Post-SOTUA Column

President Obama supported all of the issues I felt were important in my predictions of his State of the Union Address, but he completely surpassed my expectations in his delivery of the message.

Obama made his speech accessible to the general public, keeping average citizens informed, a skill that I greatly admire in a leader. The issues matter to common people, as long as they can understand them.

As I predicted, he talked about the economy, about employment rates, a living wage and equal pay for equal work. It is sad that these are all issues he has spoke on in past State of the Union addresses and they are still a problem, but at least he isn’t letting them fade into the background.

He also spoke extensively about education, which I didn’t predict, but was thrilled to hear. I was pleased to hear that graduation rates are way up and that he has some ideas to deal with the overwhelming burden on college graduates that is student loan debt.

He indirectly addressed the Affordable Care Act throughout the speech, but surprisingly never directly discussed its affects. He may have taken this approach because of the controversy the act has generated since he introduced it.

Another issue he mentioned indirectly was the cyber attack on Sony Pictures, he alluded to the need for better cyber security without mentioning the actual incident, but he wasn’t specific on what action was being taken against cyber attacks or when that was going to happen.

He also commented on the end of the war in Afghanistan, and seemed to indicate that it was progressing as he intended it to. He said fewer than 15,000 troops remain and that our combat mission there is over. These facts indicate that we are on track for complete withdrawal.

Immigration also came up throughout the speech, but he didn’t take exactly the stance I had predicted. He said “We can’t…refight past battles on immigration when we’ve got a system to fix,” which sounds like immigration isn’t at the top of his priority list in relation to other things. However, I can see what he meant by the entire comment: immigration is important, but he doesn’t want to keep debating it when there are more salient issues.

He talked about issues that affect common citizens, like employment rates, minimum wage increases, childcare and taxes. It is important that he talk to the people who are being affected, and Obama excelled in that task. He translated the national budget into tangible things that people in this country can understand and relate to—a home, a car, a retirement fund.

He addressed the harsh reality many families face of having to pay just as much in childcare or more than they make in a single paycheck and how that adversely affects single parents who have to work and who don’t have anyone to stay home with their children. If we live in a country where the paychecks of single parents are being filtered right back into the childcare that they need so they are able to work, families are never going to be able to escape poverty.

Obama’s focus on women’s and family issues in his speech appealed to me, as a listener with very little knowledge of politics, I could understand what he was saying and what it meant for me as a citizen. That is the mark of an accomplished task when even listeners without political knowledge can comprehend how they will be affected by policy in the year to come. 

What will Obama's SOTUA include?

President Obama focuses his State of the Union Addresses on topics that have been the highlight of American concern throughout the past year, particularly social issues. This year it is likely that the president will bring up the topics of budget and economy while also paying particular attention to recent issues such as cyber security — an issue raised by the hacking of Sony Pictures.

Budget and economy are the topics commonly covered in every State of the Union Address, historically and currently. Obviously, those are two great concerns for the country and are necessary to discuss for it to run smoothly. The President has held firmly that our economy is improving and he will likely hold to that during his speech. However, President Obama has, in the past, focused his speeches on issues that matter more to the average citizen.

As he will almost definitely address the attack on Sony Pictures and its impact on cyber security, his speech will probably include the plans to address cyber security in the upcoming months. I imagine he will discuss this at length and reassure the country that every measure of safety will be taken.

In 2014 Obama had several major foreign policy points, and I think he will continue that theme in his upcoming speech. Hopefully, this year he will offer more suggestions on what the government can do to straighten out our foreign affairs. It would also make sense for him to discuss the changes that have happened since we decided to pull troops from Afghanistan. I predict that he still feels it was the right decision and that both parties have benefitted from the choice.

It is also my hope that he will address the prospect of women’s advancement in the coming year. He talked about women’s economic plight and how to ease it in his 2014 State of the Union Address, and it would be relevant for him to address equal pay for women again, as it still hasn’t happened across the country.  

Even though several states have raised their minimum wages to a living wage, it would be of his interest to mention the advances that have been made and what can be done to encourage the states that haven’t. Economy matters more to the average citizen on a paycheck-to-paycheck basis, and his reassurance that living wages are coming will be encouraging.

He will probably discuss the Affordable Care Act and what has been accomplished with it so far and what could be accomplished with it in the future. He will want to say whether or not it has been successful in accomplishing what he intended. 

Immigration will be a hot topic on the agenda, as it has been a debated topic of late. Much of the debate has centered on the current immigration policies in the U.S. and where they are succeeding and failing.  The president will be expected to defend the current policy or else propose solutions for better policy.

Environment will be another hot button issue the President choses to tackle in his upcoming speech. EPA regulations are on the country’s mind, and the elections on Nov. 4, at least in West Virginia, seemed motivated by a concern for job stability that overrides environmental concern. The president has been a strong defender of EPA regulations and the environment, so I imagine he will take that same stance in his address.

It will be interesting to see if he comments on or makes any predictions as to why the Nov. 4 elections went the way they did, and whether he believes this is for the better or the worse. It is no secret that Democrats were effectively voted out across the country and it has been interpreted as a message aimed at the political party because of the president and his policies.

I look forward to hearing the President’s suggestions for social change, his opinions of the status quo and what the plans are to address the concerns of the nation. Social issues are of particular concern to me; specifically, equal pay for equal work, living wages and the environment.