Last night President Obama spoke on capitol hill, relaying the state of the country both economically and socially. He mostly focused on the economic issues the nation continues to face, such as the rising level of unemployment and the increase in foreclosures. Recently his administration has been criticized for the drawn-out and divisive battle over health care reform that has taken place over the last quarter. He addressed this controversy head on, stating:
“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.”
I was also impressed with the fact that President Obama took a shot at the supreme court when he addressed the matter of political campaign contributions. He spoke of his disapproval for the recent court decision to allow corporations to donate huge amounts of money to campaigns, effectively opening the floodgates of special interests into policy making. He proposed new rules for lobbying in Washington; that a lobbyist must make every government contact they make public, even him. This was good to hear, as its apparent that outside influences were a big catalyst for the failures of the health reform.
Overall I thought the speech was well-written, but perhaps not as substantive as the American public probably needs. I guess the grand, long-winded speech about the policy changes is what one would come to expect out of a state of the union. At least we no longer have a president who mentions an “Axis of Evil”.
