President Bush signed-on to the networks' airwaves promptly at 9:07p.m. (EST) on January 31 to address the nation in his State of the Union speech. Bush's speech was expected to be a stern message aimed at taking charge of America's oil woes by stating, "America is addicted to oil" and must break away from its dependence on foreign suppliers. His message was also expected to address the continuing war on terror.

But we wondered if Bush's speech writers and advisors would alter his original script and include a message about the passing of Coretta Scott King, who died Monday night in Santa Monica.

Mrs. King, 78, suffered a stroke and a mild heart attack last August and had been undergoing rehabilitation treatments at a holistic health center in California.

Earlier in the day, a White House spokesman delivered remarks by Bush to reporters that stated, "Mrs. King was a remarkable and courageous woman and a great civil rights leader,". Commendable words, but we wanted to see if Mr. Bush would publicly acknowledge the importance of Coretta Scott King's legacy and her contributions to American history.

Bush (probably at the direction of his writers) made those statements, but it did not cause a stir of harmony in the hearts of Black Americans.

Bush's popularity among African-Americans has never been extraordinary and many continue to search for words of racial unity in his dialogue. None was presented during his speech and most likely won't be before his term is up in 2008.

When speaking about the economic strain the Baby-boomer generation is about to cause on the American economy, Bush called for the creation of a commission to investigate the rising costs of supporting that generation. He further stated, "We need a bi-partisan manner to get this problem solved."

These are the words African-American leaders and the Black community look for in regards to recognizing social inbalances, racial disparities in healthcare, or racial prejudices and social oppression. What about prejudicial injustices in our cities, schools, and workplaces? How about a bi-partisan commission to investigate poverty, or the stark differences in the standards of living that are seemingly based on social status.

When concluding his segment about the war on terror in foreign lands, Bush stated, "Abroad our nation is committed to an historic, long-term goal."

This sounds like the type of mindset that needs to permeate our nations' capital to help promote a better social structure for our own people here in the U.S.

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