President Bush pledges to focus on Middle East

President Bush yesterday reinforced the message of his inaugural address by saying that he believed the American people had given him a mandate to spread freedom around the world.

Though he called the act of swearing his inauguration oath on the Bible a 'humbling experience', Bush gave every sign that he is intent on a radical second term of spreading the Bush Doctrine abroad and reforming government at home.

Bush, who beat Democratic challenger John Kerry by just 2.5 per cent in November's election, said victory at the ballot box had given him the authority to pursue his policies. 'America's elected leaders derive their authority from the consent of the American people whom we serve,' he said.

Bush singled out the Middle East as the main area of the world needing greater democracy and human rights. 'We will continue to promote freedom, hope and democracy in the broader Middle East,' he said.

In a further indication that he is determined that his second term will not become a 'lame duck' presidency, the President said he was keen to get back to work in the White House. 'I'm eager to begin the work of a new term,' he said.

However, polls taken after last week's inauguration speech, which was themed almost entirely on pledges to fight tyranny across the world, revealed a deep scepticism among many Americans as to whether he could match his idealistic words with realistic actions.

A Gallup poll taken after the inaugural festivities showed that 60 per cent of Americans believed their country could not achieve Bush's stated goal of ending tyranny around the world: only 35 per cent believed the task was achievable.

The poll also showed that many of the deep partisan divides remain in place after one of the bitterest election fights in American history. Despite Bush's pledges last week on uniting America, only 8 per cent of Democrats believed he would do so. By contrast, 73 per cent of Republicans thought Bush could unite a divided country.

There was some good news for Bush in the poll, which showed that the speech had been generally well received across the political spectrum. More than 62 per cent of all Americans rated his speech excellent or good, regardless of their political persuasion while only 11 per cent saw it as poor or terrible.

In his radio address, Bush also pledged to keep fighting the war on terror and the war in Iraq.

'When America gives its word, America must keep its word,' he said. On the war on terror, Bush said that American forces and their allies were capturing and killing terrorists across the globe.

'Our enemies have found America more than equal to the task [of the war on terror]. In response to attacks on our home soil, we have captured or killed terrorists across the earth,' he said.

Bush also spoke about his wide-ranging domestic plans for a second term. They include tax reform, liberalising immigration laws with a 'guest worker plan', expanding reforms in education and overhauling the country's entire social security plan.

It is this latter area where most experts believe Bush will face his biggest challenges. The President plans to part-privatise social security and create personal retirement accounts for many Americans.

However, unlike in many other areas of policy, Bush could face considerable opposition to his plans from within his own Republican ranks when it comes to removing such state benefits.

Despite that prospect of a Republican civil war, Bush pledged that he would push his radical domestic agenda through.

'In this ownership society, every citizen will have a real stake in the promise of America. And our most valued institutions will be better prepared to meet the new challenges of a new time,' the President said.