Obama's first State of the Union address to focus on jobs

January 27, 2010

USA TODAY

Richard Wolf

President Obama goes before Congress for his first State of the Union address Wednesday night to show he can boost the economy and create jobs this year while cutting the budget deficit in 2011.
The focus of the speech will be "getting our economy moving again," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said. The president also will call for a three-year freeze on most domestic spending, with exemptions for defense, homeland security and foreign aid as well as Medicare and Social Security.

That's been tried before with limited success. Domestic spending was reduced six times in the past 30 years: three times by Ronald Reagan, twice under Bill Clinton, and in 2006 by George W. Bush after Hurricane Katrina the year before had forced a temporary surge in federal emergency spending.

Obama has a similar opportunity as he prepares to unveil his 2011 budget Monday. Two years of unprecedented federal spending to stimulate the economy will have fattened agency budgets.

Obama's deficit-reduction effort could be helped by the completion of the decennial Census, which saves $5 billion, and a plan included in this year's budget to replace some aviation spending with nearly $10 billion in user fees.

"You'll have a table that shows a freeze, but then the real-world impact on the programs is far less severe than that," said Steve McMillin, deputy budget director in the Bush administration.

The White House hasn't said which programs would be increased or reduced under the freeze proposal. Past efforts targeted housing, transportation, social services and community development. Health and education usually avoided the cuts.

Freezing federal spending was a centerpiece of GOP Sen. John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign. In their three debates, Obama argued against an across-the-board freeze. "You're using a hatchet where you need a scalpel," he said.

Obama also will offer fresh details about how he wants to salvage an overhaul of health care. He will call for education reform and more money for schools, take responsibility for mistakes in his first year and follow up his speech with a dash to Florida on Thursday to announce $8 billion in awards for high-speed rail.

The $8 billion in stimulus funds would go toward grants for 13 major corridors. The announcement would be an attempt by the White House to show that the president wants to get Americans back to work and has a plan to do it.

Obama and Vice President Joe Biden will make the announcement during a town hall meeting in Tampa, Fla. That locale means there's a good chance that Florida's proposal for a high-speed line connecting Orlando and Tampa is about to get some money.

California's proposal for an 800-mile-long rail line from Sacramento to San Diego is also a strong contender, as is a nine-state proposal in the Midwest. Overall, 31 states will receive funds.

The guest list for Obama's speech provides a rough outline of the story he wants to tell. Sitting with first lady Michelle Obama in an elevated box overlooking the floor of the House will be people with stories of success and struggles, from immigrants who started businesses to families having a hard time making ends meet.

A new Gallup Poll finds that Obama is the most politically polarizing president in recent history, with 88% of Democrats approving of his job performance while just 23% of Republicans do. He has the twin political challenges of giving Democratic lawmakers an agenda they can rally around in this midterm election year, yet showing emboldened Republicans and a skeptical public that he is serious about reversing Washington's off-putting partisanship.

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