The Battle For Congress Kicks Off For 2012

Well, it's January 31st, and yes, you guessed it- the race for the House in 2012 is on. Lots is happening.

• Speaker John Boehner is kicking off his efforts, launching his 2012 political operation, a combination of his PAC and his re-election structure. He brought on the Ohio GOP's Executive Director to lead this effort.
• The DCCC is on the air in 19 districts to attack Republicans in seats that President Obama won. It appears that they are going to attack Republican budget-cutting plans.
• House Democrats plan to use "Motions to Recommit" regularly this Congress to force tough votes on Republicans. Congressman Steve Israel calls this "going on offense."

A Picture: Common Sense?

Jon "Don Quixote" Huntsman Is Gonna Run For President???

U.S. Ambassador to China, former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman, is going to run for President, according to some sources. Apparently, the Ambassador is going to quit soon according to the White House to run against the President. He even apparently told Senator McCain he was going to get in.

One word: crazy. First off, there's already a Mormon, moderate, ex-Governor in the race named Mitt Romney, who has a much larger profile. He's going to have enough trouble on his own winning the nomination, let alone the trouble Huntsman will have. The GOP has moved well to the right since he took his job in this administration. Moderates aren't popular now, and he wouldn't even be the leading moderate entering the race. Furthermore, explain to the Tea Party why they want to vote for Obama's Ambassador to China. This sounds crazy to me.

The Latest From Egypt

There is big news out of Egypt today, although some of it is unconfirmed. Protestors are calling for a "march of millions" on Tuesday to increase pressure on Mubarak to leave. In a nation of 80 million, getting millions to the streets is difficult. The regime apparently arrested several Al-Jazeera journalists today, but they released them after pressure from the U.S. State Department. My gut instinct says the Obama Administration is tiring with this dog and pony show by Mubarak to stay in charge. Israel though, did allow Egypt to put forces in the Sinai Peninsula, with their state radio saying they were "looking the other way." This is a curious move, as this is kind of out of the way.

Also, apparently Jimmy Carter said he thinks Mubarak will end up leaving. Could Carter soon be running an election?

Obama Administration Ready For Mubarak Exit?

President Obama, Vice-President Biden, and Secretary of State Clinton have all taken some grief for not explicitly supporting the protestors in the streets of Egypt with a statement calling for Egyptian President Mubarak to leave. In reality, with elements like the Muslim Brotherhood around, I understand that, even if I agree with the protestors. The U.S. government doesn't want the worst elements of Egypt to take charge. Makes sense. So they're cautious.

The LA Times is reporting that the U.S. Government is preparing for life after Mubarak in the Middle East. They have come to realize that Mubarak cannot stay in power without a crushing display of strength against the Egyptians that would lay the seed for a bloody revolution in the near future. Knowing that, they are preparing for an orderly exit. The real question is, how and where does he go, and who replaces him.

Update From Egypt

Apparently, Mubarak is huddling with his generals. If they turn on him, his rule is over in Egypt. He's instructed his Prime Minister to take measures to create jobs as well, but no one seems to believe that is going to pacify those in the streets. Say this much for Mubarak though: he's hung in there six days, which is impressive. Most leaders are gone by now. Should he be gone? Hey look, if you need an answer to that, ask yourself how we'd act after 30 years with one President.

Apparently, ElBaradei is now leading the protestors. This appears, at this point, to be coming down to ElBaradei, Suleiman, or the Muslim Brotherhood taking charge in Egypt.

Julian Assange On 60 Minutes

I'm not a huge fan of his, but here's the story. Julian Assange is quite intelligent, and serves a purpose, but he strikes me as simply someone who exists to antagonize the U.S. Government. For instance, in his release of State Department cables recently, it seemed to be more of an embarrassment than a revelation, to me. However, Julian Assange, in my opinion, exists because our media fails to do it's job. He exists because they don't do investigative journalism anymore, and they accept government statements as Gospel. See the Iraq War as an example.

