It's been a tough second term for President Bush.

Republican finance scandals, Hurricane Katrina and continuing fighting in Iraq made 2005 stressful.

Bush tried to push past the rough start and outline his goals for the next few years in his State of the Union address Tuesday.

But it was what he didn't mention in his speech that's important.

Somewhat surprising was how brief Bush's mention of Hurricane Katrina and the devastation in the Gulf Coast region was.

The hurricane had a dramatic impact on this country: It killed more than 1,000 people and destroyed entire portions of states. But he only referenced the hurricane a handful of times, saying the government had given money to help those displaced by the hurricane.

He didn't give enough details of the government's plans to rebuild this area. You would think such an enormous natural disaster would warrant more space in his speech.

You'd also think he could give a little space to detailing a strategy in Iraq.

Instead, he repeated his party's line, saying Americans needed to stand firm against terrorism and that U.S. forces can't leave the area now because it would fall into chaos.

He pointed to success in the country, including elections that were held and Iraqi forces that were being trained.

But there was no mention of when he's bringing our troops home.

No deadline. No timeline.

No idea of when the conflict will be over or if the end is near.

Bush said there is a clear plan for victory in Iraq. He just didn't say what it was.

He did, however, remind Americans that wiretapping and spying are necessary and other presidents have done it, so it's not a big deal if he does too. Bush also said the USA Patriot Act, which many fear can trample the constitutional rights of Americans, needs to be reauthorized.

Both are frightening statements. Both pose a threat to civil liberties and shouldn't be allowed simply because Bush says so.

Bush moved from talking about terrorism in Iraq to talking about terrorism in other Middle Eastern countries, including Iran.

In 2006, he said, more than half of the people in the world live under a democracy. Justice in the world requires that all countries be democratic, Bush said.

What's the plan, then? To spread democracy all over the world, one invasion at a time?

Bush said America doesn't mind leading the world because it makes us more secure. He reminded everyone that "freedom is on the march."

It's disheartening that Bush thought it more appropriate to spend so much time talking about bringing freedom to the people of Iran when there are people in the Gulf Coast region who are still unsure of their own futures.

Bush did address other domestic issues, including developing alternative energy resources and working to make the country less dependent on foreign sources of oil.

Hopefully, the same amount of money spent looking for oil in other parts of the world can now be spent on researching hybrid cars or solar-powered buildings.

Bush's alternative energy push is also good since Gov. Jennifer Granholm, in her State of the State address last week, said Michigan needs to be at the epicenter of developing alternative energy for the country.

She also acknowledged that MSU is working as a leader in the bioeconomy fields, and will be part of helping to move Michigan ahead.

Hopefully, MSU can continue to be a part of this research and attract federal and state money.

And education was also a part of Bush's address.

He announced the American Competitiveness Initiative, which would get more teachers into schools to teach students math and science.

It's great Bush is addressing an issue that has been around for some time. America needs to be focusing on educating students better in the math and science fields, where many future jobs will be.

The only problem, however, is how that program will be funded. School districts all over the country are laying off teachers they can't afford to have. If schools can't afford those teachers, how will they be able to afford more math and science teachers?

It's an interesting program, but details still are needed to see how it could work.

Besides education and energy, Bush also briefly but predictably inserted his own moral and religious ideology into the speech. Many Americans, he said are worried about "activist" judges redefining marriage and unethical public officials.

As evident by the success of the gay marriage ban that passed in Michigan last fall, there are people who don't like gay marriage.

But its presence in his speech felt out of place, just another chance to emphasize his ideology and morals. The ideology shared by many in his party — many of whom will be up for re-election this fall. Much of their success will depend on what Bush does in these next few months.

If he wants the Republicans to maintain control of Congress, he will have to convince those Americans afraid of gay marriage and unethical politicians that his party can rise above fundraising and campaign scandals.

Although the speech was well-written, and actually well-spoken at times, the meanings behind the words seemed more euphemistic than they actually are.

Bush's address left a lot of Americans wondering what exactly the state of the union is.