Obama's Tuesday Speech: President Addresses Congress

Barack Obama struck a note of optimism Tuesday evening, declaring that America's best days are ahead even if, at this moment, the future looks bleak. Watch:

The president said the following before a national television audience and joint-session of Congress:

But while our economy may be weakened and our confidence shaken; though we are living through difficult and uncertain times, tonight I want every American to know this: We will rebuild, we will recover, and the United States of America will emerge stronger than before.

The weight of this crisis will not determine the destiny of this nation. The answers to our problems don't lie beyond our reach. They exist in our laboratories and universities; in our fields and our factories; in the imaginations of our entrepreneurs and the pride of the hardest-working people on Earth. Those qualities that have made America the greatest force of progress and prosperity in human history we still possess in ample measure. What is required now is for this country to pull together, confront boldly the challenges we face, and take responsibility for our future once more.

The resilient tone stands in some contrast to the largely realist message that Obama struck during his inaugural address.

In addition to providing Obama a forum to strike a commanding and assuring note with the American public, Tuesday night's address also represents a chance for the president to set the legislative agenda for the weeks ahead. The Republican response, as delivered by Gov. Bobby Jindal, will actually criticize Obama for pessimism - in what seems to be a direct contrast to what Obama actually plans to say.

"A few weeks ago," reads an excerpt of Jindal's speech, "the President warned that our nation is facing a crisis that he said 'we may not be able to reverse.' Our troubles are real, to be sure. But don't let anyone tell you that we cannot recover - or that America's best days are behind her."

UPDATE: Here is the guest list for First Lady Michelle Obama's box:

Mrs. Michelle Obama

Story continues below

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Dr. Jill Biden

Leonard Abess Jr., CEO, City National Bank of Florida (Miami, FL)

Ty'Sheoma Bethea, Student (Dillon, SC)

Elizabeth Carballo, Student (Washington, DC)

Richard G. DeCoatsworth, Police Officer (Philadelphia, PA)

Earl Devaney, Chair, Recovery Act Transparency and Accountability Board

Mayor Bob Dixson (Greensburg, KS)

Governor Jim Douglas (Montpelier, VT)

Mary Henley (Richmond, VA)

SPC Jonathon N. James, US Army (Mountain View, AR)

Valerie B. Jarrett, Senior Advisor and Assistant to the President for Intergovernmental Affairs and Public Liaison

Blake Jones, Co-Founder and President, Namaste Solar (Boulder, CO)

Shannon Kendall (Georgetown, TX)

Victoria Kirby, Student (Washington, DC)

Geneva Lawson, Safe-Deposit Custodian, City National Bank of Florida (Miami, FL)

Lilly Ledbetter (Jacksonville, AL)

General Alfonso E. Lenhardt, US Army (Washington, DC)

Roxanna Garcia Marcus, Development Manager, Year Up (Washington, DC)

Abbey Meacham, Firefighter (Forest, VA)

Akrem Muzemil, Student (Washington, DC)

Sergeant John E. Rice, USMC (Bethesda, MD)

Juan Francisco Rodriguez, Student, Bell Multicultural High School (Washington, DC)

Phil Schiliro, Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs

Alvaro Simmons, Chief Operating Officer, Mary's Center (Washington, DC)

Governor Ted Strickland (Columbus, OH)

The video will be live here:

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs previewed President Obama's address on "Good Morning America" Tuesday. Asked about Bill Clinton's advice to be more optimistic about the economy, Gibbs responded, "You'll hear the president tell Americans that ... better days are ahead." Watch:

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs previewed President Obama's address on "Good Morning America" Tuesday. Asked about Bill Clinton's advice to be more optimistic about the economy, Gibbs responded, "You'll hear the president tell Americans that ... better days are ahead." Watch:

President Obama is delivering his first State of the Union-like address on Tuesday. McClatchy says there are three key questions facing the nation's leader:

First, will he reach out to the Republicans who have felt free to scorn him, or match his popularity against theirs and try to slap them back?

Second, how specific will he be about his plans for the coming days? Will he propose nationalizing troubled banks or lay the groundwork for such a dramatic action? Will he use his first proposed budget this week to advance a campaign to overhaul the nation's health-care system?

Third, will he continue the warnings he's used so far to prod Congress to follow his lead on rescuing the economy, or will he employ a more upbeat voice and say help is on the way?

