President Barack Obama Delivers His 5th State of the Union Address

U.S. President Obama has just delivered his 5th State of the Union address to the joint session of Congress and the American people. This year the President vowed that it will be a year of action. He added that he will do all he can to change the disparity level in the economy even without legislative approval through a series of initiatives on retirement, wages and jobs. Although he was defiant, it would be difficult since a president does not write the laws.

In this year’s State of the Union address the designated survivor was Ernest Moniz, the U.S. Secretary of Energy. Washington representative, Cathy McMorris Rodgers (Republican) delivered her party’s response to the President’s address.

Highlights

The President made it clear that his focus for this year would be the things that he could do without passing through Congress, in an effort to expand the opportunity for more Americans. He talked about the new executive order to raise the minimum wage of new federal workers. He urged the local leaders, the mayors, governors and even state legislators to act without waiting for Congress. President Obama discussed his foreign policy at length, an area where he has more room to act without the legislators.

Although the relationship between Congress and President Obama is not in good standing he took the chance to praise John Boehner, the Speaker of the House. He said that the House Speaker is an example of the American Dream, alluding to Boehner’s childhood circumstances.

Although he champions immigration reforms, the President did not dwell too much on the subject. His pronouncements were tentative and his tone more persuasive as he appealed to Congress to do something about the stalled immigration bills that will affect the lives of close to 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States.

His speech likewise included an appeal to Congress for the restoration of the unemployment insurance of 1.6 million Americans affected by its expiration. The President also asked the Republicans to nullify the overhaul of ObamaCare.

President Obama said that any new sanctions on Iran will be vetoed and that the participation of the U.S. in the war in Afghanistan will be over. He also reiterated the call for the closure of the Guantanamo Bay prison and for reforms on the programs for surveillance. However, the subject of gun control was hardly tackled in his speech.

Although the President renewed his commitment to his agenda on climate change, he also committed his administration to expanding the gas and oil production domestically through fracking.

Initial reactions to the State of the Union address were mixed, although the Republicans were angered by the President’s vow to bypass Congress to effect some changes. But despite its flaws, wrong handedness and some failure of will, it was a good speech, according to union leaders.

Photo credit: By Chuck Kennedy under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.