President Obama, departing the Senate chamber following his State Of The Union address, once again in the thick of one of the biggest, and perhaps most deferential autograph-seeking mobs youy’ll ever see. What did you guys think?
We are citizens. It’s a word that doesn’t just describe our nationality or legal status. It describes the way we’re made. It describes what we believe. It captures the enduring idea that this country only works when we accept certain obligations to one another and to future generations, that our rights are wrapped up in the rights of others, and that well into our third century as a nation, it remains the task of us all, as citizens of these United States, to be the authors of the next great chapter of our American story. Thank you, God bless you, and God bless these United States of America.President Obama, closing out the first State of the Union address of his second term.
When any American, no matter where they live or what their party, are denied [the right to vote] because they can’t afford to wait for five, or six, or seven hours to cast a ballot, we are betraying our ideals. So tonight I’m announcing a non-partisan commission to improve the voting experience in America, and it definitely needs improvement. …we can fix this, and we will. The American people demand it, and so does our democracy.President Obama, calling for reforms to the voting process.This was foreshadowed in a single line during his victory speech on election night 2012 (“we have to fix that”), and as Obama explained, attorneys from both his campaign and that of his opponent, Mitt Romney, will participate in the effort.
…an AIDS free generation is within our reach.President Obama, echoing remarks by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, that medical advancements, prevention and education could usher in a new era, free from the scourge of AIDS.
President Obama touched pointedly on nuclear armaments just now, stating that the North Korean government needed to halt “provocations” like yesterday’s nuclear test and meet their international obligations, and saying he’d continue working with Russia to pare down the volume of nuclear arms in our respective arsenals.
By the end of next year, our war in Afghanistan will be over.President Obama, delivering a line that drew hearty applause. The Afghanistan War, as demonstrated during the 2012 presidential campaign, is actually an issue on which botht he Democrats and GOP have had some second thoughts in recent years. If and when it ends next year will not elude one dubious distinction, though – it’s already the longest war in U.S. history.
Right now, leaders from business, law enforcement, faith communities, all agree. Now is the time for comprehensive immigration reform. Now is the time. Time to get it done.President Obama, calling for comprehensive immigration reform, subsequently citing his administration’s increase of “boots on the ground” along the Mexican border. He did seek to strike a balance between liberal and conservative dialogues on immigration, however, stating that undocumented immigrants would go “to the back of the line.”
President Obama just called for increased spending on infrasture, speficially saying he’d move to make necessary repairs on the scores of under-maintained bridges throughout the country. He also called to make pre-school available to every child in America: “Every dollar we invest in early childhood education can save seven dollars later on, …Let’s do what works, and make sure none of our kids start the race of life already behind.”
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Now is not the time to gut these new job-creating innovations… today, no area holds more promise than our investments in American energy. After years of talking about it, we’re poised to finally control our own energy future. …But for the sake of our children, we must do more to combat climate change.President Obama, segueing from praising increases in American oil and gas production, to speaking more solmenly of the dangers of climate change. Obama cited the recent glut of hottest years on record, and referenced numerous, unusually forceful weather incidents – Superstorm Sandy among them – as reasons he will seek to wield executive power to act on climate reforms, even if congress passes.
President Obama on taxes: ”Now is our best chance for comprehensive tax reform that helps grow small business, and cuts the deficit. …The American people deserve a tax code that let’s small businesses spend less time filling out complicated paperwork, and more time hiring.
These sudden, harsh, arbitrary cuts would decimate or military readiness, education, research… it would certainly hurt our recovery.President Obama, speaking out against the looming sequestration budget cuts. He also condemned the thought of holding off on the defense cuts, while still enforcing cuts to programs like Social Security: “That idea is worse.”
It is our generation’s task to reignite the true engine of America’s economic growth, a rising, thriving middle class.President Obama, hitting for the first time what pre-address reporting suggested would be the keystone of his speech – appealing to an expansion of the American middle-class.
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