http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/obama-previews-state-of-the-union-plans/article/2558818?utm_content=buffer60ef9&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=bufferObama: State of the Union will focus on America's 'comeback'
BY SUSAN FERRECHIO | JANUARY 17, 2015 | 10:57 AM
President Obama on Saturday previewed his upcoming State of the Union address, promising he would spend the next year focusing on “rising wages, growing incomes, and a stronger middle class.”
The president will deliver his annual address to a joint session of Congress on Jan. 20. It will be the first time in his presidency he speaks to an entirely GOP-led Congress.
Obama said the guests he plans to invite to the event are men and women who have written him letters over the past year to praise government programs that he said have helped the nation achieve a “comeback.”
They include a war veteran who lost both legs serving in Afghanistan but has recovered thanks to “our extraordinary doctors and nurses” and a Colorado woman who was able to expand her business “thanks to a loan from the Small Business Administration.”
Obama has also invited a once-unemployed Missouri man who wrote the president to praise the student loan reform initiative and the healthcare law that helped him earn his degree and a full time job.
The president said that the nation is experiencing a genuine resurgence with strong employment growth and he wants to use his remaining time in office helping more people achieve success.
“Our job now is to make sure that every American feels that they’re a part of our country’s comeback,” Obama said.
But it will be difficult for Obama to move an agenda in a divided government.
The two parties have so far agreed on very little. Republicans have begun passing legislation that Obama has threatened to veto, including a bill authorizing construction of the Keystone XL pipeline.
On Saturday, the president said his state of the union speech would include a plea for bipartisanship.
“I’ll call on this new Congress,” Obama said, “to join me in putting aside the political games and finding areas where we agree so we can deliver for the American people.”
