Politics
State of The Union Address 2013: Obama to promote his agenda aggressively
U.S. President Barack Obama delivering the State of The Union Address during a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington., Feb 12, 2013. PHOTO/Charles Dharapak/AP
President Obama had a simple message for Republicans in Congress: Do it my way.
Forget about shutting down the government to force spending cuts, he told the GOP in Tuesday night’s State of the Union address. Don’t think about defaulting on the debt and, while you’re at it, close tax loopholes.
Clearly, Obama wasn’t in a mood to compromise.
The president’s speech doubled down on his hard-charging inaugural address in promoting liberal Democratic policy ideas, without ceding any ground to Republicans in Congress.
And why should he? The president is fresh off a convincing re-election victory and Republicans are soul-searching over their party’s future, increasingly reluctant to put up a fight. The GOP leadership already flinched by giving in on the debt ceiling and tax hikes. Obama seems determined to see what else he can get out of them.
At a time when Republicans are insisting on spending cuts, Obama pushed more public spending on universal preschool, construction work on bridges and schools and a jobs program rebuilding vacant homes in rundown neighborhoods. He pushed for an increase in the minimum wage to US$9 an hour, with future increases tied to the cost of living. And he continued to push in support of left-leaning social issues including gun control, immigration reform, climate change and advancing equal rights for gays.
These were issues he didn’t prioritize in his first term as he grappled with two wars and a recession — and faced a re-election bid in which he needed to campaign for America’s middle. But fresh off his convincing victory, unburdened by the prospect of another campaign, he has a rare and fleeting moment to push a second-term agenda that could shape his legacy.
