Obama Sees The Glass As Half-Full

February 22, 2010
Filed under Opinions and Views, Uncategorized

On January 27, 2010, President Obama delivered the State of the Union Address to Congress. President Obama spoke of the troubles the nation has endured, the accomplishments of the past, as well as the goals he plans to achieve for America in the future. Throughout his speech, President Obama showed his optimism for his nation and the potential for future endeavors. “I have never been more hopeful about America’s future than I am tonight. Despite our hardships, our union is strong. We do not give up. We do not quit. We do not allow fear or division to break our spirit”

The first topic President Obama addressed was the troubled economy. Obama mentioned that while campaigning, he promised that he would not just do what was popular, but he would also do what was necessary. Obama stated that democrats and republicans alike did not favor the bank bailout, but the bank bailout prevented a higher unemployment rate, increases in foreclosed houses, and the closing of American businesses.

Obama recognized that the previous administration had made attempts to create a financial rescue program, but Obama’s administration put the bailouts into effect in a more efficient way, which ultimately has stabilized the markets and allowed us to recover most of the money lost from banks. In order to recover all of the money lost from the banks, Obama proposes fees on the biggest banks.

Obama has increased unemployment benefits, passed twenty-five different tax cuts and made health insurance more affordable for the average American family. Obama also proposed a new tax credit for small businesses. Tax cuts have been made for 95% of working families, small businesses, first time home-buyers, families raising young children, and eight million Americans paying for college. As a result, “millions of Americans had more to spend of gas, food, and other necessities, all of which have helped businesses keep more workers.”

President Obama spoke of the Recovery Act, which has helped save thousands of American jobs. Although many jobs have been saved, Obama seeks to create many new jobs in the upcoming years, especially jobs which create clean energy facilities and are located on American soil. The House of Representatives has passed a jobs bill, and Obama urges the Senate to do the same in the near future.

Aside from the economic related topics in his speech, President Obama spoke of the importance of health care reform for the United States. This will certainly be the single most important policy his administration will be remembered for. President Obama ensures that the reform will reduce premiums for millions of families and businesses and that his approach will decrease the national deficit by nearly one trillion dollars over the next two decades. Obama will continue to work towards health care reform until his goals are reached.

On the war front, President Obama plans to have troops withdrawn from Iraq by the end of August. He also plans to increase the troops in Afghanistan and have them returned home by July 2011.

For foreign affairs, Obama plans to secure the borders of our nation, prohibit torture, and improve our relationships with other nations.

President Obama has sincere optimism for the United States. This was made apparent in his address. In the words of our leader, “The spirit that has sustained this nation for more than two centuries lives on in you, its people. We have finished a difficult year. We have come through a difficult decade. But a new year has come. A new decade stretches before us. We don’t quit. I don’t quit. Let’s seize this moment, to start anew, to carry the dream forward, and to strengthen our union once more.”
Some people have become distraught with Obama’s “lack of action” during his first year in office, but you can’t expect financial troubles that took eight years to develop to be magically fixed overnight. Personally, I applaud our president for sticking to his guns in concern to healthcare and also for acknowledging the country’s need to develop more new jobs.
So next time you decide to make some snide remark about President Obama’s activity (or supposed lack thereof), why not hold your tongue and wait another three years or so?