Obama’s Sixth Year Pitch Trying to Address the Economic Insecurity His Policies Have Caused.
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304691904579349442905233718?mod=WSJ_Opinion_AboveLEFTTop
The State of the Union address in the sixth year of any Presidency is rarely compelling. The White House tries to portray a renewed sense of vigor and perhaps a fresh proposal or two, while the public has begun to tune the familiar man out and Congress has its eyes on November. Perhaps that explains the subdued tone of President Obama’s speech Tuesday.
Gone were the grand progressive ambitions of last year’s speech and the soaring tributes to government. Perhaps this was an implicit nod to the failed rollout of ObamaCare, as well as the polling fact that only 19% of the public says it trusts the federal government. Mr. Obama had to say something about ObamaCare, so he stuck to a few popular details and did a public-service announcement asking people to sign up.
President Barack Obama gives his State of the Union address on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday Jan. 28, 2014. Associated Press
Mr. Obama was also trying to revive his own standing as a leader, which has suffered from the failures of the last year. Some 63% of Americans now say they lack confidence in his ability to make the right decisions. This may explain Mr. Obama’s odd pledge that 2014 will be a “year of action.” What were the previous five—years of inaction? As with his pledge to “act” on his own if Congress fails to agree with him, Mr. Obama is trying to convince Americans he’s not a spent force.
Most of the rest of the speech tried to address the economic insecurity that his own policies have done so much to create. Thus the odd combination of claiming credit for the recovery, even for the domestic oil boom he has resisted, while fretting about stagnant wages for “the middle class.”
Not that his small-ball proposals would help. His proposal to increase the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour—he proposed $9 a year ago—is an empty gesture because most Americans make more than the minimum and many of those who don’t will end up with a wage of $0 if their employer reduces the number of employees. Approving the Keystone XL pipeline would do more for the jobless than his $24 billion a year palliative to extend jobless benefits.
The puzzle of the speech is that he far spent less time on the issues that might get done—immigration and tax reform, freer trade—than he did on the liberal priorities that are unlikely to pass. If he really wants to repair his Presidency he’ll focus on those bipartisan possibilities. But that will require a change in the way he has governed for the past five years much more than a single speech.
Comments are closed.
