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Subscribe to RSSObama to focus on the economy in State of the Union… A reminder: As the economy goes, so goes Obama (and his second-term agenda)… The speech, politically, also will be a way to frame the sequester debate… Rubio’s chance in the spotlight… And the danger for Hagel: having his confirmation vote linger.
As NBC's Tracie Potts reports, the president's State of the Union speech "will outline his plan to create jobs and grow the middle class by investing in people."
*** Focusing on the economy: President Obama’s inaugural address last month was billed as a call to action, as well as a not-so-subtle declaration that American politics had been transformed -- on the role of government, on gay rights, and on war. But tomorrow night’s State of the Union will have a slightly different focus, White House aides say, with Obama emphasizing the economy and revisiting the economic themes from his re-election campaign. The speech “will outline his plan to create jobs and grow the middle class by investing in people,” an administration official tells First Read, adding: “The president’s plan grows the economy from the middle out by investing in manufacturing, clean energy, education, and infrastructure.” Obama also will call on Congress to reduce the nation’s deficit and debt, including via entitlement reform, but he will say these cuts need to be balanced and not borne solely by the middle class. The White House always viewed his two big speeches in three weeks (the inaugural and State of the Union) as two bites at the bully-pulpit apple. And the same administration official calls the two speeches “two acts in the same play.” While the White House maintains they have been focused on the economy, tomorrow’s speech will put an end to the chatter (they hope) that they haven’t spent enough time TALKING about the economy.
Saul Loeb / AFP - Getty Images
President Barack Obama speaks during an Armed Forces Farewell Tribute in honor of outgoing Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta at Joint Base Myer-Henderson in Arlington, Va., Feb. 8, 2013.
*** A reminder: As the economy goes, so goes Obama (and his second-term agenda): Yet with Obama spending his political capital on his proposals to curb gun violence and reform the nation’s immigration system -- which he’ll also address on Tuesday -- reemphasizing the economy allows the president to return to the issue that remains the public’s top concern. After all, the unemployment rate, while down substantially from its high in 2009, is at 7.9%, and GDP contracted in the fourth quarter of 2012. And according to our national NBC/WSJ poll, only 36% of respondents said they were either “very” or “fairly” confident in Obama’s ability to promote a strong and growing economy. Remember, if the economy slows down, it makes it harder to get anything else done (like on guns or immigration).
*** Framing the sequester: Another way to look at Obama’s State of the Union is to frame the budget debate over the looming sequester -- that is, the automatic spending cuts (in defense and other programs) set to take place in March. As Politico writes, “President Barack Obama’s State of the Union speech will be less a presidential olive branch than a congressional cattle prod. Emboldened by electoral victory and convinced the GOP is unwilling to cut deals, Obama plans to use his big prime-time address Tuesday night to issue another broad challenge at a Republican Party he regards as vulnerable and divided, Democrats close to Obama say.” More: “Privately, administration officials see [the speech] as an extension of Obama’s unabashedly provocative and progressive Jan. 21 inaugural address, their latest attempt to leverage favorable deals on the sequester and the debt ceiling comparable to the watershed deal Obama secured on increasing taxes on the wealthy. Obama now hopes to use his post-election popularity to force new tax increases and fewer budget cuts on Republicans as part of any deal to avert a $1.2 trillion menu of automatic cuts increasingly likely to kick in on March 1.” This won’t be as easy as the fiscal cliff because Obama has got to get Congress to pro-actively stop it. And right now, House Republicans seem nearly unified on the idea of letting the cuts happen.
*** Rubio’s chance in the spotlight: In addition to Obama, there’s another person who will be in the spotlight on Tuesday night -- Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), who is giving the GOP response. This is a great opportunity for the potential 2016er. But as we noted last week, the State of the Union responder hasn’t been a great stepping stone for those looking to run for higher office. In fact, the last eventual party nominee to deliver the response was Sen. Bob Dole (R-KS) in 1996. And the last person to deliver one and go on to be president was Bill Clinton in 1985 when he was governor of Arkansas.
*** Do you have to let it linger? Finally, while it remains pretty clear that Chuck Hagel still has the votes to be confirmed as the president’s defense secretary, any day that goes by when there’s not a vote isn’t a good day for him. That said, Politico reports that the Senate Armed Services Committee could vote on Hagel’s nomination as soon as Tuesday, “but Republican aides reacted to that idea by suggesting that some members could walk out in protest.” Democrats and the Obama White House, if they want him confirmed, can’t let his nomination linger.Click here to sign up for First Read emails.
