From The Cafferty File:
President Obama has the chance to use tomorrow's State of the Union address to reset his agenda and refocus the attention of the American people.
It's been a rough week for the president and his party - since the Democrats lost control of Ted Kennedy's Senate seat in Massachusetts. Without their filibuster-proof majority, the president's signature issue of health care reform is on life support.
And the public doesn't appear too disappointed about that. A new poll shows 70 percent of Americans think the Democrats' loss of their super-majority is a good thing.
Meanwhile the president is expected to announce a three-year freeze on all non-security federal discretionary spending. He claims this could save $250 billion over 10 years - which is a start, but still just a drop in the bucket considering the country's $12.5 trillion debt.
And, expect some liberals - you know, the president's base - to push back hard. Already critics on the left are calling the proposed spending freeze a mistake of historic proportions. Some compare Mr. Obama to Republican Herbert Hoover, who failed to pull the U.S. out of the great depression.
Others liken this to Democrat FDR's move to cut back on government spending in 1937 - the economy tanked and so did the Democrats in the following midterm election.
There's lots more on the president's plate too, like the jobs situation - which doesn't show many signs of turning around. Unemployment is at 10 percent… up from seven percent when Mr. Obama took office.
Here’s my question to you: What should Pres. Obama emphasize in his State of the Union address tomorrow?
Penny from Bellevue, Washington writes:
He should say he's on the side of Main Street, not Wall Street, now. If a bank gambles and it goes wrong, the individual depositors will be reimbursed up to FDIC limits, and the bank can fail. No bailouts. And if there was any fraud or other illegal activity, then people WILL go to jail. I still haven't seen anyone go to jail for their part in almost causing a second Great Depression. I want to see accountability.
Anonymous writes:
Obama should telegraph that he's done being Mr. Nice Guy, and that his efforts to 'reach across the aisle' have been spurned at every turn (give examples) – therefore, Dems will plow ahead with their own agenda. The theme of the night should be “get on board, or get out of the way.”
Mary Jo from Pittsburgh writes:
He should say he's sorry for worrying too much about what conservatives think of him instead of what the majority of the American people who voted for him think.
Tom from Wisconsin writes:
The president should accentuate the positive. He had the audacity to hope we wouldn't panic facing down Great Depression Part II. Obama played the role of FDR to a "T" and few of us panicked. If Americans have half the guts Haitians have, there won't be any whining. It will be left foot-right foot, until we are out of this mess.
Luke writes:
President Obama should talk about his lived experience and talk about his passion. It is not enough to sway to the winds of political opinions. One must feel the passion of conviction, and then fight for it. Anything less is not worthy of a president.
Theresa writes:
Who is advising this man? Maybe that's the problem. It's time to take off the rose-colored glasses and see the mess with clear vision.
Lou from North Carolina writes:
Try to remember what he promised and address those issues one by one otherwise he is no different from the one before him.
