Editor's Note

How Did Obama Do in his State of the Union?

February 1, 2011 RSS Feed Print

How did he do? President Obama in his State of the Union speech, I mean. It was a long and complex piece of oratory with multiple objectives. He was simultaneously trying to inspire a nation beset with a series of economic woes, reposition his presidency in the wake of a profound midterm election defeat, and set the table for some kind of interaction with the opposition party. Do you think he accomplished any of that? And what about the Republican response by Rep. Paul Ryan? The advance hype was that he'd become the new face of the party and frame the hard questions and choices posed by the gargantuan federal deficit. Did he? I'd like to hear your thoughts on the theater and substance of this week. Please share your thoughts on Obama's State of the Union and Ryan's response below.

Tags:
2010 election,
Paul Ryan,
deficit and national debt,
State of the Union,
Barack Obama,
unemployment,
republican party

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Although I thought Obama's State of the Union Address strong in a number of ways, I thought he missed a terrific opportunity to zero in on overspending on national security.

There's some sort of irony in the fact that a trillion dollars is both the anticipated annual increase in our national deficit and the total anticipated expenditure on our national security. While other nations engage in extravagant public works projects, we struggle to maintain decaying infrastructure, struggle to take care of our own people's well being, and struggle as a nation deep in debt

just in making ends meet. Isn't it time we questioned the rationale behind our willingness to sacrifice all to our position as the world's hegemon, to continue pouring into "national security" more than is spent by the rest of the world COMBINED? Isn't it time we got our priorities straight?

Ron W. Smith of UT 12:32PM February 11, 2011

That in order to "win the future", Mr. Obama used the word "invest" - instead of "spend" - 26 times. Sounds like a pretty expensive victory for a bankrupt nation.

R.L. Schaefer of CA 11:38PM February 10, 2011

Editor's Note

Brian Kelly was named editor of U.S.News & World Report in April 2007, nine years after joining the magazine. With more than 30 years of journalism experience, including covering Capitol Hill, politics, and the presidency both as a beat reporter and as an editor, Kelly is one of the nation’s most experienced magazine editors in steering national and international news content.

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