Filed under: News, Politics, President Obama, Race and Civil Rights
Obama called upon Democrats and Republicans to push measures that put America in the best position for success in an increasingly competitive global economy:
"So yes, the world has changed. The competition for jobs is real, but this shouldn't discourage us. It should challenge us. Remember - for all the hits we've taken these last few years, for all the naysayers predicting our decline, America still has the largest, most prosperous economy in the world. No workers are more productive than ours. No country has more successful companies or grants more patents to inventors and entrepreneurs. We are home to the world's best colleges and universities, where more students come to study than any other place on Earth," Obama said.
"The future is ours to win. But to get there, we can't just stand still. As Robert Kennedy told us, 'The future is not a gift. It is an achievement.' Sustaining the American Dream has never been about standing pat. It has required each generation to sacrifice, and struggle and meet the demands of a new age," he added.
The tone was also much more civil and it was likely due to the recent assassination attempt of Arizona congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.
Democrats and Republicans not only sat together but applauded together. There were no mouthed words from Supreme Court Justices nor any rude outbursts from members of Congress. Obama gave a shout-out to the new Republican House Speaker John Boehner as well as to his fellow Democrat and Vice President Joe Biden.
Addressing his hard fought victory for health care reform, Obama used a bit of humor to address Republicans who recently passed a meaningless repeal of the bill in the House:
"Now, I have heard rumors that a few of you still have concerns about our new health care law. So let me be the first to say that anything can be improved. If you have ideas about how to improve this law by making care better or more affordable, I am eager to work with you," Obama said.
"So I say to this chamber tonight, instead of re-fighting the battles of the last two years, let's fix what needs fixing and let's move forward," he added.
It was not a night for very specific proposals. Instead, Obama sought to set the tone and tempo for the nation by placing a set of highly aspirational goals on the table and laying out a basic road map for reaching those goals:
"This is our generation's Sputnik moment. Two years ago, I said that we needed to reach a level of research and development we haven't seen since the height of the Space Race. In a few weeks, I will be sending a budget to Congress that helps us meet that goal. We'll invest in biomedical research, information technology and especially clean energy technology - an investment that will strengthen our security, protect our planet and create countless new jobs for our people."
President Obama also clearly staked out more centrist ground than his previous two years in office. While he addressed investing in infrastructure, innovation and education that could provide jobs, the president also talked about deficit reduction and lowering the corporate tax rate.
African-Americans should be particularly excited about the parts of Obama's address that dealt with infrastructure building and job creation, Angela Glover Blackwell, founder and CEO of PolicyLink, a national research and action institute advancing economic and social equity through policy solutions, told Aol. Black Voices in an interview.
"We ought to be excited about the focus on education. Education is an area where we need to make a lot of progress. We need investments in good schools," said Blackwell. "Clean energy infrastructure and high-speed wireless are three areas for opportunities and growth for jobs."
The challenge now is to legislate some of these goals into actuality.
"I thought that the president tried to put things in a future context and talk about how we position for the future," said Blackwell. "I'd like to think of it as a blueprint. Now I'd like to take the blueprint and make sure all of it is filled in."
Aol. Black Voices readers had a mostly positive response to the president's address on Facebook and Twitter.
Carla Johnson-Turner thought the president was spot on about America's new place in the world:
"China and India are now America's competition ... we must learn to work as a part of a larger world," she said.
Others found the speech uplifting:
"President Obama is painting a very positive picture for the country. Very motivational especially regarding education and where we need to go as a nation to really compete in this global economy," wrote Carole Paynter.
Obama closed out his speech with grand words of hope.
"We do big things," Obama said. "The idea of America endures. Our destiny remains our choice. And tonight, more than two centuries later, it's because of our people that our future is hopeful, our journey goes forward, and the state of our union is strong.
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