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Leave a Comment:
The question most asked of Obama..by The liberal MEDIA..
"Did you bring...Your Ruby Slippers..?"
There's no place....like Home
Obomba returns focus on phucking up the economy.
This must be a reprint...Barack said "jobs" was his number 1 priority 4 years ago!35 straight months of positive job growth after G Bush leaving him with an economy that was losing over 750,000 jobs a month.
Id say hes done a great job all considering.
So would any reputable economist.
He loves goverment & union jobs...
35 straight months of positive job growth after G Bush leaving him with an economy that was losing over 750,000 jobs a month.
Less people are working to day than in 2008!!!
Next check the unemployment rate, 7.9% it was 7.7% in Jan of 2009...
That is not growth!!!!
More fuzzy math. GNP is in the tank and we have the highest unemployment in American history.
Just a small misunderstanding. Obama meant his job.
Hey, Johnny, I think your math is a bit off. The unemployment rate went back up last month to 7.9%; this is not a good sign for any president especially since he's been in office a full 4 years and we have seen NO PROGRESS on any front. Your Messiah Obama is a moron and an idiot....the best thing he could do is step down and let someone who cares about this Country and it's people to take his place.
And look at all the people who fell for that line. They're still unemployed, may now be out of benefits and he could care less. And they apparently still haven't learned their lesson since they voted him back in!
Jan 2009 unemployment rate 7.7% Jan 2013 unemployment rate 7.9%...
Now just listen to Obummer & the leftwingunts tell us all about the millions of jobs they have created...
Remember the stimm-u-less was goig to keep the unemployment rate from going over 8% and it hit 10% in october, then stayed over 9% for 2 years...
Price tag paid by the tax payers $800 billion.....
Thanks Ospend-O-lot & the dumborats...
The cold reality for Democrats and their delusional followers is that Obama got his last tax increase of his prisidency and now will have to face facts that spending cuts will have to be made if he wants America or the even rest of the world to see he is serious about the long term fiscal health of the country. Saw Nancy Botox Pelosi say yesterday that we don't have a spending problem. Statements such as this give me hope that we can gain more House and Senate seats in the upcoming midterms. The Democrats seems to forget that 61,000,000 people didn't vote for Obama's vision and that is the reason we have the numbers in Congress that we do. If Obama wants to bring back the $2 trillion dollars parked overseas into the American economy, then he had better cut corporate income taxes, reduce the health care cost burden on employers, and ease back on the throttle on enacting anti-business regulations. Otherwise, its going to be a long four years for him.
OBAMA..announces much needed CUTS..
To the Budget..
ILLEGAL Aliens will NO LONGER BE ALLOWED....Free Firearms permits..
The best thing Obama could do for the country would be to take a nice 46-month long vacation to Hawaii!!
Or he could paint naked shower photos of himself?
LOL
Maybe someones Mother should have swallowed them when they had the chance!
Does he even have time for this? I mean, between a round of golf, the basketball game, planning the next vacation for (sorry, with) Michelle. That man is stressed, how can he focus on the State of the Union? He's got better things to do.
Dont mention the fact that W took more time off than any President. That would hurt your argument.
@Johnny......W is still in office??? ...odd, I thought he ended his 2nd term over 4 years ago!!
Hey Johnny, is the WH paying you as the great defender of the KING in a web forum? You sound like a propaganda poster.
MNV - You sound like a whiner, a little baby whiner. Grow up. All president's take vacations. Dumbazzz.
Markin - Oh how sophisticated you are. Spoken like a true lib
Notice Obama dodn't take a vacation during the election year until after the election. You can see his priorities.
Don't forget he now wants to change football, that was his issue from the super bowl. So throw that in there, I hear he wants to do something about the helmets or somehow reduce the concussions. Change the plays, can't you just see those guys skipping down the field to try to make a touch down? LOL, cause you know they wouldn't want to get a brain injury while playing the game.
I am not a fan of football. I don't see how they (the players) never knew that they were causing themselves injury, I mean, what did they expect? I knew in high school that brain injuries were something that happened, that was 50 years ago. Several students were hurt rather severely while playing high school football. So it's been going on for years and these big league players probably had injures from school to begin with. Just a shame the doctors never took notice -- just give them their sports exams and collect his fee.
