The State of the Union
GOP Response
Washington Post Coverage
1. Which issue raised do you personally feel is most important? Why?
2. Was the speech effective? Why/Why not?
3. What would you do to make the speech more effective?
Respond to at least one of the above prompts in a few paragraphs supporting your response with examples from the speech. Due Friday am.
90 comments:
Shayma Vazifdar
After watching the State of the Union speech by Barack Obama I was indeed uplifted with the sentiment of hope and optimism. Before watching this speech I was as a matter of fact quite skeptical. I was not really sure about Barack Obama’s stance on certain issues raised throughout the speech. However, after watching it for a while I got the gist of his viewpoints and in what directions he wants to steer America and the American people to.
Personally, I thought the speech was very much effective. I was inspired by and more confident about our President. Obama did an exceptional job of addresses both parties faults, strong points, and dilemmas. He also made a point to make it our nation’s top priority to create new jobs and to help save jobs. He mentioned the Recovery Act and how it has acted as an avenue of hope and how it has saved many jobs, as well. Also, small businesses have been made a top priority and that they too deserve to get loans along with the larger businesses. He even talks about clean energy and how that will help create thousands of jobs through manufacturing of solar panels, batteries, etc. He even advocated for off shore drilling and safer nuclear power plants as another source of clean energy. He also mentions to give rebates to clean energy homes as an incentive. Another point he makes is about education. This grasped my attention because I too will go university and will have to face the burdens of college loans and with the rising costs of tuition paying off college debt will be much more difficult. Also, I too agree with Obama that people should not be in debt for the rest of their lives or not have the opportunity to receive an education just because they cannot afford it. Therefore education reform is a must and with Obama’s promising words there is still hope for this to happen.
The other night, President Barack Obama stood before Congress and millions of Americans to deliver his first State of the Union address from Capitol Hill. In this speech Obama covered the major policy issues facing Americans today, emphasizing jobs, taxcuts, the Bank Bailout, the Recovery Act and more. I feel that this speech was effective for many reasons.
Firstly, I felt that Obama tried to get across the message that whether you're a Republican or a Democrat, you need to put that aside for now and do what's right for America as a whole. Without cooperation form both parties, it will be very difficult to pull America out of this recession, and he did a good job in addressing this issue. I, personally, got the impression that Obama was addressing everyone, not just the Democrats, which I admire, and think will get him support as our President.
Secondly, Obama is a very good public speaker in the sense that he really connected to and related to his audience. From examples like mentioning little league, to examples like reading letters every night that are written by mothers and children, Obama really expressed the message that he is one of us, and listens to what we have to say and aknowledges what we need.
Obama also addressed the Bank Bailout, and conveyed the bipartisan message that he hated situation we were put in, too. When addressing issues like the Recovery Act, Obama expressed how happy he was that a single teacher was able to save her job, and wasn't fired, that a window shop owner who had no faith in this act was able to add 2 more shifts, and that small business owners like one in Illyria, Ohio was given the credit he needed to stay afloat. By addressing specific examples such as these, I believe Obama connected to Americans who previously believed there voices weren't being heard, contributing to this speech's effectiveness.
Finally, I believe Obama's State of the Union speech was effective because it brought hope to Americans. He recognized the fact that mistakes have been made in the past, and that our economic situation is anything but perfect, but he was optimistic in addressing our future.
Ashwin Singhaviranon
Period 7 Civics
To me, the most important issue raised in this speech was jobs. The president clearly said that jobs will be his number one priority and it is very clear that his party’s election in November and his reelection will have a lot to do with the unemployment numbers. Not surprisingly however, the president planned to use deficit spending to create jobs by fostering pet projects and giving money to main street. However, what surprised me most was how willing he was to embrace Republican ideology such as tax cuts for businesses and not getting rid of Bush’s capital gains tax. The president seem to be taking a very moderate approach in terms of approaching this issue by spending as well as cutting tax. This is of high concern to me because the strength of our nation is not about how high the Dow Jones Industrial Average is, but truly likes in the strength of the workforce. The more people are employed with higher pay, the stronger the country is. This issue also is also very interesting to me because of my interest in economics and still unsure role of how the government should play in commerce.
The speech was effective on some levels but ineffective on others. Politically, it seems that the president was an angry father yelling at his kids who have been behaving badly. President Obama basically mocked and had comments to do with every section of every branch of government from the Republicans who aren’t willing to work with him, to the democrats who won’t vote for his policies, to the Supreme Court who set the precedent to allow lobbyists to influence American elections. The power the President had during the speech was awe inspiring. But on another level, to the voters, the President, like he did for most of his policies during the first year, failed to communicate truly what his plans were. He needs to be able to just present a 5 point plan for all the important issues. For example, for healthcare, the president could simply say government option, fair marketplace, tort reform, no denial of preexisting conditions, and medical care for children. People instead feel as if no one in congress has even read the 1500 page or so bill, and I felt that the president missed a very large opportunity to do that. Nevertheless, this speech was still your typical high soaring Barack Obama speech which most of us saw during the campaign and may have created a bit more energy in his policy, but the true decider of his poll numbers will be whether or not these policies come to live.
I believe that the most important issue raised during the speech by Barack Obama was jobs. With the unemployment rate in the U.S over 10%,families all over the country are dealing with the affects of the recession and are losing their jobs. Without jobs, Americans are losing their homes, and the economy is continuing to do poorly.
Barack Obama brought up the Recovery Act, which would help people keep their jobs. He also plans to increase the amount of jobs available to Americans, allowing more people to get a job. By allowing more people to work, families will make more money. With this money, they can spend it back into the economy and allow the economy as a whole to improve.
Barack Obama's speech was effective because he discussed key issues and explained his plans to fix them. To make his speech more effective, however, he needs more evidence to prove that he can help fix all the problems.
Haley Turner:
I believe that the most important issue discussed during the State of the Union speech was the Recovery Act. The focus of the Recovery act is to supply more jobs for Americans and create tax cuts. By supplying jobs and cutting taxes our economy will start to pull itself out of this recession.
Tax cuts are important to a lot of families and business because it will help them invest their money in other things and not pour it all into the government. Families and citizens will have more money now to pay bills and other debts they may be in.
Creating more jobs and getting the jobs that American's were laid off from back is also going to be a huge benefit to America. Our unemployment rate is at a record high right now and it is definitely taking a toll on families all over the country.With more people going back to work, the more money people will have in their pockets, which means more money people can spend and go back to our economy. Obama mentioned how in order to create more jobs for American's, they will start major projects which will create many work position that need to be filled.
The topic of unemployment and lack of availability of jobs was the most important issue that Obama talked about because it is probably the only issue in America right now that has impacted everybody. It is important for him to address what kind of action he is going to take to resolve this issue because every American is feeling the harsh affects of this recession and need to now that there is going to be change.
Nick Cesca:
The most important issue, I feel that the United States is facing now is the enonomy. I appreciate Obama and everything he wants to do as our president, but I feel for us to accomplish some things, like making energy advanced batteries, solar panels, and investing in biofuels, we have to have a strong economy and right now, I don't think we're there yet. I don't think a lot of the american citizens are happy with some of the steps he's took so far as a president of the United States, especially the Republicans. I believe he has to create more jobs. Unemployment is very low right now in the U.S., and will only decline more if more jobs aren't created quickly.
Obama and the house passed an energy bill, which the democrats loved. The Republicans on the other hand did not like the idea because they feel that, that will lead to raising taxes, especially on the middle class. Once again, I respect his opinion on the energy bill, but I feel right now, we have to try to get out of debt, and help our economy because without that, the energy bill won't go too far if we don't have the money to support it.
George Bush expanded federal budget by a historic 700 billion through 2008. Since Obama has been in office, he has added another trillion. To me, that is not exactly the best way to handle this situation. He is spending way too much money. I think Obama needs to get opinions from both the democrats and the republicans and get a better understanding of what we, the people want instead of just listening to people in the house.
The issue raised that was the most important to me was jobs and the economy. President Obama said that the Recovery Act was responsible for many improvements in Americas economy. In fact, the President even said that one of his top goals was to "get the economy growing again".
So far to increase jobs, he has extended unemployment benefits, made cheaper health insurance, and cut taxes for many people such as working families, small businesses, first time home buyers, parents, and 8 million Americans paying for college.
Since he has cut taxes so much, people have more money to spend. And when people spend money, businesses get more money.
Along with cutting taxes, he has not increased income taxes "by a single dime".
As a result of President Obamas actions, there are currently 2 million people in the United States who are employed who otherwise wouldn't be if it wasn't for the Recovery Act.
Both the left and right wing approve of it, and I was very glad to hear that the prime focus of 2010 will be getting Amercans jobs, since I know how hard it is for a 16 or 17 year old to get a job in these times.
Ryan Hobson
Period 2
I feel the most important topic addressed by Obama in the State of the Union Address was the economy. This is by far the most crucial thing to take care of during these times because it is the foundation of our country. I think more emphasis needs to be placed on getting our economy back on it's feet before he proposes new plans that will only draw more money from our already multi-trillion dollar debt. One of the only ways that I feel to boost the economy is get the unemplyment rate back to normal. When people have jobs, they have extra money to buy things that may not be nessessary to living, thus putting money into the economy. But when people don't have a job, there is no extra money in the budget for luxuries.
I think that the speech was effective to project the "ideas" of what should happen. However, just because it is said in a speech doesn't mean that all of those proposals will be initiated. It all sounds good on paper but the really test will be if those things mentioned actually get done. I think Obama is a good public speaker, but just because he says it doesn't mean he is going to do it. I say this because many things that he had promised during the election, have not been addressed. I will be impressed with this speech when the things promised are completed.
Meghan Fackler, Period 7
In my opinion, President Obama’s State of the Union speech was very effective, because he showed hope for our nation as he addressed each important issue. His positive outlook for the future of our country helps to give the people of the United States hope as well. When he discussed the issue of unemployment in the United States, President Obama stated that our country is “on track” to add one and a half million jobs by the end of the year. This could seem like an empty promise on its own, but Obama backed it up with solid plans for exactly how he would follow through with this plan to make jobs the main focus of this year. He proposed giving $30 billion to community banks to help support small businesses, and he proposed a new small business tax credit that will be given to small businesses that hire new workers or raise wages. With these propositions, Obama is bringing new hope to millions of Americans who are out of work, and to small businesses who need support in this time of economic decline.
Also, Obama mentioned the importance of long-term economic growth. When talking about economic reform he says, “We've got to get it right.” This gave me the feeling that there is hope for the country’s economic recovery, and that President Obama will do all he possibly can to get the United States back on the right track again; it shows that he will only accept what is best for the American people.
Gary...
The other night President Barack Obama made his first State of The Union address to Congress. During the speech President Obama touched on many important issues including, tax cuts, finding cleaner energy, the war in Iraq, and the financial future of our country. Honestly all of these issues are equally important, and who am I to say that finding clean energy is more important then getting troops home? (Even though I feel that it is not.) In my opinion the most important topic President Obama addressed the other night was the current unemployment problem.
