Coming off a year of notable successes, President Barack Obama Tuesday will speak about the progress America has made and the future to come.
The president will say how he plans to speed up economic recovery, just as he did one year ago. He will without a doubt speak of the successes he’s had in office including economic recovery and the passing of health care reform. He will speak of his repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell” and making great strides in developing equality in America.
The president will speak about recovering not only the economy but also the strength of the United States in the wake of the Tucson shooting. In an effort to better the nation he will speak eloquently about pulling together to create a better world to live in and building stronger communities in which to live.
Obama has faced the issues of the struggling American economy just as his predecessor President John F. Kennedy addressed in his State of the Union speech in 1961. Kennedy began his term in office in the wake of what he called “a disturbing economy” and proposed measures to rectify recovery. President Obama and Kennedy have a lot in common, including most notable their age as they entered office and that controversy surrounded both during their campaigns.
President Lyndon Johnson in 1965 focused on the economy in his State of the Union address with the task to keep the economy growing, to create opportunities and to improve the lives of Americans. Obama has, like Johnson, said from the beginning that jobs are his number one priority along with economic growth.
The fact that America is still knee deep in combat combined with the president’s initial statement of bringing our troops out of Iraq by August, Obama will speak eloquently of our fight to freedom and how maybe he wasn’t quite as prepared to bring troops out as he originally thought he would be. He will define a plan of action just as he did last year on how we can transition out of the war. But more than likely he will lean towards Johnson’s approach with the Vietnam, and stress like Johnson the importance of the fight against aggression from the East. Obama will also speak about strengthening ties with China, just as Johnson spoke of strengthening ties with Latin America in 1965.
The topic of education will most certainly come up in this year’s State of the Union, just as it did in 1974 with then President Nixon talked about reform of the system of financial aid towards education. Obama will talk about incentives for families with college students and post graduation loan payments will also be addressed. With such uncertainty for graduating college students in the job market, it will be interesting to see what President Obama has planned.
Another point Obama discussed in his first State of the Union was clean energy and how it was one way to lead in the global economy. Obama will speak briefly about the advancements we can make to come closer to having clean energy as a reality. Kennedy also spoke in his 1961 State of the Union about his goals to expand and stimulate goods at home.
After studying not only the most recent state of the union addresses but also ones that addressed recession, wars and frail economies it is interesting to see the difference in style of action for each president in their own right. Some more aggressive, some more elusive but in any case the goal is to enhance the lives of the people. With each different approach to main issues comes change in one way or another. That is what this year’s State of the Union address will promote, change for America and its people.
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