What is the State of the Union? A Small Analysis

Last night, the first black president of the United States gave his State of the Union address. Just recently the Republicans had gained filibuster power in the senate with the election of Scott Brown. So, he called for unity, implying that using filibuster power would shut down the government, which is what the republicans may do and is not a very good thing. (Having the government running smoothly is usually seen as good.)

Obama also called for more programs, reforms and hope. He also said that the government will stop spending beginning of January of 2011. I am currently unclear about what he meant, being non-politically educated. Does he mean not expanding expending or cut all spending, except for the spending he identified, namely spending on nationally security, medicare and medicaid and social security? My Dad said it was the former. It was a 70 minute long speech, his longest one yet. I zoned out a couple times and this was one of those points.

Obama did a good job of keeping up his momentum and was interesting, I got bored, but that is because it was me. I certainly felt comforted and assured everything is going to be okay. He was confident, firm and all those good things. This is unique in his administration. This past year it has been very cold, analytical and not very willing to give Americans a hug.

I would like to point out two specific points on new legislation and one point on legislation he didn't talk about. First, he talked about removing the "do-not-ask-do-not-tell" policy. He wants people who are attracted to the same gender to be allowed to be in the military and be open about it. That's going to stir up a lot of controversy. It's definitely NOT going to bring unity. Second, he wants to make tax breaks and spend less. I like that... How is going to pay for these programs then? Where is the money going to come from? Lastly, he didn't talk about the abortion issue. Smart move, why bring that up when the status quo is in your favor?

In conclusion, I am worried about how he wants to pay for all these great programs. They really do sound nice, they appear to be able to fix a lot of problems. In reality though, they will be warped into something different after they've been through congress. Also, you want to cut government spending at the same time, that's what Bush did. (Oh I need to add this: did you notice how he did not name the Bush administration, but alluded to it. I thought it was well done because he was making a point about a mistake of the past administration that he is having to deal with.)

So I hope nothing too bad happens in the next three years. Now, what will the Republicans do with their filibuster power? Will they stop the government and not be unified. Obama, with his glares and smirks toward them, certainly wasn't encouraging...