President Obama has said that finding and end to this problem is his main focus during Two Thousand and Ten, but because of the massive size of the problem he knows it cannot be dealt with completely within ones years time. Obama said that a little over ten percent of Americans are job less! The Recovery Act is Obama’s idea to help American families keep their jobs. Jobs will be created helping Americans during this awful time. With more jobs being created more Americans will have money to spend on food and other necessities, homes will be kept, and the foreclosure rate will drop. Americans will once again have money to spend, thus boosting the economy (witch really needs a “boosting”). He also talked about middle class tax cuts, and tax cuts for small businesses that either raise their workers salaries or hire new workers.
This is the most important topic he addressed to me because being a member of a middle class family I know how many other American families are feeling right now, and its only worse for the poor souls who have lost their jobs or have been laid off. I am thankful every day that my parents still have their jobs, and to the best of my knowledge will continue having their same jobs for quite some time. I have had friends and family who have been laid off and or lost their jobs and I know how depressing and to an extent degrading it is.
President Obama said one thing during his campaign and that one thing was change, he promised change, and he said he would bring that change. With his Job Bill and Recovery Act I firmly believe President Barack Obama can and will bring the change he promised to us the American people last November. I have faith in him and in congress; I believe they will do what needs to be done to help the American people they claim to serve.
After watching the State of the Union address by Barack Obama, I thought that the speech was very effective. I thought so because it addressed the most important issues, such as unemployment, energy efficiency, the war on terror, healthcare, and how all of that links back to our present day economy. I think that these are the most important issues because they effect everyone living in the United States. As far as the job crisis goes, I do agree with Obama when he said that something had to be done, since a good economy consists of circulating money and low unemployment and this is something that our present economy could defiantly use. Therefore, by the government starting the circulation of money once again, through the Recovery Act, more jobs will be available as well as helping improve our economy.
The energy crisis is also an important issue to consider. Even though there has been a lot of skeptic views against things such as global warming, it cant hurt to be more energy efficient. However, there are a lot of things that need to be worked out such as where they can put things like wind turbines. This is because everyone seems to love the idea of them until they realize that their going to go up in their backyard, then its not okay. Therefore, while I do believe that energy efficiency is something to consider, I don't think that it should take priority over other things such as jobs. This is because there are still a lot of things that need to be worked out as well as it not being a huge issue at the moment and instead it being more planning for the future.
In conclusion, I believe that the State of the Union was a very effective speech because it covered all the issues that need to be sorted out immediately, as well as his plans to fix them. However, I do think that some issues should take priority over others. For example, if people don't have jobs, they wont be able to pay bills or taxes and then the government wont have the money to do things such as using more energy efficient technology. However, its a good sign that the government has a lot of plans to help our future, and has a positive outlook on it as well.
The most important issue raised at Barack Obama's first State of the Union adress to me that was adressed would be the creation of jobs. As of right now, the unemployment rate for the American people is at 10%. Obama also stated a recovery act that will open up jobs for Americans as well as stabilizing our economy. He also is planning on making more job opprotunities for Americans so the unemployment rate will drop. Barack Obama also stated, "Jobs will be the number 1 focus in 2010." Some other points that were brought up at the State of Union were tax cuts, and how the small buisnesses deserve to get loans as well as the big buisnesses.
I personally think that the speech was effective. I say this because i truely believe that Barack Obama gave hope and courage to his fellow Americans. He gave them hope by stating that he was making the jobs his number 1 priority in 2010 and also giving his americans the courage that we can all fight to emerge from this harsh time that we are facing. I feel he got his points across well by stating facts and saying what he plans on doing to stabilize our economy. The only thing is that he needs to do now is accomplish all of the issues that he addressed at the State of Union since he didn't do a good job in following through on the promises that he made during the election. Other than that, I dont think there is anything else that could have made this speech more effective.
To me, the most important part of the State of the Union address was his commitment to making America the best country on Earth once again. Obama wants to improve not only our economy, but the lives and overall happiness of the people in America. To do this, he will have to gain the trust of both Liberals and Conservatives, and put his plans into action quickly.
I thought that the speech had a mixed effectiveness. For some, it was effective, as they saw that President Obama was trying to make a genuine commitment to the country and the people in it. For others, it was not, because they saw it as a ploy to "get more money from them." He talked about his various plans, and how he was going to cut taxes for regular people, and increase taxes on big banks which had received bailout funds from the government. That way, the government can decrease its deficits and get back to whatever it is a government normally does.
I would have tried to stress the point of bipartisanship more, which might have given the speech more support with the Republicans. Otherwise, I thought that the speech was very well-written and very inspiring.
After watching this speech I believed that Obama had alot of moving and strong opinions on all different topics that someone people wanted to be answered. But the one that I thought was very eye-opening to me was when he started talking about taxes and finacial situtaions. Also he told us How we recovered most of the money we spend on the banks, But after Obama said that he also said " Most but not all". To recover the rest he propose a fee on the biggest things. He extented or increase for almost 18 million americans he made health insurance cheaper for families. Obama has cut taxes for 95% of working families, they cut taxes for small business, they also cut taxes for first time home buyers, and for parents taking care of their children, and also cut taxes for 18 million teenagers paying for college. As in resolute more americans had more to spend for gas,food,bills etc all that whiched helped business keep going. We havent had to raised a single dime on income taxes on not one single person.
after watching the state of the union speech by obama i had my opinion of the government shifted. i used to think that the government didnt really pay much attention to the true needs of its people. but in this speech hat was really eye opening was when he started talking about the recovery act and how still 10% of of the people in this country are still unemployed and looking for work. he showed me that its not just about aplying to a job and hoping to get it its a chain of things that go on starting with the big business's and the smaller not having enough money to employ alot of poeple. he said he is going to make a new jobs bill and i hope it goes well because if there is one thing that makes a dent in our society, is the unemployment and alot of poeple getting laid over. he said he is going to try to give us jobs by making new and better ways of making energy and drilling in new oil feilds. i hope everything goes well well.
Personally, I found there to be many good points raised in The State of the Union; however, The President gave few practical solutions. It is one thing to expound on the importance of fixing the economy and lowering the unemployment rate but these are the same promises I have heard throughout the year. What was most important to me were the plans to increase funding towards research and education.
It is impossible to completely fix the economy and reach full employment within a few months or even a year so it is nice to see The President taking the first steps towards long term prosperity. By lowering the operating costs of business and increasing government grants to research we are laying the foundation to help keep jobs and businesses in our country in order to bring prosperity. Environmental reform is critical as well and by incentivising corporations and homes to become more green the government can put more money into the people's pocket who really need it.
Environmental reform has another positive in that it will create many federal projects to build reactors, and other alternative energy sources. By creating these large projects (and the bullet trains to be built in Florida and California) we can create many jobs to lower unemployment. The President's plans to begin fixing the economy were what I found most interesting personally.
President Obama has a way of making all of his speeches sound effective. He connects with the people well and is a great speaker, yet never manages to actually say what he is going to do about the problems stated in his speech. I feel the Recovery Act is one of the most important issues in our economy today. In this act he proposed to give 30 billion dollars back to community banks to help support small business. He also said one and a half million people will have jobs by the end of the year. While this sounds like an awesome plan, I won’t say that it is until it actually happens. Ten percent of people are jobless and this needs to change as soon as possible. Another good idea President Obama had was doubling our exports over the five years. Although I think this is a good idea, I don’t think it is really possible considering China makes a majority of our products. I will say Obama truly cares about the people of the United States, I just think he needs to really push forward his ideas and make them actually happen.
The most important topic that President Obama addressed in the State of the Union is the current economy situation. Within the wide spectrum of economic problems, one of the biggest issues that President Obama addressed was creating new jobs for Americans. I believe the number one priority of the US government at the time should be to create new jobs, because once people have money to spend, they will invest it into the economy and eventually jump start the consumer cycle again. Creating new jobs is also very important because people will be happier and this is important because the people will have more faith in the government and trust it.
In the State of the Union, President Obama stated that one of his main courses of action includes giving tax cuts to companies that create jobs in the United States. I believe this is an effective way for the government to help the United States create more jobs. By providing tax cuts, companies in the US will realize that the prices within the United States are comparable to not only those overseas but also that it will ultimately help their companies by helping the people.
President Obama also plans to help create jobs by clean energy. President Obama believes that if the United States seriously invested in clean energy, more jobs will be created not only for the research, but also once a means is discovered. I also believe that this is a good idea, because the research for clean energy itself will open up lots of jobs for many Americans. Clean energy is also important because it will be friendlier to not only the environment, but also the economy.
I believe that the speech as a whole was an effective one mostly because of President Obama’s speaking abilities and the specifics he mentioned in the speech. One problem I have is that he was delivered speeches like this many times and was unable to follow through with his ideas. Since his time in office, he hasn’t made any significant changes like he had promised, especially healthcare. I would like to see President Obama follow through with his ideas this year.
The State of the Union address delivered by Barack Obama to Congress was very enlightening. The issue that I felt was most important was the bank bailout. The president's stance on this issue was that we should stop giving bonuses to corrupt and failing officials and focus more on lending out to small businesses with good plans who will create jobs. This is exactly what our money should be spent on. The people looking for loans that they can use to further themselves, others and our economy are exactly what this country needs.
I think that this speech was very effective. Barack Obama was charismatic and supportive. When he explained what was going on in our nation he did not lay blame but outlined his plans to fix our problems so that we can keep moving forward. He touched on many issues that were important that served both sides, never losing sight of his goal to help the people of the United States.
Rob Rowley
After watching the State of the Union speech by Obama i thought that Obama really does care about the people. Before watching the speech i also thought that he was in office for a populaity contest but like he said hes not and he is in it to do what is right for the country. Also i think that he has alot of hope for his country and he is very optimistic. After watching most of the speech i figured out that he wants to steer the country in the other direction, the right direction i think. It does not matter who you are or if your a democrate or republican, i feel like he was trying to say we need to put aside or differences and just make america peaceful as a whole. I also believe that obama really cares about the people because he talked about the recesson and how alot of people lost there job and therfor had no income to support there familys and therefor might have lost there homes or maybe lost there children because they couldnt support them and i belive that Obama is trying to fix the mistakes that where done and like i said before bring the country together as a whole. He also extented or increase for almost 18 million americans and he made health insurance cheaper for families so that they could get better and also so they do not die.
Alessandra Pulit
On 27 January 2010, President Barak Obama delivered his State of the Union address to millions of Americans. Throughout the seventy minutes of the speech, Congress applauded and got to their feet multiple times. There is no doubt that Obama is a skilled speech deliverer; however, that does not guarantee that his speech was in anyway effective. Obama has wonderful speaking skills. His rhythm, pacing, and emphasis while speaking is almost perfect, and it is partly because of this skill that he won the 2008 election. It is speaking skills like this that will get a politician like Obama far, but only so far for temporary success.
