Video of State of the Union speech (AP Photo)
“Families… are tightening their belts and making tough decisions. The federal government should do the same,” President Obama told Congress Wednesday.
In his first State of the Union address, President Obama was properly confrontational and specific as he addressed the economy and bickering partisanship on Capitol Hill. He acknowledged loss of some of the hope since his election. He said they have to work to rebuild public trust in the federal government.
He also outlined legislative goals including education programs, health-care reform and a jobs bill. A jobs bill passed by the House includes provisions such as giving tax breaks to companies that create jobs in the United States or putting more people to work building clean energy facilities.
“As the first order of business this year, I urge the Senate to do the same, and I know they will. They will. People are out of work. They’re hurting. They need our help. And I want a jobs bill on my desk without delay,” he said in the address to a joint session of Congress.
He also laid out a plan to defend the middle class after years of declining wages and escalating costs.
According to the White House’s Twitter page, about 1 million people watched the State of the Union address via http://www.wh.gov/ . After the speech, they could ask questions and join the discussion via online chat.
“A new decade stretches before us. We don’t quit. I don’t quit. Let’s seize this moment – to start anew, to carry the dream forward, and to strengthen our union once more,” he said in the last lines of his State of the Union.
The president is on the wrong track, according to newly elected Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell who responded to the address.
“What government should not do is pile on more taxation, regulation, and litigation that kill jobs and hurt the middle class,” he said. “It was Thomas Jefferson who called for ‘a wise and frugal government which shall leave men free to regulate their own pursuits of industry ….and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned…’ He was right. Today, the federal government is simply trying to do too much.”
I thought the president’s message was respectful and unifying. The following is a sampling of some statements that stood out to me:
- “We were sent here to serve our citizens, not our ambitions.”
- I will not walk away from the millions of Americans who need health care, and neither should the people in this chamber.”
- “In the 21st century, one of the best anti-poverty programs is a world-class education.”
- “I never said change would be easy. When you try to do big things & make big changes it stirs passions & controversy—that’s just how it is.”
- “I don’t think American elections should be bankrolled by America’s most powerful interests, or worse, by foreign entities.”
- On Wall Street reform: “if the bill that ends up on my desk does not meet the test of real reform, I will send it back”
