SPEECH PROVIDES INSIGHT IN AMERICA'S CHARACTER

A nation locked in combat found reassurance Tuesday night not in weapons, but in words. If Americans needed a focal point for their newly unified spirit, they discovered it in President George Bush's State of the Union address. The U.S. leader gave voice to themes that remind us about what it means to be an American.

In delivering the third State of the Union message of his presidency, and probably the most important policy speech of his career, President Bush faced a task as enviable as it was intimidating. On one hand, he was speaking to a captive audience, an attentive country seeking a sign that things are going well. This leader, on the just side of a good-versus-evil conflict, spoke with a confidence sure to reflect on the people he represents. Still, it could be no speech of light weight; the right tone had to be sounded. Under these conditions, the president delivered; he hit all the notes right.

While much of the address dealt with the current war in the Persian Gulf, a lot of what President Bush said provided a foundation for why the United States is there in the first place. America, he said, occupies a special place in the global community, with the moral capacity to recognize tyranny and the strength to stand up to it. For the United States to allow Saddam Hussein's aggression in Kuwait to stand would be to give up our nation's unique station. It would be to let down not only ourselves as a nation but the freedom-loving countries of the world who look to America for leadership in troubling times.

Examine the words and deeds of two nations at war and find easily the character of America that Bush spoke of. While Iraq ran roughshod over a weak neighbor, America rushed abroad to curb the on~slaught. While the United States makes efforts not to punish the people of Iraq for the crimes of their leader, Saddam fires terrorist weapons at innocent civilians in neutral countries. While the invaders wage a campaign of environmental destruction and prisoner mistreatment, the United States looks to lead a new world order in which all people can enjoy life's freedoms.

President Bush spoke of a moral cause and a "community of conscience." Saddam has repeatedly lied to his people about the state of Iraq's war effort and that nation's ability to prevail in this fight. No greater contrast exists than that between the aims, desires and morality of these two leaders. And there is no greater illustration of the rightness of America's course.