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Tuesday, January 24th, 2012
Liveblogging the 2012 State of the Union
Welcome all to NPI’s 2012 coverage of the State of the Union address. We’ll be updating this post periodically throughout the President’s speech.
Various dignitaries are currently filing into the House chamber, and Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D‑AZ) just entered the chamber to a standing ovation. Giffords looks radiant. Her husband, astronaut Mark Kelly is a guest in the First Lady’s box, along with Warren Buffet’s secretary and others.
We’ve learned that the designated Cabinet member this evening, who will not be attending the State of the Union, is Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. One Cabinet member is so designated each time the President delivers the State of The Union Address, in case of a catastrophic event and to provide continuity of government.
Following Representative Giffords, the Supreme Court Justices and Mrs. Obama made their entrances. President Obama is not far behind.
UPDATE, 6:10 PM (Ken): President Obama has entered the House chamber to sustained applause, stopping to embrace Representative Giffords and shaking Chief Justice Roberts’ hand, among others’ as he makes his way up the aisle. In a few moments Speaker John Boehner will introduce the President and he will begin his remarks.
UPDATE, 6:20 PM (Ken): The theme of the President’s speech thus far appears to be the American Dream and the promise of our nation. President Obama is striking a positive tone, with the aspirational language that we’ve come to expect .
The President is in his element and at his best when he dares his fellow Americans to dream and believe in the promise of our great nation.
UPDATE, 6:30 PM (Patrick): Obama talked about increasing spending on education and making it harder for students to be pushed out of our educational system and increasing student aid. He also called on states to make higher education a priority. This is beyond good, considering the policy of divestment states have pursued in regards higher education. He also mentioned some of the tragic changes to the Pell Grant and student loans which were added to the omnibus spending bill passed at the end of the year.
UPDATE, 6:40 PM (Ken): Here’s a few observations about the President’s speech so far.
The first of the President’s guests for the speech has been mentioned: Jackie Bray, a single mom from North Carolina. Judging by her reaction to the President’s remarks, it’s obvious she was unaware what he was going to say about her.
Ronald Reagan, beginning with his 1982 address, is credited with establishing the tradition of honoring special guests seated in the gallery (commonly known as the President’s box).
Vice-President Biden and Speaker Boehner have almost identical stone faces behind the President, with only Biden taking the time to applause from time to time. At least Boehner isn’t crying again.
When President Obama mentioned the need for comprehensive immigration reform, Senator McCain looked like the cat that ate the canary and had a sly grin on his face. Depending on whether or not it’s an election year, McCain might be for immigration reform. During election years he’s as reliably anti-immigrant as any conservative Republican.
The President just reinforced a conservative frame by using the words “tax relief” with regard to small business. Further enforcing Republican dogma, President Obama’s energy policy seems to include more drilling for oil, despite following up with words about natural gas and renewables.
Perhaps the President needs a reminder about the Deepwater Horizon disaster.
UPDATE, 6:50 PM (Patrick): Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood perked up when Obama talked about issuing an Executive Order to speed up construction projects. Obama then went on to say that those project needed to be funded, and that we need to “[t]ake the money we’re no longer spending at war, use half of it to pay down our debt, and use the rest to do some nation-building right here at home.” He definitely trying to come out strong for the year on the jobs front.
UPDATE 6:55pm, Ken: Here’s an overview of some of the new policy initiatives announced by the President during his remarks tonight.
The President also ordered federal agencies to eliminate rules that don’t make sense.
The President pledged to establish a Financial Crimes Unit of highly trained investigators to crack down on large-scale fraud and protect people’s investments.
He also said that he has directed Attorney General Eric Holder to create a special unit of federal prosecutors and leading state attorneys general to expand investigations into the abusive lending and packaging of risky mortgages that led to the housing crisis.
UPDATE, 7:15 PM (Patrick): The President is spot on when he talks about shared responsibility. Tying together his earlier point about the economic gains of the post-World War II era (where the marginal tax rate for the wealthiest was 90 percent) to the fact that since then have created a radically more unequal tax code today), he framed the issue in stark terms: “Now, you can call this class warfare all you want. But asking a billionaire to pay at least as much as his secretary in taxes? Most Americans would call that [un]common sense.”
UPDATE, 7:20 PM (Ken): President Obama just wrapped up the State of the Union on a high note, with hopeful, inspirational rhetoric echoing the beginning of the speech, when he referenced the capture and death of Osama bin Laden. The conclusion was vintage Obama and the President, as usual, nailed the delivery.
Thanks for following along with us tonight. We’ll post a roundup of SOTU analysis worth reading later tonight or tomorrow morning.
# Written by Patrick Stickney :: 5:42 PM
Categories: Live Coverage, Policy Topics
Tags: State of the Union
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