AP adds some context on what Obama plans to discuss:

The president is expected to show Americans how all the pieces fit together to make the economy sound again. There's the $787 billion just-signed stimulus bill, plus an even more expensive mix of rescues for the financial industry, auto companies and troubled mortgage holders.

He will touch on other priorities he says fit into the bigger picture. Potentially eye-popping expensive plans to broaden health care coverage to eventually insure everyone. Moving the country toward greener energy sources. Expanding education opportunities. Overhauling financial industry regulation.

And, he is all but certain to talk about the national debt and budget woes, stressing the need to get what he calls "exploding deficits" under control by controlling spending. His upcoming budget request will include his goal to slice the estimated $1.3 trillion annual deficit in half by the end of his first term.

The speech is not formally called a State of the Union, AP reports, because Obama is not considered to have had enough time in the White House yet to deliver a full status report. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi formally invited President Obama to address Congress. The full letter:

President Barack Obama The White House Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear Mr. President:

We greatly appreciate your support for the legislation we have sent you to guarantee fair pay for women and expanded health care for children, and for your leadership as we work to finalize an economic recovery bill, which we will send you shortly.

This Congress and your Administration have truly hit the ground running, but our hard work has just begun. We would like to invite you to address a Joint Session of the Congress on Tuesday, February 24 to share your vision for addressing the many critical challenges our country faces at home and abroad.

Thank you for considering this invitation to speak to the Congress and the nation. We look forward to your reply.

Sincerely,

NANCY PELOSI HARRY REID
Speaker of the House Majority Leader of the Senate

Comments

[breakroomlive]

This is where Bobby Jindal got his talking point from:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0cpjhTRO28

[JohnGalt1984]

I think I can sum up our Overlords speech last night.

None of this is my fault.

Big banks are really bad.

Big business is really bad.
The government is your only hope.

Executives who live and work like executives are really bad.
If you have a private plane you should be ashamed of yourself.
Bank Executives who share their money are good. Because money doesn't really belong to the individual it belongs to the masses.

Big spending really good.
Obama is willing to work with Republicans as long as they understand this is all their fault, and nothing they suggest will be considered.
Defense spending will be cut greatly.
NOBODY MESSES WITH CRAZY UNCLE JOE.....NOBODY!!!!
Not one mention of drilling for domestic oil.
There is absolutely no way to get out of this without huge government intervention. I'm convinced that Nancy Pelosi is the sum of all evil. That's right I said it "sum of all evil" Take that Dick Chaney haters.


One has to ask the question are you the kind of person who counts on him or her self to make your own life better? Or are you the kind of person who will wait for the Government in all its glory to swoop down from high above to save you. If your the former, in the long run one can only truly count on oneself to make your life better. If your the latter, well you always have Crazy Uncle Joe.

[research]

Wrong. It not freedom versus government.

It's corporatism versus democracy.

Corporatist banksters destroy the private sector.

When regulated, bankers and investor can be contributing good members of society.

Unregulated they go crazy with greed.

[madmax2007]

Obama is a truly a fake. No better than Bush except in that he is smoother. Read this:

http://www.holycows.info/blog/?p=308

http://www.holycows.info/blog/?p=312

And let me know what you think

[JohnGalt1984]

I think I can sum up our Overlords speech last night.

None of this is my fault.

Big banks are really bad.

Big business is really bad.
The government is your only hope.

Executives who live and work like executives are really bad.
If you have a private plane you should be ashamed of yourself.
Bank Executives who share their money are good. Because money doesn't really belong to the individual it belongs to the masses.

Big spending really good.
Obama is willing to work with Republicans as long as they understand this is all their fault, and nothing they suggest will be considered.
Defense spending will be cut greatly.
Our taxes will cover other peoples mortgages, medical, and now collage.
NOBODY MESSES WITH CRAZY UNCLE JOE.....NOBODY!!!!
Not one mention of drilling for domestic oil.
Nancy Pelosi is the sum of all evil. That's right I said it "sum of all evil" Take that Dick Chaney haters.

One has to ask the question are you the kind of person who counts on him or her self to make your own life better? Or are you the kind of person who will wait for the Government in all its glory to swoop down from high above to save you. If your the former, in the long run one can only truly count on oneself to make your life better. If your the latter, well you always have Crazy Uncle Joe.

[LSP]

Amazing. He said everything I wanted to hear, and needed to hear. And I feel sure he means what he says.