According to Gallup.com, Obama’s approval rating went down after the State of the Union address. His approval rating on Gallup.com from 22 January to 24 January was 69%; his approval ratings after the address from 27 January to 29 January dropped to 47%. His address does not appear to be effective. There can be a few causes to why his address was not effective. The address touched upon many issues our country presently faces including energy sources, education, tax cuts, and national security; however, it is clear that President Obama has an agenda that leans to the left. I am not accusing him of being too leftist; he did propose ideas that the conservative groups would agree to such as the option of off-shore drilling. I believe the reason behind the ineffectiveness of his speech is that he appears to be trying almost too hard to please everyone. A politician should stand firm by his beliefs and get the job done. At this point the speech made many promises, in addition to the awaited promises of his campaign, and America seems to be wary. It is very hard to keep promises that please everyone, and America is very aware of this fact. The American people will not believe the promises until we see som action being taken.
"Presidential Approval Ratings -- Barack Obama." Gallup.Com - Daily News, Polls, Public Opinion on Government, Politics, Economics, Management. Web. 04 Feb. 2010. .
Nick Sasso Period 6 Civics
After watching the state of the union I feel that the speech is very effective because president Obama disscused the important issues of america.
One of America main issues, is the economy. President Obama takled about ways to boost our economy such as cut spending. A point that president Obama is that he would help small business so their would be more jobs which could help the American economy. Another way they would help the economy which would be to cut spending limits. They would cut the spending limits and use that money to help the economy. These techniques of saving money and using the money to pay off our debts, and help small business will help stimulate the economy, which would make the speech more effective.
Obama also disscused other issues such as lowering college expense. This agruement that President Obama made stood out to me most of all. This stood out toward me because I have two years of high school and then I am of to college. College has been getting very expensive over the years. Parents are not sure if they can be able to afford it. Obama spoke of many ways because to help lower the cost for college. This made many Americans feel relieved, and made the speech more effective.
This is why the state of the uniion was effective, because it talked about Americas main issues and ways to deal with those issues.
After watching President Obama’s speech, I felt that the issue of higher education and the cost of it was most important to me. I think that everyone should have the opportunity to attend a college or university. I support Obama’s plan to revitalize community college, and to eliminate expensive private loan programs, and use that money for student aid.
I think that President Obama’s speech was very effective. He presented solutions to the multiple problems facing our country today, like; higher education cost, jobs, clean energy, and economic recovery. Also, in his speech, Obama was able to offer solutions that both the democrats and republicans favored. For example, the republicans clapped when Obama mentioned offshore drilling. Although, Obama’s speech was very good, and he couldn’t have done anything to make it better, the American people cannot just take his word for the new reforms. We have to wait and see what will happen in the next few years.
I thought that the most important issue addressed in Obama’s first State of the Union address was that of energy. Without a constant supply of energy this country would quickly collapse and none of the other issues would matter any more. Renewable energy sources must be used if this country is to live to see the dawn of the twenty-second century. The issue most important to me, that of environmental protection, relies on clean energy replacing fossil fuels as the most commonly-used type of energy. I was very pleased to hear Obama’s plans for solar power and clean coal research. Although I’m sure many were dismayed, I am not overly concerned with the planned expansion of the use of nuclear power. This was because it was specifically the clean and safe type. Clean nuclear power can be gained in one of two ways. One: research into fusion technology, in my opinion the best choice but still likely a little way down the road. Two: the recycling of nuclear waste material rather than dumping it, which is the method used by most prosperous, largely nuclear-powered European countries. As for safe, all that has to be done is insure that as many precautions are taken and failsafes put in place as possible. I am uncertain about biofuel research, for although they are a renewable resource, biofuels tend to burn just as dirtily as gasoline. I was dismayed to hear the plans for offshore drilling, though I hope that this was just talk, a statement meant to appease the Republicans.
The speech was very effective. Obama is an excellent speaker and is very charismatic. He has a great number of excellent ideas that could keep America from losing its superpower status. While watching the address I felt by far the most optimistic I have been since Obama took office. However, I worry that these new promises will bear no more fruit than the ones made over a year ago. Obama may have many excellent ideas, Congress is still a madhouse and I fear they will block the president from carrying out any of his ideas. This has been the case for the past year and I fear that it will continue to be the case for the next three.
In my opinion, the most important issue President Obama adressed was jobs. He showed hope for our nation by talking about all important issues. President Obama stated that jobs was going to be his number one priority this year in 2010, taking steps to this he would give money to main street.Obama backed it up with solid plans for exactly how we would follow through with this plan to make jobs the main focus of the year. By hearing Obama talk about how there will be more jobs this gave me hope that the economy soon eventually recover.
Having a majority of American unemployed leads to them losing their homes, not having health insurance and the economy still doing very poorly.By having more jobs for Americans,families will make more money. And with the more money they have this money can be spent back into the economy.
Therefore I believe President Obamas speech was effective because he talked about all the problems in American and the things he is going to do to solve all the problems.
What most people dont understand is that President Obama has only been in office for a year and can not fix all the problems that Bush has caused in the United States. So I believe over time Obama will achive all his problems and fix America.
It seemed as though Obama’s speech highlighted five main ideas.
1. Spending billions of dollars on socialized medicine
2. Spending billions of dollars to bail out banks
3. Spending billions of dollars on an economic stimulus plan
4. Spending billions of dollars on alternative energy
5. Spending billions of dollars on infrastructure.
Can our economy really afford to do all of this right now?
The most important theme of Obama’s State of the Union Address would have to be healthcare. Now that the Democrats no longer have their 60-vote, filibuster proof majority in the Senate, it will be much harder for Obama to pass his healthcare bill. Obama plans to tax the wealthiest of American’s so that the rest of the country can have “universal healthcare.” His plans to have the government control the health care system can be potentially very detrimental. No one knows what the government will turn down if they dell is doesn’t meet the “needs” of the program. I’m sure that many Americans sitting down to watch Obamas speech were quite eager to hear the latest on this unfortunate plan.
One thing that would have definitely made Obama’s speech effective would be if he stopped pointing fingers at Bush and took initiative do what he is supposed to, and promised to do. He seemed to be blaming his inability to do anything he said we would do because Bush left so many problems to him and the rest of the country to deal with. On multiple occasions Obama made references about the previous administration and how their “spending and tax cuts” has caused so many issues that he can’t do anything he promised. He tried to take the blame of the problems in this country off his shoulders and on to the Bush Administration. When he was referring to the tax cuts and spending he even said, “All of this is before I walked in the door.”
Aaron Perlroth:
As we watched the State of the Union speech, my interest for our country’s current and future status grew. Coming from a family who doesn’t discuss their political views as often as most, I haven’t been truly exposed to the numerous issues that this country faces. After reviewing the speech, I have accumulated many questions and gained my own opinions on the various topics mentioned.
I will be honest, when President Obama mentioned the Bank Bailout, I was completely clueless. I had no idea what that meant or what it was. But after listening to his explanation and its outcomes, I am now aware of the efforts being made to recover from this recession. However, I fail to understand why both Democrats and Republicans disliked this bailout because Obama stated that because of it, jobs weren’t lost, businesses stayed open, and people were able to keep their homes. Apparently it wasn’t the popular choice, but clearly it was the necessary one.
In addition to the action taken towards banks, the cutting down of taxes also showed positive results. For instance, by paying smaller amounts of taxes, people had money to spend on gas and other goods which helped small businesses stay afloat.
There is no question that President Obama’s main focus is to help small businesses succeed. He proposed a Jobs Bill which says $30 billion dollars recovered from the bailout will go towards community banks to loan out to small businesses. My question is, what happens when that $30 billion runs out and the majority of those businesses didn’t succeed? It’s lost money from my perspective. He means well but I believe the outcome to this proposition is anything but positive.
Matt Bailey:
I feel that the most important issue that President Barack Obama brought up while delivering his state of the union speech was the high unemployment rate. I say that because this issue effects a ton of families and I feel is one of the main reasons are economy is bad. I believe that one people get a job and a source of income, then they will start to spend money again. They once people spend their money businesses grow which creates more jobs, and that will start a circle of success.
Yes, I feel that the Presidents speech was very effective because he hit on almost all of the major issue that linger in our nation today, and he also didn’t only satisfy the democrats but the republicans too. He gave brief ways that he was going to solve all of our nations problems, which got the American people and the crowd excited but never gave the complete story of how he would put his plan into action. So, therefore I believe that if he wanted to make his speech more effective then he would have gone more into depth on how he would solve Americans many problems. For example, say how he would make more jobs other then saying just export more goods, what goods? That is just the one minor thing that I would change in his speech because this is what all Americans are wondering these days.
Marikate Villano
Before watching and listening to the State of the Union Speech, I really had no concept of what to expect and why the class was going to watch it. All I knew was this must be an important speech, and other than that the only other things/ information I knew about President Barack Obama was what I have heard from others. I have heard only minimal information on the news because I shut off the television after only a few short seconds..
After watching the State of the Union Speech, by our President Barack Obama, I was much confused at first, because I don’t really follow or understand politics. After I went home and watched the speech for the second time, I had a much clearer understanding/ concept on what President Obama was trying to convey. President Obama raised many different issues throughout his speech, taking a clear and strong stand on what he believes. He wants to try to make Americans understand and believe in the causes he is fighting for.
I found this speech to be in numerous ways effective. President Obama addressed the strengths and weaknesses of both the Democratic and Republican parties. Also Obama addresses some of the very important issues that are affecting our nation today. One of the main issues that are affecting our nation today is the issue of education. The educational issue spans s from kindergarten to college students. I will be heading off to college in a little over a year, and in the back of my mind lurks how I am going to pay for all of it. Every year the cost of college increases and with the state of the economy continuously declining it is going to be harder and harder to get loans. In order to send me to college my parents will need to re-mortgage the house. Another important issue that President Obama addressed is the need to not only create new and more jobs for the citizens that are unemployed, but to save the jobs of the people that still currently lucky enough to hold one. An example if this would be all of the teachers that may be laid off or let go, because of the decreasing money in the schools budget. The lack of money that is needed pay to employee the entire teacher is not there. This not only affects the teachers and their families but the students as well. The students will be affected because the amount of students in the classes will increase. The students will be unable to get the individual and small group attention needed to obtain the proper skills.
When all is said and done our President Barack Obama has done an amazing job, during his first year in office. He has given our nation the optimization and hope that it needs. He is letting the citizens know that, in time, with the right changes and adaptations, our nation will overcome all the issues and controversy, it is going through today.
Now that I have watched the State of the Union speech, I am very encouraged and am looking forward to taking on the challenges that we will face in the future together. Until the speech, I had lost faith in the government and Obama, as I heard very little about actions being taken in Washington except for the health care bill, which I heard much debate about. Obama raised this concern in his speech. He states that he hopes to provide coverage for all Americans by providing fair access to health care that would be afforable and be chosen from a competitive market. However, those people with a plan would be able to keep their doctor and their plan. Thus, we can help to make sure all Americans are covered while allowing people with pre-existing health care to continue. I see a good idea in this bill. I am glad the administration is closer to getting this bill passed.
I believed the speech was very effective. This is because Obama uses the history of the hardships faced by the American people and their triumph over these issues(although some seemed impossible to overcome) and assures us that we CAN do this- we can restore our country to its former glory again. His example of the people in Haiti rescued from the rubble shouting "USA" was inspiring, as I picture a world where the United States is respected everywhere in the world as a leader in global politics and economy.
