Iowa Governor to issue Democratic response to President’s radio address

Iowa’s Governor will deliver the Democratic response to President Bush’s weekly radio address tomorrow, and Tom Vilsack will stress that the U-S must remain “strong at home” in order to remain “strong in the world.” Vilsack says Bush has a responsibility to ensure there’s economic opportunity in this country. Vilsack says with rising unemployment, depleted pension funds and health care issues that’re creating anxiety, there’s a sense that Bush isn ‘t focusing as much of his attention on domestic problems as he is on problems abroad. Vilsack says Democrats need to focus on the nation’s domestic agenda, but he admits they’re walking a tightrope. Vilsack says Democrats want to be supportive of the President at a time when the nation’s anxious about pending war, but he says at the same time there are important domestic issues that can’t be ignored. In his radio speech, Vilsack singles out the federal “No Child Left Behind” legislation because he says Bush isn’t providing enough federal resources to implement it. Vilsack says that means “many children will indeed be left behind.”