WASHINGTON - U.S. lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle saluted President George W. Bush on Tuesday night for his global war on terrorism, yet many Democrats ripped into him for the sluggish economy as they began to frame an election-year debate.

"Ordinary Americans are worse off today than they were one year ago," when Bush, a Republican, first took office, said Rep. Dennis Kucinich, an Ohio Democrat and chairman of the 57-member congressional Progressive Caucus.

"In the past year, more Americans became unemployed than at any time in the last six years" 251 public companies have gone bankrupt ... and the national economy fell into a recession," Kucinich said.

In underscoring the partisan nature of the big night, Democrats and Republicans put out written statements responding to Bush's State of the Union address before he uttered a word.

In fact, hours before Bush arrived on Capitol Hill, Senate Republican Leader Trent Lott of Mississippi declared in an embargoed statement, "Tonight the president was outstanding -- again -- in delivering his message to the American people."

Lott, who like other congressional leaders was given a preview of what Bush planned to say, applauded the president's call for increased spending on national defense and homeland security as well as a push for economic growth.

Said House Republican Whip Tom DeLay of Texas, "We are fortunate to have a president with George W. Bush's moral clarity, certainty of purpose and determination to defend freedom."

Senate Democrats flaunted their allegiance to Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota, a potential 2004 White House contender who came under Republican fire last month when he blocked a Bush-backed economic stimulus package as favoring business over the jobless.

"I'm a Daschle Democrat," read blue-and-white buttons worn by a number of lawmakers.

But in the official Democratic response to Bush's speech, U.S. House of Representatives Minority Leader Richard Gephardt preached bipartisanship.

Gephardt said just as Democrats and Republicans came together after Sept. 11 to wage a war on terrorism, they must now join hands to pump fresh life into the sagging economy.

Even as other members of his party fired off barbs at the White House, Gephardt said, "I refuse to accept that while we stand shoulder to shoulder on the war, we should stand toe to toe on the economy."

Still, in a thinly veiled dig at pro-business Republicans, Gephardt said, "Our values call for helping the unemployed -- not just large corporations and the most fortunate."

Gephardt also called on Bush to join efforts to pass legislation to reduce the influence of money in politics.

Without mentioning the Enron Corp. by name, Gephardt alluded to the collapse of the Houston-based energy giant, a major political donor to both parties.

"If the nation's largest bankruptcy coupled with a clear example of paid political influence isn't a prime case for reform, I don't know what is," said Gephardt.

Bush did not mention campaign finance reform or Enron in his speech. But he drew bipartisan applause when he called for pension reform to help workers whose companies go belly up.

Democrats voiced surprise Bush embraced many of their traditional issues -- like health care, education, volunteerism and environmental protection -- though he will have difficulty funding them.

"It was pretty much a 'Clintonesque speech,'" said Sen. John Breaux, a Louisiana Democrat, "He talked about Democratic ideas" the way President Bill Clinton talked about Republican ones.

But as Sen. Bill Frist, a Tennessee Republican put it: "Unlike Clinton, who listed 300 programs, Bush had eight or nine."

Rep. Steny Hoyer, a Maryland Democrat, said, "I think the president does want to work on the other side of the political aisle, but he has leadership in the House and Senate who aren't interested."

Hoyer complained that last year House and Senate Republicans rebuffed Democrats on taxes, trade and energy.

With Bush riding high in approval ratings, largely as the result of the war on terrorism, Democrats want to put him and his fellow Republicans on the defensive for the economy in this November's elections, when a third of the Senate and entire House will be up for grabs.

With a recession and a war on terrorism to fight, Bush plans to propose an overall increase in spending of about nine percent in the budget he presents to Congress next week.

Much of the money would go to national defense and homeland security, setting aside earlier vows to pay down the national debt and maintain what had been four years of surpluses.

"While we are ready to pay the price, Democrats ask, 'Who will pay the bill?'" asked Rep. John Spratt of South Carolina, ranking Democrat on the House Budget Committee.

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, a Texas Republican, said, "Congress will work in partnership with the president to ensure that our new national priorities are funded." Nampa-Reuters