"The President delivered a fine address this evening. Clearly, President Bush is dedicated to helping every person in our nation live the American Dream. I fear the media is already focusing far too much attention on the 2008 Presidential election. The President’s speech tonight addressed important issues and proved we can make important strides in the next two years. The initiatives the President spoke about this evening will make every American safer, more secure, and healthier."

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"I support the President’s efforts to make health care more affordable and more available. Small business men and women are the foundation of our nation’s economy, and many of them are self employed. Unfortunately, these individuals do not have the option of purchasing insurance from an employer.

"As a result, too many people around the nation and in Wyoming – small business owners like farmers and ranchers – are forced to purchase very expensive health insurance on the individual market. Worse, many go without any insurance at all.

"The President's proposal will level the playing field for Americans who purchase health insurance on their own rather than through their employers, providing a substantial tax benefit for all those who now have health insurance purchased on the individual market."

"The President’s proposal to reduce America’s consumption of gasoline by 20 (twenty) percent in 10 years – "Twenty in Ten" could have very exciting implications for Wyoming because of our potential in the arena of renewable energy.

"Wyoming has long been a leader in producing the traditional fossil fuels our nation depends on. Wyoming can also be a leader in the production of the renewable and alternative fuels the President called for this evening. This is an exciting opportunity for our state – as well as an important challenge.

"Wyoming has a long history of boom and bust energy cycles. In order to avoid another bust in the future and remain at the forefront of domestic energy production today, our state must improve its outdated pipeline infrastructure and develop the additional transmission infrastructure necessary to deliver Wyoming-produced energy to the rest of the nation.

"The Abandoned Mine Lands legislation I wrote and worked to get passed will deliver a substantial amount of funding to Wyoming – $1.6 billion dollars over the next fifteen years. I would love to work with our state legislature and the governor in an effort towards making the infrastructure improvements that will protect Wyoming’s status as one of the elite energy producing states in our nation.

"Investing dollars in energy transmission -- mixed with a healthy supply of new renewable energy production -- would benefit Wyoming economy and compliment the President’s goal of reducing our dependency on foreign oil."

"Now more than ever, I stand behind the President in his efforts to rid the world of the forces of terror who seek to harm Americans.

"We cannot be strong in Iraq if we are not strong in purpose here at home. If there is one lesson America learned in Vietnam, it is that our Armed Forces cannot be strong in the field if we in the home front are cowering or wavering.

"I truly believe that the American public believes in what we are fighting for in the War on Terror. I believe that Americans are fully aware of the threats wielded by a politically unstable Middle East. I am yet to find a single Wyomingite that would rather fight terrorists here on our soil than in the Middle East.

"If the American media would reflect our nation’s desire for a more stable world community and commitment to defeating terrorist forces, it would be much easier for Americans to support the mission of our troops as a united front.

Furthermore, I am sorely disappointed that contemporary media has spent far too much time focusing on negative news stories, almost completely ignoring positive news. For example, since the President’s tax cuts took effect in 2003, our economy has boomed.

"The economy has grown nearly three percent over the last four quarters – faster than any other major industrialized country. More than 7 million American jobs have been created since August 2003.

"Wyoming’s unemployment stands at a mere 3.0 percent. The message there is that if you want a job, you can have one in our state. That’s good news, and I think the media owes it to readers to spread more good news like that."