If I had the choice to make the speech even MORE effective, I would've put some of the "bones" he throws at the Republican party near the end of the speech, so that when the speech ends, both parties are left with a positive note and people who support either party can be left optimistic at the end of the speech.
Lastly, I believe this is a time for us to come together as Americans and support President Obama. If we keep our divisions strong and refuse to join one another to work towards a common goal, we may very well never achieve it. So, I encourage people to be less pessimistic and outright condemn the policies and suggested bills of the current administration and rather offer ways to better their policies and suggested bills.
For me, I feel that the status of our country’s economy is the most important issue being raised in the President’s State of the Union Address. This definitely hits home with my family, and probably many others, that are sending their kids off to college soon and will need to pay for it, along with the other expenses they must live with. I feel that the sooner we can get our country’s economy set on the right track; we can then turn to other issues that we face, such as the environment. In fact, focusing on the environment may even create more jobs in the future, according to President Obama. Once new clean energy facilities are established, including nuclear power plants, thousands of job opportunities will be opened up. Considering the fact that 10% of Americans are unemployed, it is important to get those job opportunities out there to prevent this statistic from growing further. I personally know people who are trying to find jobs, such as teaching, and find themselves out of luck because the school systems simply cannot afford any more teaching positions. This cycle of suffering businesses, growing unemployment, and poor economy will only continue unless immediate action is taken during this year.
Which leads me to my question of whether Obama’s speech was actually effective or not. Yes, he is a wonderful speaker, and he is able to move so many Americans with his promises of change, but I have yet to see much of that change happen. Now that his “honeymoon” stage of presidency is over, I think it’s time for him to set his plans in motion. I am not saying that his address to Congress was fake or completely ineffective; he did mention many of the problems we face today and tried to give reassurance while sounding like a down-to-earth guy who reads letters from young kids and hurting workers, but I think that this president’s administration is too caught up in the words of what his is going to do, instead of the actual actions.
Good comments thus far!
Just over one week ago, President Barack Obama left an everlasting mark on my political views. I usually favor liberal ideas, however, I was still fairly skeptical about President Obama's political performance. After his recent speech, though, I am almost convinced that Obama is putting America on the right track and therefore why I believe that The State of the Union was very effective.
First off, the fact that Obama has saved 2 million jobs that otherwise wouldn't be apparent if it wasn't for the Recovery Act is very good news. In addition to that, according to Obama's plan, we are "on track” to add one and a half million jobs by the end of 2010. I believe that the aspect of jobs was the right issue to focus on, and was one of the reasons why this speech was so effective. Not only did The President talk about facts and the future of jobs in America, he gave incentives to those who actually wanted to make his predictions come true. Obama is planning on giving $30 billion to community banks to help support small businesses, as well as a new small business tax credit that will be given to small businesses that hire new workers or raise wages. His predictions look promising if these types of incentives keep up.
Another reason why I believe that President Obama's address was so effective is his superior public speaking skills over any presidents in recent memory. Obama made it sound like he was talking to each individual viewer and addressing their own individual problems. He mentioned things such as "Little League" and letters from children, something a President hasn't made note of in a long time. Such normal things make the simplest United States citizen feel somewhat safer, knowing that their President is just another human, U.S. citizen, who was once in similar positions to those experienced by the audience. Obama's convincing tone throughout further enhanced the effectiveness of his already superior speaking skills and also further enhanced the effectiveness of the entire speech as a whole.
Finally, the last reason why President Obama's speech was so effective is because of his ability to appeal to both parties, whether Democratic or Republican. The ability to appeal to both sides is overwhelming, because The President cannot get what he wants passed passed without the the Bipartisan support of the Federal Government. Ideas such as clean energy and nuclear power-plants, opening new offshore areas for oil and gas development, and the largely hated Bank Bailout united the two groups as they both stood up and clapped in agreement to what was said. "The idea of I win, you lose" cannot stay, says Obama. He also goes on to say how each party should stop trying to compete to see who can get the worst headline about the other in the paper the next morning. Obama basically told Congress and the American People that a bipartisan, united approach is necessary to America's success and continued prosperity over various nations of the world. For the proceeding reasons, I believe that President Barack Obama's State of the Union Address was very effective in informing the American people of the state of the United States of America.
Todd Heritage
On January 27th, 2010, Barack Obama stood before Congress along with millions of other Americans to deliver his first State of the Union Address since being inaugurated approximately one year ago. This took place from Chapel Hill were he addressed and covered several major issues such as healthcare, climate change, financial regulations, tax cuts, the budget deficit, and foreign policy. The major key issues being the Financial Rescue Program or Bank Bailout, the Recovery Act along with capital gains and loses, along with advances in energy and the need to export more goods.
I believe that President Obama’s speech was very effective in that it sent out a bipartisan message on many issues discussed and it appealed to all Americans and gave them hope! He recognized the few mistakes he has made already, but was optimistic about things to come in the future, and he discussed those problems which must be changed and managed.
The main issue that I feel is most important, is the issue of jobs and the Recovery Act. The Recovery Act has three immediate goals, create new jobs as well as save existing ones, spur economic activity and invest in long-term economic growth, foster unprecedented levels of accountability and transparency in government spending. President Obama plans on adding 1.5 million jobs by next year and discussed how business are beginning to invest and hire once again. He said that this must be the number one focus and he proposed taking $30 billion of the money Wall Street banks have repaid to the government, in order to use it to help community banks give small businesses the credit they need to stay afloat. Financing still remains very difficult for small businesses everywhere. President Obama also talked about capital gains, which would give people incentive into putting money into small businesses in order to benefit job efforts.
I strongly believe that this is the most important issue because it has not been felt by just a small percentage of the population but by everyone. The United States is at a record high level of unemployment and in order to bring our economy back to what it once was, we must supply jobs for people in order to put money back into their pockets.
After viewing the State of the Union address by Barack Obama,the issue that was raised that I personally thought was most important was the job situation. Right now about 10 % of U.S. citizens are unemployed and cannot find a job. He produced the Recovery Act which would help distribute jobs to the jobless Americans. This can help our economy start to get going, because when people have jobs they spend money and then its an ongoing cycle.
I thought Obama's speech was effective in the way that he is very comfortable about talking about these issues in front of many people. He seemed to have ideas for mostly all of the issues raised. His optimisism helped to boost my morqal and definitely other American's moral. He also brought up points that can be supported by both sides, not necessarily at the same time but different answers to different issues.
Overall, Obama did a pretty good job in this address and his points came across very clearly. I think this will help win over some more fans, and hopefully we can get out of this situation.
After watching Obama's State of the Union address I still felt the same as I did before but, some things were more clarified. The issue raised that I thought was most important was the issue of the economy. The way the economy right now affects everyone, from the young to the old and especially on high school and college graduates who have to pay for college and can't find any jobs right now. This issue is hugely important to me because I plan to attend college in a year or so and I need a way to pay for it and hope there will be a career available when I graduate.
Well, Barack Obama is quite a good speech giver in my opinion. He has a way of winning over crowds of people and what I personally believed help him win the election. Overall, he was effective in communicating his ideas to his supporters, but people who oppose him? I believe he will have to do a lot more to get even their attention span for two seconds.
To make this speech more effective I believe Obama should have really made it clear what, when, where, how, he plans to do things. He has also these aspirations but I would actually like to see him complete some of these goals and have statistics to back it up.
I personally feel that the most important issue that President Barack Obama raised in his State of the Union address was job creation. Right now, in today’s economy, the issue that many Americans are most worried about is being able to find and keep their jobs. Thus, what Obama does to create a better job market is probably what will impact the most Americans, and will certainly contribute significantly to Obama’s approval rating and possible reelection. A healthy job market is also one of the best ways to revive the economy – when people feel secure with their income, they will be more willing to spend it on consumer goods, sending the economy into an upward spiral. The issue of job creation also affects a number of other issues, such as the expansion and development of clean energy facilities, the elimination of tax breaks to companies that outsource their employees, and the launch of a National Export Initiative.
I believe that President Obama’s speech was somewhat effective. As usual, Obama was an eloquent speaker (in great contrast to certain previous presidents,) skillfully using anecdotes, humor, references geared towards specific groups, and other devices to interestingly convey his ideas. He managed at various points throughout his speech to make various members of the audience feel as if he was addressing them specifically, whether they were Republican Senators, or “average” middle class Americans. However, the ideas themselves needed expansion. As in the past, President Obama often failed to present specific plans to back up his initiatives. For example, he proposed an initiative to double exports in five years, but failed to mention a specific plan for achieving his goal. If he is to succeed as a president, Obama must become better at setting realistic goals, presenting specific plans to reach those goals, and become more assertive about making sure those plans get put into practice. Thus far, he has not been very good at this task.
In my opinion Obama’s address to the State of the Union was very effective. He expressed all of his ideas and suggestions to what he thinks will improve the United States. It showed that he is willing to help the people of the U.S. which gave everyone hope. He appealed to both republicans and democrats and showed he is trying to do what’s right for all.
I feel that the most important topic that he addressed was The Recovery Act, this is designed to create more jobs and cut taxes. Obama said that he planed on giving thirty billion dollars back to smaller banks and wants to help out the little businesses. Not only does he want to help the banks and businesses but he wants to help the ten percent of the population who are unemployed. He said that exporting goods and drilling for oil will help create more jobs. Both of these will help reduce the unemployment rate but ten percent of people still don’t have jobs and need them quickly.
Obama also talked about building our economy by exporting more goods. He said that he will double our exports with in the next five years. This sounds like a good idea, but there aren’t many goods for the United States to produce that other countries do not. Many of the worlds products are made in China, so we would have a hard time doubling our exports this quickly. If this were to happen many jobs would open up for the unemployed.
In his speech, President Barack Obama addressed a variation of important issues that our nation is currently facing, but to be honest none of them were substantial enough for recognition. In my opinion, President Obama's past speeches have overpowered U.S citizens with more hope for the future and optimism for the "changes" that have been said to be forthcoming. As a viewer, Obama's first State of the Union Address fell short of what was expected, leaving doubt in the eyes of many.
It doesn't go without saying that Obama is a gifted public speaker and knows how to connect with an audience, because he certainly does. Referring back to his speech, Obama explained the toughest letters for him to read are those from children asking when their parents will have jobs again. The struggles that American’s face today are as the President said “not new” to him. If this is true, why weren’t they effectively addressed as soon as he took office? Why weren’t there more steadfast and efficient actions taken? Actions do speak louder than words, something American’s should finally realize. From the words spoken during Obama’s campaign for President to his lack of affirmative reconstruction upon entering the White House. I felt as though America needed more than just sympathy for the nation's current state, drive to be number one Super Power, and ideas for a changed future. What United States Citizens needed to hear and mostly to be reassured of; was that all of these positive changes would indeed be carried through. Change is the reason many American's voted President Obama into office, and in the past year we haven't seen much of it. There are still large percentages of Americans jobless, a nation drowning in debt, amongst many other issues. In actuality, I feel that twelve months would have produced a little more positivity than it has as of today.