New York Post: The Wheels Are Coming Off of ObamaCare
The central parts of ObamaCare don’t roll out until 2014, but the wheels are already falling off this clunker. The latest news from four federal agencies is that 1) insurance will be a lot less affordable than Americans were led to expect, 2) fewer people than promised will get insurance and 3) millions of people who have coverage through a job now will lose it, thanks to the president’s “reforms.” Oh, and children are the biggest victims.
The Affordable Care Act is looking less and less affordable.
Start with the IRS’s new estimate for what the cheapest family plan will cost by 2016: $20,000 a year to cover two adults and three kids. And that will only cover 60 percent of medical bills, so add hefty out-of-pocket costs, too.
The next surprise is for parents who thought their kids would be covered by an employer. Sloppy wording in the law left that unclear until last week, when the IRS ruled that kids won’t be covered.
Starting in 2014, the law will require employers with 50 or more full-time employees to offer coverage or pay a penalty. “Affordable” coverage, that is — meaning the employee can’t be told to contribute more than 9.5 percent of his salary. For example, a worker earning $40,000 a year cannot be required to pay more than $3.800.
But the law doesn’t specifically mandate family coverage — and now the administration says that won’t be required.
You can see why: If the lowest-cost family plan (again, two adults and three kids) is to run a whopping $20,000, and if the employee’s contribution is limited to $3,800, the employer’s tab would be $16,200 — adding about $7.40 an hour to the cost of that employee. Wisely, the IRS announced on Jan. 30 that employers won’t have to pay for dependents.
But the Congressional Budget Office’s much-cited prediction that ObamaCare would leave only 30 million people uninsured by 2016 was based on the assumption that kids would be covered by employers. At the very least, employers insuring their workers for the first time to avoid the penalty are unlikely to do that.
So how will the kids be covered? They won’t. The IRS shocked the law’s advocates by announcing that the insurance exchanges won’t provide subsidies for a child whose parent is covered at work.
Nor will these parents be penalized for not insuring their children — the IRS will kindly consider the kids exempt from the mandate.
Also exempt are millions of people who’ll stay uninsured because their state is wisely choosing not to loosen Medicaid eligibility.
Some background: Despite President Obama’s promises to help solve the problem of the uninsured by making private health plans more affordable, the law expands coverage mainly by forcing states to loosen their Medicaid eligibility rules. But the Supreme Court ruled that the feds can’t command states in this way.
At first, the CBO said that ruling would only prevent 4 million people from gaining coverage — but more states than it expected are refusing to go along; it could well be 8 million more without coverage.
Oh, and the CBO last week also doubled its previous estimate on how many people will lose the health coverage they now get through work, upping the figure to 8 million by 2016 and 12 million by 2019. Several top consulting firms put the figures even higher.
Total right wing agenda misinformtion.
Ignore above post
Free Health care for all.. Woohooooo... LOL
I saw this coming since they had to pass it in order to read it. I know a few people who are surprised by this law, and they were in full support of it before. All the sudden the bill comes and people are mad about it? Trust the government to take care of you next time.
Johnny, it is pretty accurate actually.
$2,000 fine for not having coverage if the government deems you can afford it.
Employer provided insurance will be taxed as income. Tax rate goes up, deductions go down.
If you pay your own, you don't pay taxes on that money. Not anymore come 2016.
Cost of insurance will rise. Supply and demand? Not really, you have to buy it so they can charge whatever they want. It is in the Law. It says something like an average of all states combined. So, it will definitely be more expensive to almost everyone.
This Law is going to impact many millions of people financially. Not in a good way either. The minimum it will cost a family is 2 Grand and it goes up from there. Affordable?.. LOL. People cant afford it now. How is making it even more expensive going to make it affordable? People cant spend their way out of debt like the government.
Even in a slanted NBC/WSJ poll, only 36% of respondents said they were at least "fairly" confident in Obama’s ability to fix the economy......The overwhelming majority of American people know he is not.......
Coming from a G Bush supporter? I think I can speak for the rest of us and tell u to F off
Johnny - How cute. The typical lib way. Lose an argument and tell people to f.. off. ILMAO
Point is any Republican who argues about ficsal responsibilty has NO ARGUMENT and NO LEG TO STAND ON. !
get it?
New York Post: Nobody Wake Barack
The Benghazi terrorist attack was a debacle in three distinct stages. The fatal mistakes occurred in the first two — the failure to provide adequate security before the attack and the failure to provide help once it started.
Those mistakes were tragic, but the Obama administration’s explanations are coherent, though hardly defensible. The mystery always has been the third stage — the aftermath, or more accurately, the coverup.