[justitia]

What we can do is to support the President and help him achieve what he promised at the same time call him out when he reneges on them. I for one am disappointed that some in his cabinet are associated with companies responsible for the financial mess. Of course, one could always repent from past misdeeds and, like former mafiosi snitching on their former bosses, sometimes it's necessary to employ someone who saw how the mess was created in order to fix that very mess and prevent one in the future. I just hope safeguards are in place so that these former insiders are able to do their job.

Powerful interests are so well-entrenched in the system that the most idealistic President is forced to compromise and renege on some promises, to be able to achieve others, such as for instance the downgrading of human rights in dealing with China and upholding, at least for now, of Bush secrecy on torture cases. That's why we need to keep challenging the President at the same time assure him of our solid support so he can confront those powerful interests.

Finally, we should not stand idly by when others oppose the President for the sake of opposing. For obvious reasons they use Bobby Jindal and Michael Steele as spokespersons (Limbaugh and Coulter and perhaps even George Will are bad for them at this point). We have to hit back hard without playing the race card whenever these guys open their mouths.

[dureta]

The sudden rise of Jindal and Steele to national prominence is seen by me to be a total and complete racist reaction by the reactionaries (the Republicans) to the changing face of American and by extension global politics.

They're presence seems to make arbitrarily relevant, and to surreptitiously proclaim the end of racism in America and the beginning of a post-colonial or post-racial way of imagining politics.

It is this same tendency that allowed the Republicans to nominate a woman for the Vice Presidency as another arbitrary show of progressive thinking within the party, that simply does not exist.

Republicans are so worried about their image. Jindal and Steele are being used as bandages to cover the ills or the Republican ideology that the Republicans prove unable to control or apply for the betterment of all americans.

Republicans should worry more about the people first and foremost, as the president suggested in his address to Congress last night. This above all would prove a progressive and solutions based approach to politics, which is what the world wants.

republicans as keepers of the old guard, as the good capitalilsts they are are only concerned with results, with the bottom line, and it doesn't matter to them how they get there.

Hence our country is in the toilet.

Hence the superficial splash of progressive political thinking embodied by Steele and Jindal, both of whom continue to rehash the tired (yes, tired!) conceptual thinking of the right.

[GoreSavingPlanetForJesus]

Glad that he was positive for a change.

It' was certainly time for Obama to finally act like a commander instead of a hopeless whiny wimp.

Wriied about big negative issues coming up though. For example, today's new news:

Guantanamo abuse has worsened since Obama
Wed Feb 25, 2009 8:44am EST
By Luke Baker, Reuters News Service

(Reuters) - Abuse of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay has worsened sharply since President Barack Obama took office, according to a lawyer who represents detainees.
Abuses began to pick up in December after Obama was elected, human rights lawyer Ahmed Ghappour told Reuters. He cited beatings, the dislocation of limbs, spraying of pepper spray into closed cells, applying pepper spray to toilet paper and over-forcefeeding detainees who are on hunger strike.

The Pentagon said on Monday that it had received renewed reports of prisoner abuse during a recent review of conditions at Guantanamo, but had concluded that all prisoners were being kept in accordance with the Geneva Conventions.

"Certainly in my experience there have been many, many more reported incidents of abuse since the inauguration," added Ghappour, who has visited Guantanamo six times since late September.

Let's be fair and balanced. Time to investigate Barry's regime.

[dureta]

Who's Barry? Am i supposed to guess? You sound very fair and balanced, "hopeless whiny wimp". That is top notch commentary! You really seem to be in touch with the issues! I'm glad pundits like you are around to help me put the issues in proper perspective.

I look forward to your ongoing investigative efforts to uncover the truth about Barry's regime.

"Barry's regime" would make a good name for punk rock band!

[GoreSavingPlanetForJesus]

Dureta,

Don't quit your day job at McDonalds.

Comedy is obviously not your thing.

[GoreSavingPlanetForJesus]

Oops.

Meant "worried" not "Wriied"

[TheAlchemist]

Remarkable

Those on the Right do not applaud the line and the concept that

“We must have quality affordable health care for every American.”

What are they thinking?

[Badfickle]

That they don't give a rip about 50 million Americans.

[GoreSavingPlanetForJesus]

When did being healthy become a right?

When did it become a rigt to have producers pay for the health of non-producers?

My mother broke her neck and severed her spine 4 years ago. She has titanium plates and fortunately can walk. NONE of you should have to pay a dime for it. It wasn't your fault. I love my mother, but she is owed nothing from the government. Health is not a right.

