Watch President Obama's Speech Tonight 9pm
Well, usually there's no State of the Union in an inauguration year - which makes sense, because it's hard to fully comment of the state of the union just a few weeks after taking office. So most presidents' first SOTU happens the year after his inauguration - and President Obama is sticking with tradition and waiting til 2010 to give his first State of the Union.
That said, in lieu of the SOTU, tonight at 9pm President Obama is giving a major speech to a joint session of Congress which "will have the trappings of a State of the Union address," with a strong focus on our country's economic issues and his proposals for fixing them.
According to news reports:
The speech will air on all television networks, live, at 9pm EST tonight. Definitely check it out - and right afterward, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal will give the Republican's response to the President's speech, also aired on the networks.With the recession well into its second year, expect the remarks to be longer on the economy than on foreign affairs...The president is expected to show Americans how all the pieces [of his plans] fit together to make the economy sound again. There's the $787 billion just-signed stimulus bill, plus an even more expensive mix of rescues for the financial industry, auto companies and troubled mortgage holders.
He will touch on other priorities he says fit into the bigger picture. Potentially eye-popping expensive plans to broaden health care coverage to eventually insure everyone. Moving the country toward greener energy sources. Expanding education opportunities. Overhauling financial industry regulation.
And, he is all but certain to talk about the national debt and budget woes, stressing the need to get what he calls "exploding deficits" under control by controlling spending. His upcoming budget request will include his goal to slice the estimated $1.3 trillion annual deficit in half by the end of his first term.
Make sure to watch tonight - and then come back here and let us know in the comments section what you thought about the speech. Agree with the ideas? Disagree? Have questions? Want to know more? We'll be watching, too, and be back tomorrow and throughout the week with our thoughts on the speech and reaction from young people around the country.
Labels: Congress, President Obama
posted by Justine at 1:00 PM
6 Comments:
We are witnessing a house divided. He is asking for bipartisanship by persons who are refusing to make an attempt. This proves the obvious that they are expecting his failure before he even gets a chance. The American people allowed Bush to fix his mistakes and yet they fully supported his "foolishness". How can you be so ignorantly adamant about not supporting the working class? The working class is the reason why the rich stay richer because we are buying your products and services. Working our fingers to the bone to provide for our own families as well as yours; although, unable to afford it.
Accountability is key. Thank you Mr. President for holding those CEO's accountable for their actions. He understands when you help the people you help everyone.
Yes, it is time to update our outdated systems of handling business. Cut-out all of this red-tape and political rhetoric and get to the business of our nation's financial problems.
I thought his sppech was very down to earth. The thing I like most about Obama is he is good at relating to people. I am confident that he will guide us through these tough financial. The only thing was I found the constant clapping very distracting!!
My son & stayed up to watch the awesome Presidential Address to Congress which we feel was very uplifting & inspiring. We feel that President Obama is the one that will turn this world around & get it back up on it's feet again, of course with the support of every single American!
God Bless!
My concern about this presidency is that our president and most of our congress are democrats. There is nothing inherently wrong with the party but with no balance of parties, I don't see the opportunity for checks and balances.
My concern about President Obama's promises is the absence of the military among his list of absolute criticals.
My husband is in the Army and it scares me to death to think spending cuts will mean defective and subpar equipment provided to our soldiers like that provided when Clinton was president. My brother was in the military at that time and I am horrified by the stories I have heard about ineffective body armor and faulty weaponry.
I agree with the president that healthcare needs to be reformed. I particularly appreciated him pointing out that the rising cost of healthcare is one of the reasons why insurance companies send jobs overseas. He failed, however, to acknowledge that some of the causes for increased healthcare is fraudulent claims and illegal aliens clogging our emergency rooms and not paying for their care.
Most concerning to me is the trillion dollar plan that was delivered to congress at the 11th hour so they had no time to read it thoroughly enough to make educated decisions regarding their vote. Nevertheless, because the democratic party confidently supports the president, it passed, despite them not entirely knowing what it consisted of.
President Obama has been touted as the president of hope. I hope he is the president of actual positive results. I hope my husband is as safe as he can be with the best possible equipment for him to effectively and successfully do his job. I hope my 8 and 12 year old nieces do not inherit an even greater deficit caused by big ideals that didn't work.
After having watched President Obama's speech, it is first off quite easy to see the points critics of his stimulus will use to diminish his message. Namely that the broad strokes and soaring rhetoric of this President's far reaching plans offer little in the way of details and specifics of their execution, even if the plan itself is adequate. Perhaps that is as one critic already put it, the drama of this presidency--that is to see if even half of what he has proposed is even attainable in the time frame that has been set. Yet particulars aside for the moment, Obama's speech delivers to Congress and the American public the right tone; consistently balanced on the upheaval of myopic political posturing, the Washington-business-as-usual comportment and petty partisanship in favor of a call to personal as well as federal responsibility in these unique times. There can be little doubt that any plan of action, proposed by any party or individual will be unanimously accepted as without flaws or missteps, yet the goal I believe starts with inspiring individual confidence, that the paths taken to this very moment have been laid a long time ago, and just like the pulling out of a rotten tooth, the momentary pain of the remedy no matter how intense, is a small price to pay for access to a truly healthy road to recovery.
Post a Comment
<< Home