Even before the bodies of the four Americans came home, the White House was eager to tell any story except the real one. Aides twisted and turned to create the false narrative that a protest over an anti-Muslim video was spontaneously hijacked by radicals. But two problems quickly emerged: There was no video protest in Benghazi, and the attack, which used heavy weaponry, was well planned. So, why did the White House spin the web of deceit? Don’t they know the coverup is worse than the crime?
Finally, we have the answer, thanks to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta. In his reluctant Senate testimony, he provided the missing piece of the puzzle: The commander in chief was MIA. The coverup was created to protect his absence. According to Panetta, President Obama checked in with his military team early on during the attack, then checked out for the rest of the night.
The next day, we already knew, he blamed the video maker and flew to Las Vegas for a campaign event. Meanwhile, half a world away, Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans had been slaughtered by Islamists. Their murders on the 11th anniversary of 9/11 gave the incident extra gravity and led the White House to conceal the facts. An honest chronology would have revealed the president’s shocking behavior during the most successful attack against Americans by foreigners since 9/11.
Imagine the questions that would have come: What did Obama do through the long, bloody night? Whom did he talk to? When did he learn that Stevens was dead?
apparently he didn't care. I'm sure he was probably on a drug high somewhere.
Breaking News...
JOE BIDEN was Discovered... among OBAMA's FAMILY TREE...
Yet Someone did Manage...
To ...Coax Him Down..
With a Piece ...of Fruit
Mainstream Media won't show this. Check out this video. The look on Obama's face is priceless. Contempt puts it mildly. The truth hurts, doesn't Mr. Obama?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lueQRQls90Q&feature=youtube_gdata_player
The State of the Union address is simply a speech where the President tries reenergize his base, repeat accomplishments, and outline his future plans for the country. We will see Democrats give him a standing ovation at times, while Republicans sit with scowls. This is how the speech goes every time no matter who is President. I will get on Newsvine and read about how much the left liked his speech and then read about how much the right didn't. Then I will laugh at all of the fear mongering from the extremists who fear the President is plotting a complete government takeover. No matter what this President does, those who hate him will continue to...and those who like him will continue to.
And those that despise him will continue to. Agreed
For someone who is allegedly working today, you are commenting on this blog approximately every two minutes. You are some multi-tasker!
Focused like a laser on, on , on, on what?
The teleprompter?
Wow,no wounder why fox spews doesent want any posters,,,look at you foaming at the mouth sore losers,,lmao
Now go back bibles,guns,and traler parks,,,chumps
The only real horseshiit on here eminates from your cake hole Bullethead.
bulletman
is your check smaller are YOU a 1%er?
Enough bullet troll! go back to sleep!
No one should be surprised at what Obama attracts besides flies.
Fox news had to close down their comments due to too many death threats against the President. The teabagges are racists haters so they post here. Cut off from fox. The teabaggers what a bunch of pathetic losers.
I cannot wait to hear Obama tell us how great things are and how much greater they will be as soon as the opposition lets him tax and spend as he wants to for four more years. We are so screwed. I envy all of you who actually believe he has a clue what he is doing. I suppose blind faith would be better than no faith. My problem is I am very good at mathematics. As long as spending stays at it's present level no amount of taxing the rich OR the middle class can sustain it.
Hey I am no 1%er or 2%er not even a 25%er
so why is my check smaller?
EVERYONE who WORKS has a smaller check and this CORRUPT LYING POLITICIAN named Obama wants more of our money.
Americans it is time we say NO to FOOD STAMPS
and YES TO LOWER TAXES AKA REVENUES!
LET US KEEP MORE OF OUR MONEY!
Mr Obama you want more money for free phones, free housing, free food, free medical insurance
START DRUG TESTING EVERYONE WHO RECEIVES THOSE BENEFITS!
Those of us that work and support those people get drug tested when we are hired!
the american people must be getting tired of obamas bs. all go and no show
Obama returns focus to the economy
God help us all from the incompetence and wrong direction of the occupant in the White House...
Obama is solving the problem by building a second Oval Office.
Wow, he's going to focus on the economy....what a novel idea....dumbass.
Obama always focuses on the economy. That is why we are out of the Bush depression and zooming toward full employment. Boo Yah.
"zooming toward full employment" damn your cornbread aint done in the middle markinbecker!
