This evening, President Obama goes to the House and delivers his State of the Union Address, and address that is widely advertised as either a bookend to the Osawatomie speech from last month, or an extension of it. This video was sent out on Friday to supporters previewing the President’s speech:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jM9ArTbJquk[/youtube]
In a lot of ways, my address on Tuesday will be a bookend to what I said in Kansas last month about the central mission we have as a country, and my central focus as President. And that’s rebuilding an economy where hard work pays off and responsibility is rewarded – and an America where everybody gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share, and everybody plays by the same set of rules.
I talked in Osawatomie about – this is a make-or-break moment for the middle class and folks trying to work their way into the middle class. Because we can go in two directions. One is towards less opportunity and less fairness. Or we can fight for where I think we need to go: building an economy that works for everyone, not just a wealthy few.
This is good, and certainly the proof is going to be in the detail in how he plans to get us here. According to Richard Wolf at USA Today, the speech,
will focus on four pillars for “an America built to last” — manufacturing, energy, skills for workers and “American values.”
A legislative agenda that builds upon the Osawatomie speech and is focused on long term growth sounds pretty much like what the doctor has ordered and certainly puts the Republicans square against an effort to refocus and rebuild the middle class. It is a given that not much will pass this year, and that the GOP will be handing the Obama campaign lots of gifts along the way, bolstering his campaign against a Do Nothing Congress. It is probably too much to ask that this SOTU and this campaign start us back on the road to a more grownup conversation about the government we want AND what it actually costs, and that makes established businesses live without taxpayer subsidies. No matter, it does seem certain that the era of trying to change the tone of Washington is largely over and the era of making the middle class great again is here.
What do you think President Obama needs to do in this speech? What legislation do you think he should pursue? Speculate to your heart’s content on what will happen tonight. Not sure if we’ll liveblog this one, but one of us will be by today to announce the plan