It’s nice to think that small businesses will once again prosper and get through this recession with whatever bit of determination they have left, from the hard times they’ve had to get through in this economy. Hearing Obama’s plan to give regional banks $30 billion, for small business loans must have been relieving to some of these fatigued business owners. To others, questions may have lingered, do to the President’s current track record of raising hopes, followed by crushing them. Questions like, Will my company make it until the bill is passed? Or...Will this ever actually happen? are what cross through the minds of these business owners.
In his speech, President Obama stated “…When the market crashed on Black Tuesday and civil rights marchers were beaten on Bloody Sunday, the future was anything but certain. These were times that tested the courage of our convictions and the strength of our union….America prevailed because we chose to move forward as one nation and one people.” I believe that these words still speak true of our nation today. The United States looks to the future with uncertainty because of the aspirations for positive change that were spoken to us, that the nation believed in, and that failed to be carried out. Now, I believe that rather than hearing words of change and prosperity; the nation is looking for actions built upon these words, concrete evidence to put our trust and futures back into the hands of our leader.
Recently Barack Obama gave his State of the Union address to the United States. He brought up a lot of issues and solutions for them. I believe that his speech to the country was effective for both democrats and republicans. I personally liked how he appealed to both parties interests, it kept the speech well balanced.
Barack Obama definitely reached out to the Americans watching the address by focusing more on the small businesses, and creating jobs, and even proposing ways to fix the economy. It was through these proposals that President Obama used his excellent speaking skills to grab a hold of his audience(and myself). Another proposal President Obama mentioned that caught the eyes and ears of America was the one on helping out the environment. President Obama presented a new clean energy bill in his speech that will create new clean power plants, biofuels, and clean coal to burn. Even though the republicans didn't stand up for this statement the democrats loved the idea.For all Americans and myself this speech was very effective, and I hope to see more like it in the future.
Recently Barack Obama gave his State of the Union address to the United States. He brought up a lot of issues and solutions for them. I believe that his speech to the country was effective for both democrats and republicans. I personally liked how he appealed to both parties interests, it kept the speech well balanced.
Barack Obama definitely reached out to the Americans watching the address by focusing more on the small businesses, and creating jobs, and even proposing ways to fix the economy. It was through these proposals that President Obama used his excellent speaking skills to grab a hold of his audience(and myself). Another proposal President Obama mentioned that caught the eyes and ears of America was the one on helping out the environment. President Obama presented a new clean energy bill in his speech that will create new clean power plants, biofuels, and clean coal to burn. Even though the republicans didn't stand up for this statement the democrats loved the idea. For me this speech was very effective because it covered everything that needed to be said, and I hope to see more like it in the future.
Karen Novak
Period 2
After watching Barack Obama make a speech at the State of Union in front of many people, he brought up a very important issue and that’s jobs and how 10% of U.S. are unemployed. This part of his speech really stuck out to me because it made me realize how many people lost their jobs and that they have families that need to be supported and that it’s a real thing that’s happening and that something should be done about it, and he’s all about helping it out. He talked about the Recovery Act that was made to help people with unemployment. The Recovery Act seems like a very important issue and that it could possibly work out and help the unemployed find jobs. I think this speech was very effective and the important things that he pointed out were issues that need to be addressed. When he addressed the issue about jobs and people losing them and businesses going out of business that’s when I realized that if people are losing their jobs than they will have a lot less cash to spend, which is a domino effect so the businesses would lose more customers. Other issues that he addressed were recession, cutting taxes, the stimulus bill, and the recovery act. Also the speech he made I thought that Barack Obama was really focused on being able to keep the promises that he made during the election. Overall I think his speech was very informing and that’s coming from someone who doesn’t really know a whole lot about these topics. This speech shows that he is going to do all that he can to make a change, and that it's his main priority.
President Obama seems to be doing a decent job in Washington. When elected, many people had very high expectations of him, and it is difficult to perform well when everyone expects you to be extremely successful. Despite this and the pressure of running a nation, Obama has started his Presidency with some success and he surely took a step forward with the state of the union address. I expected this speech to go smoothly, as we all know President Obama is a talented public speaker, however I wasn’t sure if he would address the issues in the way I had hoped. Fortunately I was pleasantly surprised. Obama addressed healthcare, education, and energy alternatives. The most important topic of the speech was the jobs. President Obama wanted to create more jobs for the American people; after all unemployment is close to 10%. I was especially excited when he said that small businesses have been made a priority and that they too, not just the large corporations, deserved to get loans. I also liked the fact that he plans to make colleges were more affordable. I completely agreed with President Obama when he said that people shouldn’t have to go broke because they made the decision to go to college. Finally, I believe we should listen to the advice of President Obama and come together as a unified nation; this would help solve many of our problems.
The most important issue that Barack Obama raised was unemployment. He said that one in ten Americans are unemployed and planned to create more jobs by increasing the production of clean nuclear energy sources and exporting. In order to provide more employment President Barack Obama promised tax breaks for small companies, stop tax breaks for companies who outsource and cut taxes for 95% of the population. I think this was the most important issue because it affects all classes of people employed or not. The President has a plan to help all of society.
Most people would agree that President Barack Obama is a powerful and motivational speaker. He has an effective way of tying in all classes of people to his issues and highlighting the major issues most people share. He mentions letters people have sent to him, which makes the issues more personal and shows he is willing to help all Americans.
I think for President Barack Obama to make his speech more effective would be to give a timeline of when he wants to do everything he promises. He emphasizes the change that needs to occur but rarely says when he expects to go through with it.
The most important issue discussed during the State of the Union speech i feel was The Recovery Act because this is a huge problem our economy struggles with. The Recovery act focuses on supplying jobs and cutting taxes. This is a good benefit to a lot of families and businesses because it will help invest their money in things other than the government. Getting back the jobs that people were laid off of and creating more is going to help. Our unemployment rate is very high right now and is taking a toll on American families. With more people going back to work they’ll have more pocket money to spend, that can go back into our economy. Obama took good action by saying they will start projects that should create many work positions that are needed to be filled. This change should help every person struggling with this issue.
President Barack Obama’s State of the Union speech to congress was one of optimism and hope. Two words Obama likes to consider to be the main definitions of what his presidency will be all about. Though we have not seen much progress so far, Obama did explain his undergoing plans for the United States government to prosper and become stronger in the near future.
The biggest and most important point I believe Obama made in his speech was about unemployment; something I’m sure many Americans can agree with. 10% of citizens in the U.S. are currently unemployed; a large percentage that will only continue to increase if action is not taken. Obama has decided to make this effort with the ‘Recovery Act’. This said stimulus bill was said by Obama to help save jobs and “avert disaster”. This means a decreased amount of layoffs and the chance for small businesses to prosper due to an uplift in availability to hire. This plan will be put into action with the intent of using $30 billion of the money from wall street and putting it toward helping out small businesses.
I believe that President Obama’s speech was not only affective but enticing and optimistic. He went forth with thoroughly explaining his future plans step by step and the effects of each action he plans to take. He ensured every American viewer that a better, stronger economy is on the way and the methods he is using to help ensure it.
Mike Goggin
After watching President Obama speak the other day he rejuvenated my spirit and faith this country to recover from this recession. He spoke of many new plans he would put forth and how they would be effective in helping the current economy. I believe his new jobs plan can be effective if the right people are appointed to the right positions. If people in power don’t do the right thing in the clean energy industry then people might end up losing more jobs than they will gain. Also I liked his idea of lending money to local businesses to help support them so they will continue to help local businesses alive and keep competition with bigger businesses in line so monopolies don’t occur in any industry. I also liked how Obama kept mentioning letters he received from people around the country. This part of the speech stuck out to me the most because even if Obama isn’t personally reading the letters he is giving the impression that he is and he really appealed to me. It makes him seem more like a middle class’s president as opposed to the rich man’s president. This also provided hope for me seeing his genuine concern when he talked about the people and how he felt. I was glad to see that Obama wasn’t just focused on the upper class and he is looking across the whole spectrum of the country and trying to help everyone so that we can all gather out of this recession and rise to the top.
Nate Ivey
Viewing the State of the Union opened my eyes to many problems that are happening in our country. All these problems need to be dealt with as soon as possible but some more than others. As he talked about the different things like the market almost being stabalized, the bank bailout, cutting taxes, and The Recovery Act one caught my eye it was Jobs. We have so many people that try and try to get jobs and they can't. Without jobs these people can't support homes and many become homeless. Obama talked alot about jobs and how jobs are the main focus of 2010 and that he his going to call a New Job Bill that night. He wants to promote new clean energy jobs. He plans on giving tax cuts to small businesses for hiring more people and to loan money to small community banks so they can expand and hire more people. Obama plans on making capital gains. He is going to give people incentives to put money in small businesses so they will grow and more jobs will be available. Another very important topic he brought up was using clean energy sources. He is interested in protecting the economy and to encourage american inovation. He is interested in making safe clean nuclear power stations. He wants to make "clean energy the profitable kind of energy." He then went to say that he is going to have to make some tough decisions for new oil and gas drilling areas. Obama wants to double our exports in five years which will also give people more jobs. They want to send more manufactoured goods and technology to pre-industrial nations and import less raw marterial and agricultural products. Obama is a very excellent public speaker, he is very convincing in what he says but we will have to see if he follows through in what he said.
After watching President Obama's speech, I feel that the most important issue raised was the situation on jobs. The unemployment rate for America is about 10% as of now. Obama made it clear that this issue would be mainly focused on. He stated that 2 million Americans work, however we are still on track to add another one and a half million jobs. This can be achieved with the Recovery Act. The Recovery Act saves jobs and helps us economically. By doing this, the unemployment rate will drop. Obama assures that 30 billion dollars will be given to community banks to help small businesses and also proposed a new small business tax credit which would go to over one million businesses hiring new workers or raising wages. He also promised to help both large and small businesses in investing new equipment.
Overall, I believe the speech was very effective. The president addressed each situation clearly, and went through the steps he would take for an issue. He sees a positive outlook for the country and promises many things. However, now I am hoping he will actually follow through with what he has said since there are still things to be addressed from what he brought up during the election. I feel that Obama is a very good public speaker, he just needs to fulfill what the country is waiting for.
President Obama spoke of a lot of topics in his State of the Union address but the one topic that I found the most important was jobs. Due to the economic issues that are occurring, our country has fewer jobs. Obama has set up a plan to give the citizens more job opportunities. His plan is to add 1.5 million jobs all because of the Recovery Act/ Stimulus Bill. More jobs will open because Obama plans on funding small banks with the 30 million dollars recovered from the bank bail out. With money going to small banks they will be able to loan money out to small businesses. The 30 million will start a chain reaction which will eventually lead to more jobs which will eventually help our economy. I feel that jobs are the most important topic just because it is the most important to me. As a teenager it is hard to find a summer job right now. This is because the people that have lost their jobs are settling for lower quality jobs which teenagers usually get. I also have to think about four years from now when I am done with college. Will there be a job waiting for me? Kids graduating now don’t have work because of the low job opportunities. I hope that this will change soon and our economy will grow to be stronger and better than before. Hopefully President Obama can help out the citizens of the United States and have more job opportunities.
