President Barack Obama

President Barack Obama spoke to the American people this January in his annual
State of the Union Address, though his true audience was Congress and more
specifically the Democratic Party. There were hot topics that needed to be
addressed to appease his party and to influence Congress. The chief emphasis of the
speech was the nation's economy, also briefly speaking of domestic resourcefulness
and concluding with our military efforts. Much of the focus was on America's
unemployed. The nation's unemployment rate was described as being 'the lowest in
five years' (6); however, lack of evidence weakens this assertion.
He is a very articulate speaker but his speech itself lacks substance, so in order to
keep the listeners engaged he starts with one of the two styles used to inspire his
audience ' the human interest stories. He briefly describes examples of a teacher,
farmer, auto worker, and entrepreneur who have 'done their part' in some way to
better America. This is a method used to convince the audience that he too can
relate to their individual hardships. The second style used by the president to
engross his audience is the use of assertive slogans such as 'Opportunity for All' and
'Year of change.' These slogans can be found peppered throughout the LIVE
presentation. The entire address was written in sequential order so that it easily
flowed into the next topic, with plenty of pauses for dramatic effect. He used all of
these tactics as a way to persuade the American public that he is relaying important
information but really said nothing new, believable or significant.
He focused much of his speech on the nation's economy more specifically the
national unemployment level. He says that he believes this 'can be a breakthrough
year' (7). In 2008 the nation's unemployment rate was 5.8% according to the Bureau
of Labor Statistic. In an article written by Mary O'Leary she states that 'Republican
candidates are correct when the say that the nation's unemployment rate is higher
since Obama took office'Obama assumed office on Jan. 20, 2009 with the 7 percent
rate, which continued to grow to 9.4 percent in August 2010, a three-decade high,
and only started to slowly go down throughout 2011 to 8 percent in January 2012
and now to 7.8 percent in February.'
The president read from a letter he received from Misty DeMars an unemployed
mother of two, 'She'd never collected unemployment benefits' she and her husband
used their life savings to buy their first home. A week later, budget cuts claimed the
job she loved.' The most powerful statement in Misty's letter to the president is when
she writes 'I am not dependent on the government'Our country depends on people
like us who build careers, contribute to society' (35).
The president goes on to describe the increased efforts of job creations. 'The best
measure of opportunity is access to a good job. With the economy picking up speed,
companies say they intend to hire more people this year' (17). According to an article
written by Jonathan Berr in the Daily Finance 'American's believe that 'now is a bad
time to find a job' the article also states 'We estimate that the rate of job growth
would have to roughly triple between now and the end of 2015 just to restore labor
market conditions'five years from now 'to what they were at the start of the
recession (roughly a 5% unemployment rate and higher labor force participation).'
The president introduces us to Andra Rush who 'opened up a manufacturing firm in
Detroit. She knew that Ford needed parts for the best-selling truck in America, and
she knew how to make them. She just needed the workforce. So she dialed up what
we call an American Job Center ' places where folks can walk in to get the help or
training they need to find a new job, or better job. She was flooded with new
workers. And today, Detroit Manufacturing Systems has more than 700 employees'
(32).
Throughout the speech there are a lot of proposals but nothing tangible to say that a
change is truly coming. When speaking of minimum wage and social reform the
overall feeling is that the speech is empty. Obama says that he is 'committed to
making Washington work better' (9). He says 'we're partnering with mayors,
governors, and state legislatures on issues from homelessness to marriage equality'
(14). He pledged 'to connect 99 percent of our students to high-speed
broadband'without adding a dime to the deficit' (42). All of the previous examples
seem more like a wish-list for Washington rather than a concrete laid out plan for
change; they are not new issues and are not likely to see any action.
The president stated that both citizens and businesses would benefit from a
simplified tax code that would help create more jobs. He states that 'no one who
works full time should ever have to raise a family in poverty' (40). Proposing an
increase of the federal minimum wage from $7.85 to $10.10 but urging state
legislatures to act on their own and not wait for Congress to 'Give America a raise'
(44). He speaks of pay inequality for females stating that many times women are the
main breadwinners yet they make $0.77 less an hour than a man; this finding is
based on the 2009 Gender Pay Gap. The Washington Post says that it is slowly
reducing due to women being hired in lower-paying professions.
The president discusses the need for improvement within our educational system.
He advises that 'in this rapidly-changing economy, we have to make sure that every
American has the skills to fill those jobs' (30). President Obama urges Congress 'give
these hardworking, responsible Americans that chance. They need our help, but
more important, this country needs them in the game. That's why I've been asking
CEOs to give more long-term unemployed workers a fair shot at that new job' (38).
The only catch to this is that many times education doesn't equal hands on
experience and vice versa. He concludes this topic by declaring 'it's not enough to
train today's workforce; we also have to prepare tomorrow's workforce, by
guaranteeing every child access to a world-class education' (39). Meet Estiven
Rodriguez, a young man who had terrific teachers and tutors, who could not speak
English until he was 10 years old. 'This son of a factory worker just found out he's
going to college this fall' (38).
There is always one citizen invited to sit with the First Lady this is a strategy that
has been used in every State of the Union address since President Carter. In his final
and most powerful human interest piece, President Obama introduces Sergeant First
Class Cory Remsburg who served ten deployments in the Army. Cory was nearly
killed in Afghanistan, suffered through a coma and is now blind in one eye. 'Day by
day, he's learned to speak again and stand again and walk again ' and he's working
toward the day when he can serve his country again' (77). Cory's story was met with
a standing ovation.
Stories like the ones we are presented with of Andra the auto worker, Misty the
unemployed mother, Estiven the young college student and Cory the military hero are
meant to make the American public feel something-anything really. They are
intended to make the audience feel that everyone matters, that we are the people
and that our constitution still holds true.
The speech itself falls flat and so in order to placate the American public, Congress
and the Democratic Party the President uses one last attempt at pulling the
heartstrings of his partisans by stating that 'if we work together; if we summon what
is best in us, with our feet planted firmly in today but our eyes cast towards
tomorrow ' I know it's within our reach' (80). Overall, this last statement merely
reinforces the hollowness of his speech