Democratic response to the 2006 State of the Union address

Kaine's diction emphasizes the role of elected officials as public servants, portraying the duties of office as a "higher calling" and referring to the federal government's duty to "serve the American people" as a frustrated "mission" due to the Bush administration's "poor choices and bad management."

Bush, "... even tough debates can be conducted in a civil tone... our differences cannot be allowed to harden into anger... we must act in a spirit of good will and respect for one another."

Kaine asks rhetorically, "Why should we allow this administration to pass down the bill for its reckless spending to our children and grandchildren?"

Announcing a Democrat plan "to educate 100,000 new engineers, scientists and mathematicians in the next four years", Kaine proposes an alternative policy to the Bush administration.

Instead, he points to "record investments in education... [resulting in] more accredited schools [and] better student test scores", and attributes this to Virginian bipartisan cooperation.

The success of Kaine and Warner in rebuilding the Democratic Party in the Republican-leaning state was rewarded with Kaine's response to President Bush, which highlighted the competence of Virginia's Democratic administration with the perceived incompetence of the Bush Administration in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.