Of the various topics President Obama touched on during the State of Union address, I personally feel the most important topic was that of job creation. America’s elevated unemployment rate has been a major concern throughout Obama’s presidency. By promising to provide tax credits to employers who hire new workers and slashing tax breaks for companies who outsourced jobs, Obama was able to directly address this concern. His promise to redirect thirty billion dollars Wall Street has repaid to small businesses fell on expectant ears as well. The bank bailout, though a necessary course of action, received a great deal of criticism for its seemingly nonsensical course of action. Why are we rewarding those whose extravagant spending brought us to our current state of ruin? By taking a portion of the repaid loans and making it available to small business owners, Obama appeased a large number of Americans. The money funneled into the bank bailout would in fact directly benefit working class Americans.
Few people can argue that Barack Obama has a way with words. His quiet confidence, optimism, and passion have, and continue to, emotionally appeal to audiences worldwide. The quality of his speaking skills aside, however, Obama’s speech had solid content. He addressed shortcomings yet remained hopeful, addressed various audiences and made promises for the future. I thought his speech was very much effective.
I am most concerned with health insurance in the United States. I am strongly supportive of implementing a health care system accessible to everyone. The price of medical care is skyrocketing these days, and it greatly disappoints me to know that people are not getting the life-saving treatment they need, simply because of its price. This creates an unnecessary burden on health care because these are the people who will be repeatedly visiting medical facilities and taking medical attention away from those who need it.
By creating a more universal health plan that covers many necessary treatments, including preventive care, America can released the stress found in so many hospitals and clinics that may be understaffed or too expensive. We need a health plan that will help citizens get effective and efficient treatment as soon as possible, no matter the costs, instead of having to return to the hospital or the clinic multiple times a month, just so they can get enough care that can only help them survive until their next visit. We also need a health plan that will provide preventive care, as President Obama mentioned, because that will mean less medical visits, which means less bills and debts and most importantly a lower deficit in the health industry. By creating a plan that solves these two issues, which I feel are very serious problems in health care today, we can decrease the number of visits to the hospital, allowing health care professionals to focus more on their most critical patients, creating a more systematic and efficient health care system, finding more solutions to unanswerable diseases, and create a more efficient spending on health care, one that has no deficit and is stable.
This issue is most important to me not simply because I care and worry about the Americans who could have been saved by medical care but weren't because it was too expensive, but also because, in the future, I plan to join the medical workforce. The health care system that will be in place in four years may be completely different from the one I will work in when I graduate, but it will set a precedent as to how it will be. It will change how I am educated, how I will judge who will and will not get treatment, as well as the health care system I will work under. I hope that I will not have to work under a health care system that forces me to turn so many Americanas away from the care they need simply because they cannot afford it.
As to what President Obama mentioned in his speech about health care, I don't believe he mentioned it enough. Many of the other topics he discussed, such as protecting the economy and increasing academic opportunities of Americans, all had definitive plans. He mentioned for each of them, specific actions he would take such as waiving student loans after twenty years, but for health care, his acknowledgement of it was brief and unspecific. He highlighted in what ways health care should change, but he never mentioned how. And his overall attitude towards health care was that by reforming it, there will be one less thing to worrying about within the economic state of America, not that by reforming it, it will improve the livelihoods of all Americans. For this reason, I hope that President Obama will divert his attention to improving health care as it is, not as another solution to our economic troubles.
Amanda Thomas
After watching the State of the Union speech by our newest President Barack Obama I was very pleased. Before i heard what he had to say I was a little worried about him being our president. I now understand what he is trying to do to help our country remain strong through our many troubles.
I believe that most important issue discussed was the Recovery Act. The focus for it is to allow more Americans to have jobs and cut taxes. So many people have been laid off and going months without a job. Many men and women have families to support. By cutting taxes there will be less money going towards the Government and more towards those who desperately need it. Not only with this help families, but also businesses. Businesses will be able to invest their money.
This topic was the most important because it is the biggest barrier that is keeping our country from flourishing. For the past year we have no had any economical growth. This is the only issue that has really impacted everybody. By Obama making this speech he has reassured most Americans that there is going to be a change.
I believe that the speech was indeed very effective. President Obama addressed all of the issues that are at the top of the list of things to get done for the country, and it's about time that we start to get some of them done. Even though not everyone will agree with everything President Obama suggested in his speech, there are still many things that need to be brought up.
As President Obama said in his speech, we need to do what has to be done, not just whatever is popular at the time. If we only go wth the popular actions, then our problems are just going to become larger and more painful. If we can do what is absolutely necessary first, and deal with popular ideas later, then we will be able to fix our problems now and do other things for the people as a whole later.
President Obama's speech was also a great way to show that we need to be more bipartisan in our government, and perform actions as a nation united, not divided. Working togeather will help our problems to be solved many times faster than if we had worked against ourselves along the way. President Obama's speech has layed down a baseline for the connection between both of the parties, and to allow us to solve our shared problems togeather.
Matthew Michaud
Period 2 Civics
I’m not going to lie, I did not watch the whole thing. In fact, I don’t think anybody, save a few ENOUGH members, watched the whole thing. It isn’t that im lazy, its just that I don’t care. This response is going to be solely based off of what we watched in class and what I can get off of Wikipedia. After living for only 16 years so far im actually quite surprised at how cynical I am about things like politics and life and almost anything else I come into contact with. Its hard to have a positive outlook on the future when things like Duke Nuke’m Forever and Avatar come around and my feelings had been metaphorically grounded to a pulp with the release of the iPad (no really, why the heck doesn’t it have a USB port? Isn’t that like more standard than Spanish sub-labels?). The speech given by Barrack Obama , just like every speech given since 1933, is scientifically designed to tickle the part of your brain that makes you vote. Speeches and public addresses are specifically written so that you will enjoy what they are saying and vote for them. All Obama had to do was mention “The Situation™” and not only would his next election be almost guaranteed but we would also see a major increase in t-shirt sales with the words “The Situation™” and a picture of Obama on the front.
Was Barrack Obama’s speech effective? Effective at what? Curing cancer? No it was not effective at curing cancer. Was it effective at swaying the public opinion? Well you can go ask the Wikipedia page on Current United States of America Administration that question because I think it is starting to resemble Stalingrad on Mayday in the middle of 1944. Politicians will say anything you want to hear. What topics did he cover? Jobs, energy, jobs again, banks, taxes, and last but not least, jobs. It doesn’t matter whether you are republican, democrat, green, independent, socialist, communist, anarchist, odds are you love jobs. Jobs give people money and although money doesn’t buy happiness, it does rent it for a few hours. To someone without a job, not me, this will look very appealing because hey, HBO doesn’t pay for itself. He appealed to both republicans and democrats by calling for clean energy and nuclear power. He kissed the public’s bottom by talking about tax cuts for small businesses and businesses that stay in the US, ultimately making new jobs. What did Obama really tangent? Healthcare, gay rights, and terrorism. Talking about terrorism is an unsafe topic for a State of the Union Address. If Obama says “I promise to make it a top priority to stop global terrorism” and the next week a subway in Madrid explodes people will look at Obama and think “well he didn’t do a very good job” and his ever so important approval rate drops by .01%. Healthcare and gay rights are also a very touchy topic and saying the wrong thing could offend the voters and they wont vote for Obama, and that is the most important thing, right? Just as a side note, isn’t it funny how both parties lobby for bipartisan and yet no one can seem to get anything done? I cant imagine what it is like ordering pizza at the HoR.
Just like every president before him, Obama said what we wanted to hear. Jobs this and tax cuts that. Don’t expect any of the things he said to actually get done. He’s got other speeches to make and autographs to sign. Judging by the entries before me I will say that he was effective at raising his approval rating. A peppered steak, not cinnamon, tigers hate cinnamon, in front of a tiger will get it to dance and a promise of jobs and money in front of a capitalist will get it to vote like it’s 1970.
The United States president’s State of the Union is delivered to Congress in January every year. The speech is required by the constitution for the president to give an annual report to the nation in which he describes his accomplishments as well as the difficulties, and unveils his plans for the nest year. While it is a briefing of the current state of the country, it is also an opportunity to raise the moral of the people and to try to alleviate some of their doubts. While President Obama did promise to improve various things within our country, I found his speech to be ineffective for it seems the promises he made now will be just as unfulfilled as the promises he made during his campaign. In this way, I did not find President Obama’s speech effective.
There were various things throughout the State of the Union address that made the speech ineffective to me. Firstly the President spent a majority of his time talking about domestic issues, those close to home, but gave little time to foreign policy and the status of the US in the world. It seemed to me that President Obama pretty much disregarded that the United States is involved in two wars. There also seemed to be a hint of anxiety about the future status and role of the United States, he made sure to include passages where he affirmed his confidence in the American people and their determination to stay in the lead of the world powers. Yet there was still a sense of foreboding even about the current state of the American system of government and the practicality of its mechanisms for dealing with the current challenges. While the economy was a major topic of the speech, Obama offered no major plan to reduce the growth in the federal spending other than a freeze on some discretionary spending. He blamed the previous administration for the deficit for paying for two wars and an expensive prescription drug program, yet that is contradictory to what he was saying in his speech. For President Obama will still be paying for two wars and his new health care package will be expensive as well. President Obama definitely addressed many issues plaguing Americans, but his speech feel short by not being able to clearly define how he planned to resolve some of these issues.
Although I am generally not won over by Obama’s speeches, I think he did a pretty good job in his State of the Union address. He eventually brought up much of what he planned to do and surprisingly how he planned to do it as well. Much of Obama’s speech was what he planned to do to decrease the current unemployment rate through an FDR-like approach.
I believe that the aspect of Obama’s speech that made it most successful was his ability to satisfy both the left and right side of the room on almost every given issue. For example, Obama’s plans for moving the country towards using green energy pleased the Democrats and Republicans for different reasons. The Democrats were pleased with this proposal as generally liberals support using government funding to help the environment. The Republicans were won over when Obama mentioned offshore drilling and the use of nuclear power and clean coal. Obama has recognized that in order for him to be successful in improving the current state of the nation, he must satisfy both Democrats and Republicans in Congress. Only when Congress is able to work together to at least a marginal extent will any progress be made.
It became apparent during the State of the Union address that almost all members of Congress support healthcare reform to some extent. During Obama’s time in office, he has struggled to make any progress in improving the nation’s healthcare due to a stalemate. Once a compromise between the Democrats and Republicans are made regarding changes to the healthcare system, progress will eventually be made. Obama’s ability to compromise on energy shows that he may eventually compromise on other issues, such as healthcare.
Through the State of the Union Address, President Obama addressed several issues including jobs, the stimulus bill, the economy, clean energy, and offshore drilling among many others. Of these topics, I feel that the most important was his concentration on jobs. Currently in a state of mass unemployment and frequent layoffs, the United States has a reached an alarming and critical point of joblessness. The President announced that he would save jobs and offer unemployment benefits. He said that he would create jobs through clean energy plants. Facilities that produce clean energy and similar industry require employees and can provide vast amounts of the public with employment. The government would also offer rebates for those who utilize clean energy, which supports the clean energy industry and leads to the necessity for jobs in the clean energy industry, thusly leading to a cycle of demand.