Footage From Cairo

David Axelrod Leaves The White House

Rep. Black: Don't Insure Kids

Congressman Jack Kingston Won't Admit He Believes In Evolution

Poll: Huckabee Leads Iowa, Romney New Hampshire

GOP consulting firm Strategic National polled Iowa and New Hampshire. Their results?

Iowa:

Mike Huckabee 28%, Mitt Romney 19%, Sarah Palin 12%, Newt Gingrich 12%, Tim Pawlenty 4%, Michele Bachmann 4%

New Hampshire:

Mitt Romney 34%, Mike Huckabee 14%, Sarah Palin 13%, Newt Gingrich 9%, Tim Pawlenty 5%

What this says? Romney is the front-runner, Huckabee the top challenger. Palin, Gingrich, and Pawlenty all have a chance, but probably only if they show very well in Iowa. This leads to the main question, should Romney go for it in Iowa, or lay-up and take some delegates? If he goes for it, and comes in behind anyone besides Huckabee, it may kill him in New Hampshire, where he looks strong. For Gingrich or Palin, simply beating Romney may catapult them in this race. The wild-card here? Huckabee says he won't enter until summer. So, is he going to enter at all? Or, will he be weak then? If he's a non-factor, it's wide open. Interestingly enough, no sign of Haley Barbour here. I would think he needs to be a competitor in Iowa.

Comcast Now Owns NBC Universal

It's official, Comcast has purchased 51% of NBC Universal from General Electric. While they dropped Hulu in the deal, they do now own NBC News, MSNBC, CNBC, Bravo, USA, and E!

What Happens To Tea Party Members In Congress?

There are lots of opinions about why members of the Senate aren't joining the Tea Party Caucus. Senators DeMint, Paul, and Lee joined the caucus this past week, but Senators Toomey, Rubio, and Johnson, all Tea Party favorites, declined. The question is why? The bigger question is, does it matter?

The why seems obvious. Three swing-state Senators, elected in a conservative electorate, may not want to be totally defined by that electorate. Makes sense, even if they generally agree with them. Does it matter though? Well, at least some in the Tea Party don't seem to care. They see their movement as grassroots, and not needing a caucus.

All of this gets at the reality, that the Tea Party is not one movement, and is both astroturf and grassroots at the same time. The Tea Party, at the ground level, is a collection of different types of conservatives, depending on the region. At the macro-level, it is both a grassroots movement, and the FreedomWorks funded corporate shrill it was created as. The members of the Tea Party who are now in Congress will soon show which they are. If I had to guess, they will behave more like FreedomWorks than the purists of conservative thinking in the street. In the opinion of this writer, neither is a good option. One side would gut the social safety net, the other would re-distribute wealth to the wealthy.

The Latest In Egypt

Well, lots is happening today. Rumors state that President Hosni Mubarak's children are in London, and that his wife may join them. It is unclear if the Army will open fire on the protestors or not, if need be, and the world is waiting to see that. Ultimately, that may decide the outcome there.

New reports say 74 are dead and protests continue. The protestors in the streets are not interested in Mubarak's attempt to appease them, and seem to want him to leave.

They also seem unhappy with his new Vice-Presidential pick. His selection of Omar Suleiman hasn't pacified anyone. Apparently, Suleiman is well known to us, and leads their spy agency.

More as it happens.

Mubarak Dismisses Cabinet

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has dismissed his cabinet. The military appears to have taken the streets. More later.

Draft Mitch Daniels Commercial

Really? This is the way to draft him?

Will Democrats Allow The President To "Get Things Done?"

Deficit reform? Maybe. Corporate Tax reform? Maybe. There are SOME openings for President Obama in the 112th Congress. Maybe. Maybe appears to be the key word here. He may not have the openings he thinks, even with a GOP House.

