http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/230116-obama-to-say-country-has-turned-the-pageBy Justin Sink - 01/20/15 06:36 PM EST
President Obama will call for Congress to embrace “middle class economics” in a State of the Union address that credits his policies with helping the nation to “turn the page” from recession and war.
"At this moment – with a growing economy, shrinking deficits, bustling industry, and booming energy production – we have risen from recession freer to write our own future than any other nation on Earth," Obama will argue, according to excerpts released ahead of his speech. "It’s now up to us to choose who we want to be."
The president plans to pitch a populist economic agenda, arguing that free community college tuition, reduced mortgage payments, and higher taxes on the wealthy and big banks can help to level the playing field.
"Will we accept an economy where only a few of us do spectacularly well?" Obama will ask. "Or will we commit ourselves to an economy that generates rising incomes and chances for everyone who makes the effort?”
And he'll advocate "a smarter kind of American leadership" on foreign policy, reliant on coalition building and diplomacy over war. Obama will argue the approach is "making a difference," including in the battle against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.
"Instead of getting dragged into another ground war in the Middle East, we are leading a broad coalition, including Arab nations, to degrade and ultimately destroy this terrorist group," Obama will argue.
The proposals are unlikely to garner a warm response from a Congress that is now fully controlled by Republicans. But for Obama, the speech appears intended to bolster his legacy — and more sharply define a political debate certain to dominate the remainder of his administration and the fight to replace him.
Indeed, Obama will seek to put his proposals in the context of the progressive government policy initiatives of the past century.
“In fact, at every moment of economic change throughout our history, this country has taken bold action to adapt to new circumstances, and to make sure everyone gets a fair shot," Obama said. "We set up worker protections, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid to protect ourselves from the harshest adversity. We gave our citizens schools and colleges, infrastructure and the internet – tools they needed to go as far as their effort will take them."
Obama also plans to call on Congress to take action to confront looming threats, including through the authorization of the use of military force against ISIS and on new cybersecurity legislation.
"If we don’t act, we’ll leave our nation and our economy vulnerable," Obama will say. "If we do, we can continue to protect the technologies that have unleashed untold opportunities for people around the globe.”