Having first hand experience with the downturn of the economy and the layoffs everywhere, my family has personally lost jobs and been effected by this movement occurring seemingly everywhere. Fully understanding the difficulties of unemployment and the effect on day-to-day affairs and the overall budget and spending in a household, I realize the importance of improving national employment and creating jobs for those who need them and restoring jobs to those who lost them. It is a crucial point for our nation, and improving employment rates is a positive step in the right direction.
After listening to President Obama's State of the Union speech, I feel that the most important issue discussed was the current job situation. Obama outlined numerous ways to sitmulate economic growth and create new jobs. Amongst these were:
-Urging the Senate to follow the House and pass a second jobs bill
-Proposing using $30 billion repaid by Wall Street banks to help community banks lend money to small businesses
-Proposing new tax credit for small business that hire workers or raise the wages of current employees.
-Creating the Recovery Act which assists people in keeping their jobs.
I believe that this issue is most important because of the elevated unemployment rate facing our country. Many people currently are struggling to make ends meet and are suffering due to lack of income. I would like to think that these solutions made by Obama will help recession-hit families and increase the number of jobs. By making this issue his priority for the coming year, I hope the President Obama will follow through with his plans to help the U.S. recover.
jochai mor
as you may no being a president for a country with a lot if needs is very difficult to have everyone satisfied. most presidents are not perfect and cant please everyone at the same time. i feel that in this speech that Obama just gave was a very effective speech that made everyone happy at one point or another. having many different parties makes it much more difficult to be on everyones good side but i think in this speech Obama was trying to find a way to get everyone on the same page with him and to tell the people that he is hear to change are country for the better. he made sure that he talked a lot about providing more jobs for the uninploid because 1 out of 10 americans are looking for jobs right at this time. so it was very important to give those 1 in 10 people some hope making them a little bit satisfied with there president. not only did he talk a lot about providing new jobs but as well as giving bank loans especially to smaller banks so that they are able to loan the money to people trying to open small businesses. if some of these topics weren't getting you satisfied he made sure to add in the fact that he would try to lower taxes which would make most people in the US much happier.
as you can see i believe that Obama's main goal in this speech was to first show the people what the plans are for the next few years and as well as to get everyone satisfied in some way shape or form.
I feel the State of the Union Speech by Barack Obama was very direct and well spoken. America was informed about Obama's ideas, plans, and accomplishments. I feel a lot of people focus on what is going on right now and base their opinions on their state of being in the present. I feel that the change Obama will make is not something that can be done over night and should be given a chance before shutting him down.
I feel Obama's speech was very effective and hit upon very important matters. Obama's diction was very clear and he had great speed as well. He placed in appropriate pauses and worded everything to be inspirational. After listening to his speech I felt more confident with his ideas. Obama was able to get support from both Republicans and Democrats for many issues, as well not just focusing on making the Democrats happy. I felt he was understanding of each sides position and was successful in joining them together in many issues.
I feel the most important issue raised was the future for small businesses. My mother owns a small business so this will directly effect us. I believe the tax cuts are a very good start and also agreed with his other positions on business. I feel we should encourage businesses to hire within the United States through benefits and tax cuts.
Fundamentally, Obama did an exceptional job at including important issues and suggesting great actions for these issues. I believe his speech was well presented and gave hope to America. Obama gained support from both the Democrats and Republicans in many issues and I feel this is very important. Obama did a great job explaining his ideas for the future America and restored my confidence in him.
I feel that the most important issue that the President addressed during the State of the Union was energy. The issue of energy is one that encompasses a vast amount of problems and holds an unparalleled prospect for innovation. To begin, Obama clearly stated the issues that are at stake: climate change from fossil fuel burning, endangering foreign policy by getting oil from dangerous areas, and ensuring the continued economic success of the United States.
All of these issues are critical to understanding the greater idea of energy as a pressing political issue, though Obama made it clear that even more important than identifying the problems that we face with respect to energy is solving the problems that energy presents. Many different ideas were talked about, including specific anecdotes about wind power companies, and job creation in a start-up battery producer. These elements are just 2 of many that the President listed, including solar, biofuels, and even many traditionally conservative options like offshore drilling and "clean coal".
Some of these ideas are good, like improving batteries for storage and building the energy grid infrastructure to support an efficient transfer of power around the country. I can even personally endorse nuclear power, so long as it is developed at a cost-effective level. However, I disagree with the idea of increasing offshore drilling from an environmental protection standpoint, and I disagree with clean coal on the basis that it actually doesn't exist. Furthermore, when promoting biofuels, we should focus on ones that work with some degree of efficiency and marginal gain, like Brazil's ethanol program, and not on the failure that is corn-based ethanol, a dirty and inefficient program that has long outlived its usefulness even as a pilot program due to the political pressure to appease the farm lobby, particularly in Iowa, an early presidential primary state.
However, on the whole, I am supportive of the President's position on energy. With its ties to the economy, foreign policy, and the environment, it is the critical issue to address in the coming years as a nation. I look forward to seeing what President Obama does to back up the serious promises that he has made on the issue of energy.
After viewing the State of the Union speech by Obama two times, it is easy for me to say that he spent most of his time raising attention to the job situation thats occurring. An unreasonable amount of people are jobless and he states it's about 10 percent. Although the president makes this point getting us to agree with him that this needs to change, who knows if this will become a reality. He states to give 30 billion dollars back in order to help small businesses. I would love to see this happen. Also, he brings up doubling exports in the few years or so. I may be wrong, but this is a topic that i think he might need to over think a little bit more considering more than half the things are from China. That confused me the most, but we will see what ends up happening.
Most people will say that Barack Obama is a very effective speaker yet, in my opinion I don't agree with the fact he states things and doesn't pull through on them. I will say i fully agree with his thoughts, but until they actually happen he is not that effective of a speaker to me.
The issue raised that I felt was most important was employment in the U.S. President Obama also felt this was very important, for he said it was his number one concern as of now. He said that one in ten Americans are unemployed right now, and it is greatly affected a whole chain of things (such as the economy, etc). He proposed a new jobs bill, and talked about the Recovery Act, which he was in support of. This act will create more jobs for the citizens of the US and spur on economic growth.
I think that his speech was very effective, for it really reached the heart of many in the audience, and touched on topics that everyone was concerned and aware of. He appealed to all economic levels and societal levels in society, so that everyone could relate and connect with what he was saying. He also made it clear that he was going to, and already has started, to take action regarding many of the issues.
If I was him and had to make my speech more effective, I don’t think I would have promised so much. It sets very high expectations in the minds of the people, and because this is his first year in office and he is just a man, I don’t think that he will be able to fulfill all of them, which is going to leave the people very unsatisfied and restless by the end of his term.
I believe the most important issue raised in the State of the Union address was creating clean energy. We all know that there is only so much natural gases left on the planet, and if we don't start the development with clean energy soon, we might be too late. Obama addressed that alternate sources of energy will not only just give the country energy, but also give the country more much-needed jobs.
With over 10% of population capable of working being unemployed, families are suffering and jobs are one of the biggest things. The government is going to need to be able to produce more jobs or convince companies to hire more, because if they don't the only thing that will happen to the unemployment rates is that they will increase.
Now, was his speech effective? I believe that Obama's speech was effective, as discussed all the major issues with our country, and proposed his solution for them. Some solutions the democrats liked more, some the republicans liked more, but a few of the solutions were applauded by both. I think Obama's speech brought hope, it brought hope to that family where the father got laid off due to the economy, and hasn't been able to find a job. And it brought the feeling that we will get out of the economic crisis we are in, with the help of the Recovery Act, and creating clean energy facilities, and many other things. Obama was able to turn some heads with his speech, and made it seem at least that he does have hope for our country, and a plan to try to set us better than the rest, and stand as number one.
During the State of the union speech given by Barack Obama, many issues were discussed. Bank bailout, jobs, energy, the recovery act, and outsourcing to name a few. These issues have one thing in common. They all have to do with the Economy. The issue that I personally feel is most important is the nation's economy.
The nation's economy is without question one of the biggest issues facing American's today. It affects everybody in their daily lives. President Obama stated during his speech that jobs should be our number one focus for 2010. One out of ten American's is unemployed and if there is an increase in jobs this can help to jumpstart our economy. The recovery act has helped somewhat in this regard but America is still not where it needs to be. More still needs to be done. Therefore, the economy is the most important issue facing American's today, specifically jobs and the unemployment rate.
The fundamentals of public speaking are pronunciation, articulation, and projection. President Barack Obama has mastered each fundamental of giving a speech, and is the reason his State of the Union speech was effective. The audience instantly trusts the speaker with these qualities and this is exactly what some American people did while listening to Obama. Although Obama states significant issues, he does not follow through with examples of solutions he claims to have for them.
An important topic Obama declares during the speech, is government spending. Three trillion dollars was spent before Obama became president. Obama walked into office with this problem and played the victim in his speech. Yes, Obama walked into a difficult situation and the spending was not his fault, but the American people want to hear the solution of the problem instead of complaining in being a victim. The purpose of The State of Union is to address the people the President’s agenda. For 220 traditional years of this speech, it should be known to explain the great solutions for the future, not to keep speaking of the bad stuff. Like English teachers have always taught us, persuade with examples!
In the beginning of the speech, Obama caught the audience’s attention with his effectiveness in stating the realistic issues people can relate to today.
The fundamentals of public speaking are pronunciation, articulation, and projection. President Barack Obama has mastered each fundamental of giving a speech, and is the reason his State of the Union speech was effective. The audience instantly trusts the speaker with these qualities and this is exactly what some American people did while listening to Obama. Although Obama states significant issues, he does not follow through with examples of solutions he claims to have for them.
An important topic Obama declares during the speech, is government spending. Three trillion dollars was spent before Obama became president. Obama walked into office with this problem and played the victim in his speech. Yes, Obama walked into a difficult situation and the spending was not his fault, but the American people want to hear the solution of the problem instead of complaining in being a victim. The purpose of The State of Union is to address the people the President’s agenda. For 220 traditional years of this speech, it should be known to explain the great solutions for the future, not to keep speaking of the bad stuff. Like English teachers have always taught us, persuade with examples!
In the beginning of the speech, Obama caught the audience’s attention with his effectiveness in stating the realistic issues people can relate to today.
Emma Velcofsky
After watching the State of the Union Address my feelings toward Obama were the same. I feel he is all talk, but when it comes down to it how do we know he will actually complete the things he has talked about in the speech. I felt the most talked about issues was the new job act. Unemployment rate in the U.S is over 10%,families all over the country are dealing with the affects of the recession and are losing their jobs. Without jobs, Americans are losing their homes, and the economy declining day by day. Obama claims that he is going to give $30 billion to small businesses. I think that this is a great idea and it will start to pull us out of this recession slowly. Will he come through with what he says? He has now been president for over a year and he has not done anything significant so far. Hopefully he will come through with this one.
I think his speech was effective for the most part because hes saying what people want to hear. I will believe that this speech is effective until I see him do the actions he said he would do for our country. To others that aren't doing well in our society, they herd hope out of his speech. They believe that his speech was effective. I do not. Ill believe it when i begin to see it
The most important issue that Barack Obama covered was the energy, I believe it is a good idea, but I think our economy is not yet strong enough to handle solar panels and adv batteries. But our economy defiantly can not handle the biofuels that come along with the energy.
