President Barack Obama, flanked by Vice President Joe Biden and House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, gestures to address the state of the country during a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2013. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, Pool)
In delivering his fourth State of the Union address, President Barack Obama once again hinted at a strong liberal agenda for his second term. He promised reforms to raise revenue by taxing wealthy Americans; raise the minimum wage to $9 an hour; push for immigration reform and stricter gun control; and withdraw 34,000 troops from Afghanistan next year.
While he confirmed that troop drawdowns in Afghanistan would continue into 2014 and that “our war in Afghanistan will end” by the end of this year, he noted that the US would continue to train and equip Afghan forces even after that time. Mr. Obama seemed more open to increasing transparency about the use of drones to kill high-value al-Qaeda-linked targets.
However, the president added that in countries such as Yemen, Libya and Syria, the United States could use a “range of capabilities,” including drones.
His fiery oratorical style came into play when he spoke about the need for gun control.
Speaking about victims of gun violence, he said, “They deserve a voice. Gabby Giffords deserves a vote. The families of Newtown deserve a vote. The families of Aurora deserve a vote. The families of Oak Creek, Tucson and Blacksburg… – they deserve a simple vote.”
Multilateral approach
On the core issue of the economy, the president took a multi-pronged approach that began with trying to convince Congress to reach an agreement on deficit reduction and avoid sequestering trillions of dollars. In pushing for tax and subsidy reforms, he argued that older people and working families could not be expected to bear the entire burden of deficit reduction “without demanding more from the richest and most powerful.” Comprehensive immigration reform, the subject of significant bipartisan consensus, was also praised, and Mr. Obama suggested his policy packages would focus on border security, a “responsible path to citizenship” and fixing the legal immigration system to reduce waiting periods and highly skilled workers to help create jobs and spur economic growth.
On foreign policy, he asked Iran to choose diplomacy over sanctions; called China a clean energy competitor; expressed concern about the unpredictable political path Egypt is following; and promised to “continue pressure on” the regime in Syria. India was not mentioned.
In his official GOP response to the State of the Union address, Senator Marco Rubio, a member of the Hispanic community, warned Americans about Obama’s plans to increase the size of government and thereby stifle small businesses.
Hitting an emotional note, the man, described as a Republican hopeful in the 2016 presidential election, argues that reforms to major social programs such as Medicare are necessary if they are to be saved from bankruptcy.
Published – February 13, 2013 08:53 EST.