Red ink, purple ink

State of the Union | President Bush outlines an ambitious but costly second-term agenda and celebrates a costly victory in the battle for democracy in Iraq | Bob Jones

"The state of our union is strong," President Bush declared barely a minute into his annual address before a joint session of Congress on Feb. 2—but he might have been referring to the state of his administration, as well. Emboldened by a decisive election at home and energized by democratic rumblings abroad, Mr. Bush laid out an ambitious agenda that would, if enacted, long outlive his own tenure in the White House.

The newly confident president addressed head-on a number of issues he might have handled more delicately in the past. He predicted peace between Israel and Palestine, publicly scolded nondemocratic allies like Egypt and Saudi Arabia, and unabashedly declared, "I support a constitutional amendment to protect the institution of marriage."