What am I to do? We are at a time of war in a crossroad in our nation's history. It is of the utmost importance that we support our leader, George W. Bush, as we fight those who are responsible for the terrorist attacks of September. As difficult as it may be at times, that's exactly what I will do.

But as the nation moves forward in this war on terrorism, Washington must also address the issues that mattered most to Americans before Sept. 11 and remain important at present. While we all hope this spirit of bipartisanship endures as the pre-Sept. 11 issues return to the forefront, the Bush administration must be expected to reach out to the congressional Democrats and put action into the president's words.

During his State of the Union address Tuesday, President Bush outlined many initiatives that seem to belie his previous right-of-Reagan agenda. President Bush talking about protecting the environment? Saving Social Security? Passing a Patients Bill of Rights? President Bush even asked the Congress to hold the line on spending and maintain fiscal responsibility.

The foremost domestic issue Washington needs to address is the budget. President Bush presented the first federal budget in the red in four years, thus completely evaporating the largest federal budget surplus in American history. The Bush administration has yet to offer a plan on how he plans on increase domestic security, secure the stability of Social Security and Medicaid, and do all this within the federal budget.

Holding the line on spending will only go so far and will not protect the Social Security surplus we enjoyed during the Clinton-Gore years. Social Security and Medicare are in a tenuous state, and we must protect these programs for future generations. To revisit the tax-cut would be futile, but the Bush administration cannot operate the budget in deficit if the economy is to recover from this nearly yearlong recession.

Another important domestic issue is that of a Patients Bill of Rights, a fixture on any newspaper's front page for years. We cannot wait any longer for a comprehensive Patients Bill of Rights that gives patients the right to sue their health care provider if they are negligent in their care. This issue has been tabled far too long, and there are sufficient votes in both chambers for this legislation to be passed.

On the environmental front, the Bush administration needs to re-evaluate if we are to continue this movement of bipartisanship. Since the 2000 campaign, the president has proposed drilling in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge. To do so would turn one of our nations most treasured natural habitats into a spiderweb of oil drilling equipment.

Naturally the president still faces stiff opposition in both chambers of Congress. The Bush administration can expect a quick end to the bipartisan movement in Washington if this stipulation remains in their energy proposal.

And about that energy proposal, the biggest pretzel to swallow for the American people: Enron and it's apparent ties to the Bush administration. Now, I won't get ahead of myself, but the facts surrounding Washington's first big scandal of the Bush presidency are hard to ignore.

Vice President Cheney's refusal to release documentation of his energy task force meetings has been very suspicious since last summer, before the word "Enron" became synonymous with corporate futility. Now the Bush administration contends that if the Vice President were to release the documents to the General Accounting Office, the powers of the executive branch to conduct meetings in private would be compromised.

Such an assertion, as the president made on the White House lawn just this Monday, rings the bells of Washington dishonesty with full force. Contrary to what the Bush administration may have you believe, the GOA is not asking for documentation of what was said and done during these meetings. The GOA, a non-partisan investigative arm of Congress, is only asking for who attended these meetings, when they met, and what came out of the task force meetings. Such a request is hardly unprecedented. In fact, the GOA and many disgruntled Republicans asked for and received such information in 1993 from then First Lady Hillary Clinton and her health care task force.

These are the issues that remain and will be addressed in the coming months. President Bush's approval rating is high. So high in fact, that even I count myself as a supporter of his. But many Democrats will be watching the President as he addresses these domestic issues. Bipartisanship hangs in the balance, and we wait to see how the President will lead in 2002.