The Future is Ours to Win

Tuesday night President Obama delivered his second State of the Union address. The focus of his address was to drive down the national debt and improve the economy through extending the Bush tax cuts and investing in education. Obama said we needed to "reinvent" ourselves to compete in the ever changing global economy, especially with China and India's fast growing economies. He said despite talks of our decline as a world power we still have the largest and most prosperous economy in the world. Obama stated he wanted to invest in innovation.  Focusing on more efficient and environmentally friendly technology by supporting companies who come forward with new ideas for more effective technology, anything ranging from cars to nuclear power plants. But to do so Obama wants to take away the billions of dollars from oil companies stating "I don't know if you have noticed but they are doing fine on their own." The President also is taking a drastic measure to reduce the national deficit by freezing all unnecessary government spending for five years. The goal is to reduce the deficit by 400 billion dollars over the next decade. This means cutting government funding from social programs, defense programs, and freezing government employees salaries. Again, as drastic as it may seem, the hope is that it will have an equally drastic effect on the deficit and put a stop the ever growing national debt.

The War on Terror
Obama announced early in his presidency that we would withdraw all military forces from Iraq by the end of 2011. So far it looks like the plan is on schedule, the last combat forces withdrew in August and the troops remaining are for security and training the Iraqi military. The hope is that these soldiers can return home soon as well. While the United States will continue to support the young democratic Iraq, the combat phase of the Iraq war is over. In Afghanistan and Pakistan the President stated Al-Queda is under great pressure and that their safe-havens are shrinking. The troop surge that began last year is scheduled to end in July when the soldiers will begin to return home. Some argue the troops need to remain there longer to have a more profound long term effect on the terrorists. They may be right, but the full effects of the surge are yet to be seen. 

The I Also Ran Row
I noticed from footage of the crowd during the address, Senators John McCain and John Kerry were sitting shoulder-to-shoulder. I find it funny the two recent defeated presidential candidates would end up next to each other. One may call it a coincidence. I would, too, if Joe Leiberman was not two chairs to McCain's left.

The Ryan Response
Shortly after Obama's State of the Union, Congressman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin delivered the Republican Party response.From the Budget committee room, Congressman Ryan addressed the nation on the Republican Party's view of how to deal with the economy in the new year. He expressed the need to reform or repeal the Health Care law passed last March. Ryan stated that it was similar to the socialized medicine of many European countries, where it had created a heavy national debt, resulting in higher taxes and cutting benefits for seniors. Ryan said America was slipping in the same direction, and the Health Care law sped up the process. He said spending cuts on all government levels is needed to contain the national debt that is spiraling out of control. Ryan stated the government was trying to do more than it should; it was doing too much and therefore spending too much. If this is not reversed,  the debt will "eclipse" our gross national product and the next generation would face a stagnate economy. But Ryan said it is not too late "we still have time, but not much time".

Conclusion
I found that one of the comforting and amazing things of the entire night was the concern and prayers for congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and those injured in Tucson along with the black and white ribbons to honor those killed. This as yet another great example  that all Americans, regardless of race, gender, age, religion, political views, or background, come to the aide of one another when needed and stand together in hard times.We are held together by the idea that all people have the right to life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness. While there are times we may seem hopelessly divided in arguments ranging from foreign wars to health care initiatives, at our core is a love for freedom and compassion for those in need. We may not feel this bond everyday, but it shows in tragedies like Tucson, and it is this bond that allows us not only to weather the challenges that come our way but to become stronger from them. It is because of this that I believe regardless of who is president or what party controls the house and senate, that we will emerge from this recession and war on terror stronger and better than before.