I haven't been able to post anything or update my blog in a while because of a hectic first two weeks of classes. Since my last post, a lot has happened in the political realm, including Scott Brown winning Ted Kennedy's Senate seat in Massachusetts, advancing a bill that legalizes medical marijuana in New York State, and the latest State of the Union address. For today, I am going to write about the latter.
Praise
Everyone expected this speech to be one of Obama's most pivotal point in his career. What is he going to do with health care reform? Instead of focusing on health care reform, Obama mentioned the issue briefly and addressed other issues, particularly the jobs and economic development and many other things. Because he covered so much ground, Obama was able to please both parties. Democrats and liberals were pleased with his strong stance on tax cuts, repealing the "don't ask don't tell policy" for gays in the military, and proposing a job bill. The Republicans were particularly satisfied with him insisting that large banks pay back their bailout money.
Criticism
Although Obama covered a lot of ground, he didn't go into much detail on one particular subject. When he said he wanted a job bill soon, he didn't go into any further detail in regards to the framework of the bill or its timeline. He did, however, hinted that it will be tied to technological advancements in energy. The biggest problem I had was his strong stance on the federal government spending freeze for the 2011- fiscal year. First of all, McCain proposed this idea back in 2008 and Obama was very much against it. Second of all, Obama did not have the strongest rationale: "I am absolutely convinced that the stimulus was the right thing to do, but families across the country are tightening their belts and making tough decisions and the federal government should do the same."
Overall, I think Obama did a decent job. Unlike his precedent speeches, he was more realistic where he acknowledged that change would not be easy and he cannot do it alone. However, I did think the GOP had a few wins last night. There were a few points that deserved criticism from the conservatives and the GOP response was very well delivered. Governor Bob O'Donnell of Virginia delivered the speech, specifically criticizing Obama's safe approach to terrorism. The speech was live, with people around O'Donnell, and an Asian man, a Black woman in the background to strut the party's diversity for the camera. Definitely a step up from Bobby Jindal.
