The State of the Union 2012

huffingtonpost.com — In January of 1776, Thomas Paine published his pamphlet Common Sense that galvanized colonist support for American independence. 236 years later, Barack Obama presented his own forceful version of common sense in his third State-of-the-Union address. Since last May, Republican presidential candidates have engaged in the political equivalent of Demolition Derby; attacking each other, the president, and the necessity for a Federal government. As a consequence of their media circus, Barack Obama has been out of the limelight. His State-of-the-Union address was a dynamic reminder that among Washington politicians Obama remains the adult in the room.

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thenation.com — At the "centerpiece of this campaign," Newt Gingrich told adoring followers after winning the South Carolina primary, is a fundamental choice: between "American exceptionalism" and "the radicalism of Saul Alinsky." We can opt for the vision of the founders or that of community organizer Alinsky; for a paycheck president or a "food stamp president." Redbaiting and dog-whistle racism may have given Gingrich his lift in the Palmetto State, but the dichotomy he posed is not new. It is simply a gutter version of the common Republican frame for this election. In more measured words, Mitt Romney accuses President Obama of trying to transform America from an "opportunity society" into a "European-style entitlement society." In his State of the Union address, President Obama also offered a clear choice—but the one he posed is between those who would return to the failed policies that led to recession and those who would build a new foundation for the economy

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huffingtonpost.com — President Obama delivered a strong populist, pro-middle class speech Tuesday night. But underneath the surface, below the headlines, something else incredibly important happened last night, and in the days leading up to the speech — something that I believe will have a lot more to do with the President's re-election than the SOTU speech. If he wants to run against Wall Street in this campaign, he needs credibility to do it, and he took a big step toward getting it Tuesday night. The key word of the day is accountability. The progressive movement in this country came together to firmly and aggressively hold this President accountable, and he responded by announcing something that has the potential to finally — finally, finally — hold the big banks on Wall Street accountable.

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newdeal20.org — The president's State of the Union speech was not a progressive's delight. But it straightforwardly and strongly put forth a case for government that the president has heretofore not made. Perhaps America is again ready to listen after the dominance of an anti-government narrative for so long. The president covered a lot of territory, and in fact almost all the important bases. He made several unfortunate nods to the right, including proudly boasting of his new offshore oil drilling plans and a renewed offer to use Social Security and Medicare as negotiating tools in order to raise taxes on the wealthy and cut taxes for the rest. He did not suggest that perhaps we could live with this deficit until the economy righted itself. He certainly did not suggest new stimulus, which is what we need. But the overall impact of the speech was to make a case for government.

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washingtonmonthly.com — If President Obama’s State of the Union address was intended as a bookend to the December speech he delivered in Osawatomie, Kansas, it was a success. It was in Osawatomie that the president presented a vision based on populism, characterizing economic opportunity and justice “the defining issue of our time,” and last night, Obama did so again, using nearly-identical language. By my count, Obama used the word “fair” or “fairness” 11 times in the address. Subtle it was not. But there can be little doubt that populism suits him.Was this a speech for the 99%? You bet it was. But it was also an explicitly political speech. In an election year, the State of the Union is often considered the unofficial launch of an incumbent president’s campaign. Last night, this was so overt, I half expected the White House to put “Game On” on its home page.

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huffingtonpost.com — I'm a runner, and before every race I write students' names on my jersey. "Because you keep me going," I tell them. As I attended President Obama's State of the Union address Tuesday night, I was not alone. I represented all of the teachers and support staff from across the country who are struggling with too few resources and too little support. This invitation was an honor, but my dedication to education is not exceptional or unique. Because, for all teachers, it is our students that keep us going. That commitment to quality public schools is even more important during these tough and uncertain economic times. Public schools and teachers need the basic resources necessary to effectively do their jobs. Our students deserve the best this country has to offer, and we all have a shared responsibility to make sure they receive it. However, too many politicians are balancing the budgets on the backs of students.

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prospect.org — The most you can say about Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels response to the State of the Union is that it was better than Bobby Jindal’s attempt in 2009. The problem for Daniels is that the Republican message just isn’t very compelling. It doesn’t help that Daniels was far from inspiring, giving his response in a dull monotone that neither grabbed the audience nor gave any sense that this was an important statement of real talk. Lately, Republicans like William Kristol have been pushing for Daniels to enter the GOP primary race and save the party from the transparent phoniness of Mitt Romney and the insane megalomania of Newt Gingrich. But if this State of the Union response is representative of Daniels’ political talents, then these desperate Republicans should probably look elsewhere.

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