State of the Union Wrap-Up (February 2010)

On the heels of Republican victories in Virginia, New Jersey and most recently Massachusetts, the president sent a straightforward message to Republicans in his State of the Union address that “the responsibility to govern is now yours, as well.”

Last Wednesday night, President Barack Obama doubled down by calling on America to once again trust him. He argued that if we just enact his agenda, we will be happy with it. From taxes to healthcare, from the growing deficit to our national security, President Obama wants to remake America. However, it is clear to me, as it is to millions of Americans, that he intends to continue to read his personal election victory as support for a hard-left agenda the American people did not ratify in the election and don’t want to now.

Despite President Barack Obama’s attempts to reassure the American people about national security, his policies speak louder than his words. Trying to close the terrorist detention facility at Guantanamo Bay has not made America safer. There were more attempted terrorist attacks in 2009 than in any year since 9-11.

As expected, the days following the president’s first State of the Union address have been filled with a glut of news stories analyzing each new policy proposal and handicapping its odds of passage in the bitterly partisan environment on Capitol Hill.

Each day my staff and I have been calling small businesses throughout my district. We call mostly to see how they are doing and if there is anything I can do to help them.  Perhaps not surprisingly, though, almost as a single voice, they say the same thing: “The president has got to get these banks lending again.”

Last week in his State of the Union address, President Barack Obama provided a straightforward, sobering reminder of the challenges we face as a nation. When the president took office he inherited the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, two wars, and a nation desperate for a leader to rekindle the American dream. I am pleased that the president rolled up his sleeves and provided a number of specific policy proposals to create jobs, continue rebuilding our economy and keep American families safe from the threat of terrorism. This economic downturn has lasted longer than anyone would like, but a recession of this depth requires targeted policy solutions and an enduring commitment to a full recovery. The president delivered on both.

Obama wants to give the government a central role in broad array of sectors