Obama vows to fight on after tough year
Updated on 28 January 2010
US President Barack Obama pushes job creation to the top of his agenda in his State of the Union address admitting that America faces "big and difficult challenges".
A year ago today the only thing Barack Obama could really be sure of, one week into his presidency, was that tonight he would delivering his first State of The Union address.
But he must then have imagined it very differently. He must have assumed he'd have legislation to boast about, political victories to keep his party happy and that he would be riding a wave of momentum that would allow him to keep bringing more of that much needed "change" to America.
Instead, tonight he had to admit that things are not rosy in this union - and as it is obvious that he is giving this speech at the lowest point in his presidency - so he had to appeal to American resilience and hope they see it as a metaphor for his own government.
"We face big and difficult challenges," he said.
"And what the American people hope – what they deserve – is for all of us, Democrats and Republicans, to work through our differences; to overcome the numbing weight of our politics.
"For while the people who sent us here have different backgrounds and different stories and different beliefs, the anxieties they face are the same.
"The aspirations they hold are shared; a job that pays the bill; a chance to get ahead. Most of all, the ability to give their children a better life.
"You know what else they share? They share a stubborn resilience in the face of adversity.
"After one of the most difficult years in our history, they remain busy building cars and teaching kids; starting businesses and going back to school.
"They are coaching little league and helping their neighbours. As one woman wrote to me, “We are strained but hopeful, struggling but encouraged".
"It is because of this spirit – this great decency and great strength – that I have never been more hopeful about America’s future than I am tonight.
"Despite our hardships, our union is strong. We do not give up. We do not quit. We don’t allow fear or division to break our spirit.
"In this new decade, it’s time the American people get a government that matches their decency; that embodies their strength. And tonight, I’d like to talk about how together we can deliver on that promise."
Facing unemployment
At least two thirds of the speech was about jobs. Or jobs, jobs, jobs are they are now known is US political circles - just as we once talked about education, education, education.
This whole speech was about President Obama telling the American people "he gets it" and the one thing they need him to "get" more than any other is their desperate need for more jobs.
"The house has passed a jobs bill that includes some of these steps," he said.
"As the first order of business this year, I urge the Senate to do the same. People are out of work. They are hurting. They need our help. And I want a jobs bill on my desk without delay.
"But the truth is, these steps still won’t make up for the seven million jobs we’ve lost over the last two years.
"The only way to move to full employment is to lay a new foundation for long-term economic growth, and finally address the problems that America’s families have confronted for years.
"We cannot afford another so-called economic "expansion" like the one from last decade – what some call the "lost decade" – where jobs grew more slowly than during any prior expansion; where the income of the average American household declined while the cost of healthcare and tuition reached record highs; where prosperity was built on a housing bubble and financial speculation."
Of course the stimulus packages were supposed to deliver those jobs - and have done so by now.
Obama's economic advisors - who are fast becoming as hated as their Wall Street friends - insist the stimulus funds did what they were supposed to and averted a global financial crash.
All that public money was also supposed to get the banks to start lending again - to the very public who were lending them the TARP funds.
But that hasn't happened and the job creation that should have followed isn't evident.
Unless the unemployment numbers turn around soon Obama has a great deal more political pain down the road. He knows that and wanted the speech to tell the voters he knows it and he understands their bitterness about the bailout.
"When I ran for president, I promised I wouldn’t just do what was popular – I would do what was necessary," he said.
"And if we had allowed the meltdown of the financial system, unemployment might be double what it is today. More businesses would certainly have closed. More homes would have surely been lost.
"So I supported the last administration’s efforts to create the financial rescue program.
"And when we took the program over, we made it more transparent and accountable. As a result, the markets are now stabilized, and we have recovered most of the money we spent on the banks
"To recover the rest, I have proposed a fee on the biggest banks.
"I know Wall Street isn’t keen on this idea, but if these firms can afford to hand out big bonuses again, they can afford a modest fee to pay back the taxpayers who rescued them in their time of need."
Healthcare reform
One of the biggest questions hanging over the speech was what would the president say about healthcare reform.
Will he still try to pass the bill he was already having so much trouble with before the Democrats lost their 60 seat super majority in the Senate?
Or would he abandon the task - as Clinton had to? Or break it down into smaller, less ambitious but more easily passed measures?
Well, he said he wasn't giving up but he didn't exactly say how would take it forward.
"By the time I’m finished speaking tonight, more Americans will have lost their health insurance," he said.
"Millions will lose it this year. Our deficit will grow. Premiums will go up. Co-pays will go up. Patients will be denied the care they need. Small business owners will continue to drop coverage altogether.
"I will not walk away from these Americans. And neither should the people in this chamber."
Promising the battle isn't over yet he said: "Here’s what I ask of Congress, though: do not walk away from reform. Not now. Not when we are so close.
"Let us find a way to come together and finish the job for the American people."
The State of the Union speech had to speak to several different constituencies.
Democrats - of which he is party leader - depressed by the by election loss in Massachusetts and confused about why the voters have turned against them so violently.
Those voters - who elected Obama to bring change to Washington and a year on are so disillusioned that they are electing other young, inexperienced lawyers whose principle attributes seem to be looking good and promising change.
But this year its Republican Scott Brown who everyone is hoping will bring that much need change to Washington.
And Republicans who he needs to persuade to get on board with at least some of his ideas if he is to get anything passed - now he has lost his senate super majority.
Obama seems to have failed in one of his biggest promises - to fundamentally change the way Washington does business.
So he had to try to re-inject the hope and sound like he really will bring the change: "Now, I am not naïve. I never thought the mere fact of my election would usher in peace, harmony, and some post-partisan era," he said.
"I knew that both parties have fed divisions that are deeply entrenched. And on some issues, there are simply philosophical differences that will always cause us to part ways.
"These disagreements, about the role of government in our lives, about our national priorities and our national security, have been taking place for over two hundred years. They are the very essence of our democracy.
"But what frustrates the American people is a Washington where every day is election day.
"We cannot wage a perpetual campaign where the only goal is to see who can get the most embarrassing headlines about their opponent – a belief that if you lose, I win.
"Neither party should delay or obstruct every single bill just because they can. The confirmation of well-qualified public servants should not be held hostage to the pet projects or grudges of a few individual Senators.
"Washington may think that saying anything about the other side, no matter how false, is just part of the game. But it is precisely such politics that has stopped either party from helping the American people.
"Worse yet, it is sowing further division among our citizens and further distrust in our government."
Obama's biggest job tonight was make the American people believe he still stands for "change we can believe in" - even if they haven't seen it happen yet. And his message on that was pretty simple - I'm not quitting.
"I campaigned on the promise of change – change we can believe in, the slogan went," he said.
"And right now, I know there are many Americans who aren’t sure if they still believe we can change – or at least, that I can deliver it.
"But remember this – I never suggested that change would be easy, or that I can do it alone.
"Democracy in a nation of three hundred million people can be noisy and messy and complicated. And when you try to do big things and make big changes, it stirs passions and controversy.
"That’s just how it is."
It remains to be seen how much real change he will be able to boast of this time next year.
