Obama’s monologue

In his first annual State of the Union Address after the Democratic Party lost its majority in Congress, President Obama pledged that his nation would invest in green energy, stop subsidising obsolete energy sources, break the dependence on oil and biofuels, would lay more emphasis on innovation. The basic thrust of his speech was on jobs and the economy. He proposed a five-year freeze in non-security discretionary spending, which he said will reduce the deficit by more than $400 billion over the next decade. Furthermore, briefing Americans on foreign policy; he reaffirmed the decision to start bringing home US troops from Afghanistan in July, praised the Tunisian people on their achievement, and discussed developments related to Iraq and Iran.
From what he said in his speech, Obama seem to realise the fact that although the US remains the most powerful country on earth, it is underperforming as a nation, and that China and India have shown great resurgence, on the other hand. Indeed, the two countries have successfully developed the quality of their intellectual capital. Therefore, one of the key words in Obama’s speech was “reinvent.” The important points missing in his speech were that no single policy proposal was cited. His remarks on US foreign policy appeared to have been made without conviction. He failed to comment on the current situation in Cairo, for example. It was almost as if what he was saying was all part of his re-election campaign, even though the elections are nearly two years away. Thus, the public reaction to what he said was mixed. In other words, his speech lacked what can be described as actual content.

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The News: http://old.thenews.com.pk/28-01-2011/ethenews/e-28060.htm