I believe the speech was some what effective, Barack Obama has good intentions it seems, but it doesn’t show in his work. He hasn’t passed many bills and one of which is the energy bill that he actually passed, is alright but is only raising our taxes and right now we just need to try and get out of debt.
In the Speech Barack States that “I will not leave all of this with the next generation”, which I believe was a good thing to say but, if he doesn’t start to work on getting our country out of debt we may not have the luxury of lower taxes because paying back however many trillion we owe will not be such a walk in the park for our generation. So I don’t think Obama should be making these promises to our country that we know he can’t keep.
The issues in President Obama’s speech which I felt were most important were those involving the economy. The United States of America is currently in an economic recession. For many people, this issue had more impact and was more directly relevant to their lives than any other issue he discussed in his State of the Union. It has cost the country and its people billions of dollars, jobs, and businesses. Across the country, thousands of Americans watched to see what his plan was to re-stabilize the economic conditions.
President Obama discussed several plans which will help our economy. He talked about how the government would work to create more jobs- jobs of which some Americans are desperately in need. He discussed taxes, foreign debt, and the war in Iraq. He talked about spending and how the United States could get out of debt. He even talked about lowering the apparently exponentially rising prices of college tuition. This was obviously a very important topic to me because, as I will be applying to college in less than a year, it is directly relevant to my life. Paying for college will prove to be a big challenge and it is nice to know that the government is making attempts to lower its cost.
Overall, this speech was relatively effective. Obama talked about many relevant topics and convinced the American public that he was doing his best to convince the nation that he is on the right course. Most of the things he said were positive and he received a lot of positive feedback from his audience.
the most important issues discussed by Barrack Obama was the creation of jobs and getting the united states on top. Barrack Obama went up there on January 26, 2010 with a lot of confidence to help lead our country. he said within 5 years we would double our exports and keep our taxes down. he also mention to drill new areas for oil which had the republicans and democrats on the fence. Barrack Obama suggested we could developed more solar energy products to help save natural resources and build nuclear power plants to clean the environment. he also said he would give money back to banks to help get out of debt. he also suggested to try to help the middle class in more affordable goods and a relief on taxes. before Obama state of the union speech i was a little afraid about American as a whole but Barrack Obama was very reassuring and very confident and had a very effective speech to help America
After watching the State of the Union I am again reminded how powerful a speaker Barak Obama is and how influential he can be with words. However how he said the speech wasn’t as major a concern for me as what he said, and he did say a lot. He brought up a number of good points and future goals for the United States including creating new jobs and a plan for the United States to lead the world in clean energy which would be a huge economic advantage as well as start a crucial healing process for are planet. I strongly believe that our planet is in trouble and we need to take steps to help it, and I am glad we finally have a president who feels the same way.
Yet the part of Obama’s speech that will have the greatest effect on me right now would be his plan to give money to local and regional banks. This is because I am a senior and will be attending college next year and I am unsure of the amount of financial aid that I will be receiving from my school if any. Because of this I will most likely have to take out student loans and most likely take them out from the local banks in my area. According to Obama’s plan these banks will receive money from the government and have more to loan which could mean cheaper rates of interest which will be much better for me in the long run when I go to pay off student loans. Also looking at the long run if Obama is trying to increase the number of jobs as well as increase clean energy resources that means that there is going to be a large increase in jobs in these fields as well as creating new fields of work which will help to find a job when I get out of school in four years, especially since I am going into science. This means I will have means to pay off my student loans and bring in money for the future. So I am very happy with Obama’s State of the Union.
Anthony Tyler
After watching the state of the union speech by the president I was more worried and questioning that ever. True he spoke of some positive things like the recovery act and made it seem like he is going to fix a lot of the countries dilemmas. however almost every past president made promises that they never followed through with which I know will be the same with obama. I just don't like some of his ideas like trying to increase our exports which is only raw materials which could end up hurting us in the end. I also am very un-trusting of anyone who still thinks a country is strong when it is in billions of dollars in debt to other countries. I just am uncomfortable with his ideas about alot of other things.
Honestly I just don't trust Obama and his Policies.
Zachary Maffuid
2/5/10
Period 5
Civics
In the state of the union President Obama addressed to congress and the people the condition of the country. He talked about the trouble with banks, unemployment, and small businesses. I personally believe the most important issue raised in the speech was the problem with banks. Unemployment got tied in with banks when larger banks bought out the smaller ones with a billion dollar loan from the government called tarp funds. Also seen here are small businesses getting bought out by large ones.
I think the speech was effective because it showed our country the current condition and showed how were going to improve on our faults. He also talked about the past year’s improvement attempts failed and how they will get resolved. President Obama did a great job at this year’s State of the Union.
Sara Giovanelli
State of the Union Response
3 main points of the speech:
1. Economy
2. Taxes (cutting taxes)
3. Bank Bailout (700 billion dollars to banks)
What is the most important issue? And why?
I think the most important issue in President Obama’s speech is Jobs and the economy. There were 7 million jobs lost in the past two years and he claims he will get them back. (Recovery Act) He states that he will give money back to some small businesses to help them get more employees and more money to run the business. He says that he will try to stop or cut down the outsourcing, which means keep American jobs in America.
Was the speech effective? Why or why not?
I do not feel the speech was effective to me personally. I do not support President Obama and I think that unless he begins to prove the statements he makes in his speeches I will not believe what he says.
What would you do to make the speech more effective?
To make the speech more effective I might have tried to already start some Acts that I spoke about so I could assure the public that most of what I was saying will actually happen and be for a good reason.
How does President Obama address our essential questions?
He asks the public what they want to know and he answers sort of like a one on one answer to assure a full understanding in what he says as an answer.
In my personal opinion I believe that the most important issue that President Obama raised in his address on the State of the Union was jobs. In fact, President Obama stated clearly that jobs would be his, and should therefore be the countries, main focus in 2010. This is the most important issue because it is the one that affects all Americans. President Obama made a point of saying that even as the economy begins its steady climb from the recession, millions of Americans remained unemployed. And still, each day more people are being laid off. This is not what the country needs. And so, President Obama proposed several strategies for increasing the amount of jobs such as the use of 30 billion dollars of the money that Wall Street banks have paid back to give to regional banks, such that these banks may give small businesses loans. Though it does not often seem so, it is these small businesses that are the backbone of our nation as they provide the majority of jobs. By making it easier for these small businesses to get loans, it becomes that much easier for them to stay afloat and to keep their workers. Workers that will be more confident in their job security and will therefore make purchases which they previously might have overlooked. And it is these purchases that will help our economy get out the recession and back to what it once was.
This speech may have seemed effective to some of the public, but within Washington it was not what needed to be said. To the average American who was watching, this speech gave them hope, it gave them the hope that the small businesses and the everyday American would not be overlooked as they had before. It gave them the hope that the normal worker on Main Street, and not just the ones on Wall Street, will be helped. This was made most clear when President Obama proposed the use of 30 billion to give to regional banks so that the money could be loaned to small businesses, not used by the large banks to buy up floundering competitors (as was the case on Wall Street).
However, to the people in Washington, President Obama’s speech was not effective in the matter that he tried to please too many people with his proposals for the year. Such as his proposal for job creation in energy, which includes advancement in clean energy (a resoundingly Democrat idea), but also the advancement and creation of nuclear power plants, and a proposal for off shore drilling for oil and natural gas. These last two ideas, being ones supported by Republicans, may have made him seem more appealing to the Republicans, but it pushed him away from the Democrats who have the majority and therefore the power in congress. Moreover, President Obama may have told us his proposals, but he gave no guidelines to how they would be accomplished. The public was told that we must increase our exports to increase jobs, and that he would like to see our exports doubled in 5 years. Which just leaves the public with one question, how?
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President Obama made a good point about the need for new job creation, but i don't believe he is taking the right approach. Instead of creating more state jobs he should cut taxes on all businesses so they can hire more people themselves. Also his medicare plan is to expensive. He should make it harder for people to sue for malpractice so the doctors insurance wouldn't be as high and in return your doctors bill will cost less. I don't think the speech was very effective because i feel like it was filled with a bunch of empty promises, like the millions of jobs he is going to create with no money. To make the speech more effective i think he should of make hes goals more realistic and give some kind of time-line for his goals.
I believe President Obama's speech the other night was very good! I feel he is a very good public speaker anyways so his speech's are always good! He talked about many major issues. Like jobs, the economy, energy, everything!
2:05. Responses are closed.
President Obama covered some very important issues during his state of the union address. Some of his more significant topics that were covered include nuclear affair, our nations economy and more importantly the recovery act.
The Recovery Act is without a doubt the most noteworthy topic brought up during Obama’s speech. The purpose of the Recovery Act is to supply jobs the citizens of the United States who are in need. This will also bring tax-cuts to Americans. Doing these things are in hope of slowly pulling our once thriving country back to supremacy. He is planning to give $30 billion to community banks to help support small businesses. By giving the money to smaller banks rather than larger chain banks it will ensure that the money will actually be used for other businesses. The problem with giving money to the larger banks was that they were just using it to buy out other banks. Although it will be a slow rising process Obama says, it will strengthen our nations economy on the long term.
Overall, I think that Obama’s State of the Union Address was very effective. He always seems to make a connection to the listener and leaves a good impression. The topics he covered seem to have great potention and hopefully only good will come of them.
Brian Havlicek
Jamie B
After I watched the State of The Union I felt it was very inspiring and hopeful to everyone. I thought it was very well thoughtout and organized. I thought he talked about the most important issues like the creating jobs and helping the small businesses. I felt that he had the right plans to bring the economy back to normal and help get the unemployment rate back. After seeing the speech I also thought that Barack had shown hope and trying to get the people to believe that he can improve the economy. I feel that the speech also brought the country as a whole because he was very hopeful, optimistic, and was showing he could help get out of the debts its in. After watching I felt that he could help get are country back on top and help our lives by taking out the stress.
The most important issue I felt that needed to be fixed was the unemployment rates. I feel that he can help create more jobs for people and to help keep income coming in. I feel that when people have more money to spend it will help the economy thrive and give it more moeny for jobs. I feel that he will also help the businesses by creating new jobs for the unemployed which, will further improve the economy. In the end I felt more hope in him as he has good plans to improve the shortage of jobs and to help small and large businesses thrive. I think that will eventually bring out country out of its debt.
In President Obama's State of the Union speech, he further cements his place as one of the great speakers in American history. Obama raises the question of the current American economy. It is no secret that America is currently in an economic crisis, with unemployment at record highs. Obama claims that America is headed for a large turnaround in regards to the economy, and backs it up with examples of how he intends to lift the economy from the depths of its recession.
I believe that this speech was very effective. Obama speaks in a completely non-condescending tone, and in precise detail, explains his plans for the future of the country. Obama's words inspire hope in the American people. I for one deeply respect President Obama's ability to speak to the public.
I do not believe there was very much that could be done to improve the effectiveness of President Obama's speech. I believe that he could have provided more examples of his plans to improve the state of the country. However, he already does this in great detail.
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