WASHINGTON - President Bush said Monday he has "a big agenda in mind" for his second term that begins this week and that four years is going to be a short time to meet all his goals.
"We got to get moving and get some things done before - before people kind of write me off," Bush told CBS News in an interview.
He said he hopes that with his final election behind him, Republicans and Democrats in Congress will work together to pass his legislation. Unity will be the most important theme of his inaugural address on Thursday, he said as he taped separate interviews with CBS, ABC and NBC.
"I have a responsibility to try to unite this country to achieve big things for all Americans," Bush told ABC News. "I will say that in my inaugural address. I'm looking forward to the challenge."
He said he'll announce his "big agenda" at the State of the Union address in two weeks, but it will reflect his campaign promises. Those include overhauling Social Security and the legal liability system; improving the tax code, school standards and the budget process; and making health care accessible to more Americans.
Before the State of the Union, Iraqis will hold the first elections for their new government. Although turnout is not expected to be high as voters face violence at the polls, Bush said the election itself is a success. "Having the vote is a victory for those of us who love freedom," Bush told "NBC Nightly News."
Besides Bush's swearing in on Thursday, the inaugural week festivities include a salute to America's military and several lavish balls. Bush said he doesn't think all the pomp is excessive despite the war and last month's devastating tsunami.
Bush said it's important to celebrate a "peaceful transfer of power" and that he suspects inauguration guests have been generous in donating to tsunami victims. "You can be equally concerned about our troops in Iraq and those who suffered at the tsunamis with celebrating democracy," he told CBS.
The president opened his inaugural week Monday with a salute to outgoing Secretary of State Colin Powell and the late Martin Luther King Jr. on the official observance of the slain civil rights leader's birthday.
Bush presented Powell and his wife, Alma, with the John Thompson Legacy of a Dream Award during an afternoon ceremony at the Kennedy Center, calling Powell "one of the most effective and admired diplomats in America's history."
