduce the growth of greenhouse gasses. However, he did not explain why he refused to sign the Kyoto Protocol, which has that exact aim, and has been signed by the vast majority of developed nations."

Looking ahead, Mr. Swanson stressed the importance of state and local officials actively working with the Congress to address these and other issues that are important to the American people. "We need universal access to health care. Most importantly, we need to redirect the resources we have been wasting on these wars abroad to address the economic and social problems that have only been exacerbated by the actions of this administration."