We all have a right to life, liberty, and to pursue happiness. No one has a guarantee to be happy or healthy. I wish that life was "fair" but it's not. I'm 5 foot 9, so I'll never get to play Center in the NBA. I was born into a lower class family. So what!

I fought my way out and went to college.

I am owed nothing. Why do you people think health is a right?

Is car insurance a right? Is a certain income a right?

This socialist entitlement attitude saddens me.

(yes, there are exceptions, and I am all for the VERY important purpose of charitable giving, and helping those in need).

Befor the great wefare society, churches, family, friends, and communities helped those in need. Poverty was 14%.

60 years later, poverty is still 14%. The great welfare society did not work. Stop trying to promote the government. The ruin everything they try to regulate.

[Badfickle]

What's sad is that you think that 50 million HARD WORKING Americans who work to put food on their families tables should not be able to afford to see a doctor. That's the reality.

AS for the government ruining everythign they try to regulate. Our current economic crisis is a perfect and jarring example of your flawed philosophy. The government specifically decided NOT to regulate Credit Default Swaps (See the Commodities Futures and Modernization Act of 2000). These CDS were the engine that drove the subprime housing boom are the direct and undeniable cause of our current recession (lets hope not depression). We have tried your philosophy for the past 28 years. It failed.

[dureta]

your thinking is old school my friend

there is no point in trying to explain to those that agree with you how UNIVERSAL ACCESS to healthcare can and some would say should be viewed as a basic right by all people in a free, developed society.

It is the same argument in support of PUBLIC EDUCATION as a basic right. Or the DUE PROCESS OF LAW.

In the end it comes down to the notion of access.

Life is unfair, true, access to basic human needs, and healthcare is a need all humans share, should be in principal universal. this is the argument.

this is to say, all people should have the same basic opportunity to live healthy, just as we all should havce the OPPORTUNITY ( the granting of which governements ensure through legislation of access to services when a community at large fails to ensure equal treatment to its members on its own) to receive a decent education, we should all have the opportunity to think freely and speak freely, we should all have th opportunity to love whom we choose and start a family, if when and where we choose, that we should all have a opportunity to work and make a living that doesn't compromise our personal or professional integrity. In short, an opportunity to fulfill the promise that the american dream (with which we are all indoctrinated at a young age) posits for us all.

[djwfutbol]

I had to read the text again to make sure I heard right. President Obama wants us all to go back to school! I graduated college in 1978 and haven't seen the inside of a classroom, except on parent/teacher night, since. This is going to be a personal challenge. I wonder what I'll study.

If everyone goes back to school, we will need more schools and more teachers. Could you imagine a society full of students, brains all afire, living, breathing and arguing every topic under the sun? It blows the mind.

I think I'll study Persian. Maybe pitch in on the Iranian problem.

[FCBarca]

Chose his words carefully I guess...USA does not torture does not preclude the USA from torturing by proxy, apparently

[Hank10303]

We needed a leader with a plan. One with ideas some old, some new, some revamped, but all operating in concert to make a "U" turn on several fronts at one time. The force of the pivot will be jarring; the acceleration will be stunning but the correction will be real. Learning the details won't help me to understand because the fact of the matter is I probably wouldn't understand the intricacies of the plans in any event. But there are independent professionals and experts that do and they all say go. MR. PRESIDENT LEAD ON.

[guruglenn]

So much to do and so little time to do it. I do believe there will be a recovery and it will take much time and effort by all people. I myself have suffered much loss in my investments and am still very optimistic about the future. The key to optimism is to be fearless.

Glenn Smith Author of Lotus Petal, A Parable to Help You to Overcome The Fear of Death
http://lotuspetalbook.com

[guruglenn]

So much to do and so little time to do it in. I believe there will be a recovery and I also know it is going to take a lot of effort on every person to make it happen. I myself have suffered huge losses in my investments but I am forever optimistic about my future. The key to optimism is to release yourself from the fear that blocks you.

Glenn Smith Author of Lotus Petal, A Parable to Help You to Overcome The Fear of Death
http://lotuspetalbook.com

[Lillopa]

Obama mention we Amercians will now know THE "TRUE COST" OF THE IRAQ WAR!

[ddDinah]

A few years ago when Bill was our NEW President, I read an article about HIS inherited deficit from George Sr. and how much greater it was than the amount reported to America.

[ddDinah]

Has ANYONE EVEN bothered to ASK George what he thinks about OBAMA'S speech...LOL