US President Barack Obama is to deliver a State of the Union speech today, which is largely viewed as Obama’s second high-profile attempt to set out his vision for the second term in office. The address will wrap up the agenda that the president first shed light on at his Inauguration, with a stronger focus on job creation and economy.
But first, Mr. Obama is expected to at least do his best to strike a balance between bashing Republicans on immigration, gun laws and debt ceiling, and wooing the party that controls the House into a more cooperative mood.
Secondly, the American strongman will be expected to come up with fresh job proposals after four years of talk about unemployment, economy and the middle class. The overture should be good enough to stand a chance in the deeply divided Congress. Aides have also hinted that Obama will urge for investment into four key areas, which are infrastructure, manufacturing sector, green energy and education.
Another big question that is likely to be tackled in Obama’s State of the Union speech is gun control, with experts musing on how far the president will actually go in pushing for an arms ban. In fact, his proposed assault weapons ban has been gaining massive support across the country, although on Tuesday Obama is expected to address the gallery where 120 victims of gun violence and their family members will gather after a White House briefing.
This particular time Mr. Obama will also reportedly share the stage with a Republican linchpin senator who has been brokering immigration legislation. Sen. Marco Rubio, whose popularity has recently skyrocketed at a pace similar only to that of Obama himself, will deliver the Republican response to the State of the Union on the topic where he has some broad agreements with Obama.
And last but not least, the President is still to offer the nation a new slogan that will mark his second term in office. In today’s 140-character world, hashtags have become Mr. Obama’s long-lasting tradition. It appears that this speech will be tagged "Now is the time,” a theme both vague and broad enough to encompass every topic from gun control to clean technologies.
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