Do you live in the same Country as the rest of us; you better stop drinking the Kool-Aid my friend and wake up to reality. We are at 7.9% unemployment after 4 years of Odumbo and we have 8 TRILLION in new debt to boot with NOTHING to show for it. You better go back to school and take another math class because your fuzzy math just doesn't add up.
I sure do and I see job growth everywhere. Open your eyes. Construction is BOOMING!! 3 million jobs will be created this year just in construction and related service industries.
Markin - Ha ha ha. Joke of the week. Thanks. Priceless.
Jeff
Listen Tuesday,,,lol
Why is it that when the economy is mentioned, every liberal points fingers at conservatives?
The real deal is this. The government is spending 20% more than it takes in every year. Been that way for a long time. was that way when Democrats had the power to pass anything they wanted and they didn't fix it, so they are as much to blame as anyone else.
So, the question is, why wasn't it fixed when Democrats had the power from top to bottom? Answer is, you cant fix a debt problem by spending more money. Of course the Liberals in government and around the country simply blame whatever... Usually Bush. Truth is, it is Obama's baby now. He has to fix it by working with the branches of government to get something done in order and get it through the houses.
Instead, all we see is blame. Blame is the worse excuse ever. Little kids made it popular. "I didnt do it" is the easiest way for a 5 year old to not have to face up to a problem. Parents dont let kids get away with it, yet every Liberal in this country finds blame a suitable remedy for problems. Why is that? You wont take that stuff from your kids, but you allow adults who run the country to do it and you turn around and use the same lame excuse?
So, President Obama will focus on the economy with his state of the Union address? Really? It has been broken for like 6 years, but ever politician is to worried about getting paid off by whoever to fix it. The economy should be the main focus of every politician in DC. Fix it however far you can without doing more damage. That is all you can do. Ask someone who knows maybe? Or is the answer going to keep politicians from getting the usual millions in kickbacks and payoffs? Maybe they can work for their regular pay for a few years? Whatever the cure, quit pointing fingers and do what you are paid to do. No one is asking for anything more than that.
Pass a budget for a change!
Cut some spending!
Cut out government regulation on everything but the people who citizens trust with money for the next 4 years.
Private sector job growth, we need earened money in the system to grow the economy, not funny money the Fed prints on a promise. There is no value in money that is not earned making something of value.
Here is a good one. Let the market dictate what people want. The government has no business in the windmill business, solar panel business, electric car business or any other business. It isn't the governments job to make a business profitable, it is the consumer. Want people to buy that stuff? Produce it cheaper. Don't depend on government money and a government promise to get the price raised for what your competition offers. It is hurting the economy. Remember, Free Market!
Anyway, I could go on and on. It is probably just Bush's fault, so why bother fixing it.
This is what I see here:
"I'm here to SHOUT about my righteous indignation towards all of those socialist, fascist, communist, Nazi, un-American, welfare-getting, off-shore investing, liberal, neo-conservative, racist, sexist, illegal imigrant, rich 1 percenter posters here that do not agree totally with me! How anyone could have a different point of view makes my head explode. And why would anyone want to have a civil discussion when name-calling and cursing can solve problems so much quicker?
Don't tread on my 1st Amendment right to free speeches, my 2nd Amendment right to arm bears, and my other amendment rights that I'm a little fuzzy on because I didn't pay attention in Social Studies class but I know they are there. I'm an American and I can be as stupid and foolish as I want - I think that's one of those other Amendments."
Any other thoughts?
Yeah, can i have some of your stuff? :)
Yeah. You're a typical Demosocialist bull shiit spreader.
Thanks for proving my point
Filthylib, you all do the same thing! so what is the difference?
You are very welcome. Your need for acceptance by us is touching but we don't want any part of you on our side.
No difference, just my punctuation and capitalization is a little better.
hey Ulysesses, is Filthylib upset now? ha ha ha! BTW, is that all you got? Why can't you and other libs admit when you are wrong! When bush was in office, all libs would say "that is mean spirited" etc. and now you all spout off things such as: 'you lost, get over it' etc. So, if we are what you say we are, then you and others like you are no different!
I'm wrong.
You are very very wrong
See, we CAN agree on some things.
yes, we can agree on some things, you know that both parties are corrupt anyway! they want us to argue so they can dictate what they are going to do to us!
I'm with you there. Divide and conquer. It's just a shame we've gotten to the point of yelling and screaming and cursing without actually listening. I'm guilty, too. "Different opinions" is the American way. Beating each other up over them shouldn't be. Again, that was really my point.
Cool, forgive me for calling you filthy!