With a year of notable successes in office, it is now time to wonder what will come next for the country. Yet there are some things that are predictable about what President Obama will say Tuesday in his State of the Union address.
The president will take the microphone and make his speech Tuesday on how he plans to speed up economic recovery, just as he did one year ago. With a busy year behind him, 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 progression with his repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell” and humbly express making great strides in developing equality in America.
Without fail the president will speak kind and encouraging words 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.
President 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 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 with the task to keep the economy growing, to create opportunities and to overall improve the lives of Americans. Obama has, like Johnson, said from the beginning that jobs are his number one priority along with economic growth. Johnson also spoke about increasing prosperity and opportunity to better enrich lives of all Americans, and there is a chance that President Obama will follow suit.
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 of this year, President 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 in 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. President 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, I believe that he will speak briefly about the advancements we can make to come closer to having that 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 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 will promote, change for America and it’s people.
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