President Barack Obama challenged a newly divided Congress Tuesday to continue the debate necessary for a healthy democracy, while remembering they must “move forward together, or not at all.”
The president first congratulated the Congress, recognized the absence of Rep. Gabby Giffords, and gave a nod to the gesture of cooperation made by members of Congress who chose to sit with a member of the opposing party.
In an unusually thematic State of the Union address before a joint session of Congress, the president detailed a plan to “win the future.”
Although he structured his annual address differently than those given in the past, Obama did not completely depart from the tactic of connecting recently won political victories to his new agenda for the coming year.
While I predicted the president would use this device, I actually expected him to use an extensive list of political achievements tied to many specific proposals for the coming year. Instead, his speech seemed organized largely by subject.
Obama linked the repeal of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy that once barred gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military to a call for the nation’s colleges and universities to welcome military recruiters and ROTC programs.
As predicted, the president also encouraged Americans to stand behind our troops and their families.
When pointing to the passage of health care reform, a hot button issue between the parties, Obama took a more conciliatory approach than I predicted. He did not rule out the possibility of improving upon the bill and actually invited lawmakers to present new ideas that would improve upon health care. However, as expected, he made it clear that certain provisions contained in the bill, like coverage for pre-existing conditions, were not negotiable.
As anticipated, Obama touted the steps taken over the last two years to grow the economy and create jobs. Obama’s plan to put those in the construction trades to work on the country’s aging infrastructure through economic stimulus is to continue. However, the president’s plan for future job creation seemed geared toward creating a business climate where jobs would be created by the private sector.
Obama linked the need to rebuild the country’s infrastructure with the need for high-speed rail and high-speed Internet.
Obama did indeed refer to the need for America’s moral leadership among the nations of the world. However, he stated that America’s standing has been restored. I did not expect his “mission accomplished” stance on this subject.
The president pointed to this renewed American leadership just before he referred to the progress made toward ending the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He also linked restored American leadership to our stance on nuclear weapons and the forging of alliances with many nations.
In regard to foreign policy matters, I predicted that the president would reference China’s changing role in the world, trade and the need for diplomatic relations with other countries.
With globalization a reality, China and India were mentioned as examples of nations who prepared to compete for jobs by investing in new technologies and education in math and science. Obama also stated that we recently signed trade agreements with China, India and South Korea.
While I successfully forecast many of the issues President Obama addressed, several of his proposals took me by surprise.
President Obama’s plan to reduce the deficit requires Democrats and Republicans alike to make hard choices in order to reign in spending.
His proposal to reorganize the federal government in an effort to cut waste was something I did not expect. Nor did I expect him to recommend a five-year freeze on annual domestic spending.
The president reminded us of the way America rose to the challenge of the race to the moon, spurred on by the Soviet’s launch of sputnik. He cited the investments made at that time in research and education and the “wave of innovation” that created millions of new jobs.
Calling this “our generation’s sputnik moment,” Obama urged Americans to innovate, educate and once again “reinvent ourselves” in order to compete in a rapidly changing global economy.
The president urged Americans to “win the race to educate our kids” and proposed raising expectations for our children and making higher education possible for all.
Obama’s second State of the Union delivered hope for the future built upon past evidence of American ingenuity and spirit.
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