The White House: The 2014 State of The Union Address

I thought President Obama gave a very good speech tonight that the American people probably enjoyed hearing. Even if it is the smallest audience to listen to one of his State of the Union’s. But I’m not sure it was a speech that will move the country behind his agenda and get the Republican controlled House of Representatives to move on it or move on anything that will boost the economy. Or something that Congressional Democrats and candidates can use to run on and get elected and reelected in November by itself. That he still has a lot more work to do.

The stuff that Americans tend to agree on that unites us was good. Talking about the troops and the need to support them and the fact we’ve ended our longest war in Afghanistan and one of our longest wars in Iraq. But you expect to hear a president to say these things and they always get good applause. But the test is can the president move the country behind his agenda or not and get Americans that he tends to count on and new Americans skeptical about him to say, “you know what the president is right on these issues and we should help his get these things passed in Congress.” I didn’t hear that tonight.

The Republican House of Representatives position on economic growth is very clear. Anything that requires the Federal Government to spend money that is not business or individual tax relief related is dead on arrival in the House. But President Obama wants new national infrastructure plan and new educational and job training opportunities for the long-term unemployed and for low-skilled workers. Those things cost money, but what he has going for him is the Democratic Senate. And instead of trying to push Congress as a whole on these issues, President Obama should focus on the Senate and see if he can and Leader Harry Reid can get anything done there.

To put it bluntly if the House Republican Leadership wants to take 2014 off as far as doing their day-to-day jobs and sit on their asses and just concentrate on electing more representatives, the hell with them if I’m President Obama. “And I’m going to run against a Do Nothing House in public. As I and Vice President Joe Biden are working very hard behind the scenes with the Democratic controlled Senate to move my agenda there and try to get some things passed that country will support.” And the more they get passed over there, the more they’ll have to run on in 2014. That would be my advice to President Obama and Leader Reid and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.