You see, the Democrats are basically saying "no" to anything on Social Security, even if it gets them criticized. They appear to be staking out the opposite position of the GOP's "get rid of it" stance, re-writing history in the same way the GOP has, by attributing values to the program that were not there at the start. The program was meant as a supplemental income for the elderly and incapable, with the value that if you pay in, you pay out. Taking a "don't touch" view on COLA alterations and retirement age is a good way to start negotiating, but as a policy statement, it makes any kind of change to the program virtually impossible, as the GOP isn't likely to capitulate on the caps on Payroll Taxes if the Democrats don't give anything else. As I said though, this is a good negotiating point, and it gives them something to work with. All sides should realize that COLA's and payroll taxes weren't at the heart of the ideals behind FDR's Social Security.

Then there's the corporate tax rate. Everyone agrees 40% is too high. The devil is the details. You see, the highest taxed corporations in effect, are ones that Progressives do not like. Tobacco, utilities, and petroleum are some of the sectors taxed over 10% in the end, and Democrats won't be happy about that. Republicans will also not be crazy about giving away loopholes for their pet corporate partners. Suddenly, consensus seems more difficult.

Jay Carney Replaces Robert Gibbs As White House Press Secretary

Robert Gibbs is on his way out as White House Press Secretary. Jay Carney, formerly the Communications Director for Vice-President Biden and a reporter for Time, is on his way in. Gibbs, an Obama insider, will head off to Chicago for the re-election campaign. Carney is the beneficiary and gets the promotion.

This seems good to me. I felt like fresh blood may be needed. The Obama White House, packed with Obama Campaign hands, perhaps had become too insular, and perhaps stale. Some new blood infusions are a positive development. Hopefully the message gets through.

Pence Out. DeMint In?

Mike Pence appears to be out of the 2012 race for President, but in the race for Governor of Indiana. Pence, who gave up his position in the GOP House Leadership last year, had been mulling either position, but appears to be deciding. This would appear to be a blow to more conservative elements in his party, where he is considered a rising star. This would seem to be a real blow to social conservatives.

Well, despite his most recent denial, Senator Jim DeMint may end up filling their void. People in DeMint's inner-circle say he isn't inspired by the field of candidates right now. They don't know who he could back. This is a problem for a Senator from early-voting South Carolina. He holds a major card with his endorsement, and could simply hand it to himself. He'd probably win his home-state. However, DeMint doesn't seem like he's in right now, from this video.

Sounds to me like the GOP still doesn't have the hard-line conservative voice it wants in the primaries. Don't write this "voice" candidate off. If President Obama sits over 50% in his approval a year from now, and he looks strong, the GOP may nominate this kind of candidate, in the "Goldwater tradition." Don't count it out.

Snowing On The Capitol

All Hell Is Breaking Loose In Egypt

The AP is reporting massive unrest in the streets of Cairo. Thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, are in the streets right now. The government is using force, and a video of a man being shot by police or military forces has turned up on the AP site. There are real fears of bloodshed to come. CNN reports that the internet and text messaging services are down.

Mubarak has been in charge for two decades in Egypt. It appears that there is popular unrest with his rule. We can only hope that tomorrow's "Day of Rage" doesn't turn into a murderous slaughter. Opposition Leader and Nobel Laureate Mohamed ElBaradei has returned to lead the opposition in protest tomorrow. Hopefully, speech is respected.

Palin Confuses "Space Race" With "Arms Race."

Anyone Awake In Iowa And New Hampshire???

It's January 27th, 2011. No one's running for President yet. Apparently, the polls aren't moving yet either. PPP Polling suggests no one has gone up more than 3% in Iowa or New Hampshire since May. No one. Not even Sarah Palin, who some are declaring is politically "dead." Welcome to the 2012 election.

Here's Iowa:

Candidate May 2010 January 2011 Shift
Mike Huckabee 27% 30% +3
Sarah Palin 17% 15% -2
Newt Gingrich 16% 13% -3
Mitt Romney 15% 18% +3
Ron Paul 7% 6% -1
John Thune 2% 3% +1

Got that? Here's New Hampshire:

Candidate April 2010 October 2010 Shift
Mitt Romney 39% 40% +1
Mike Huckabee 11% 13% +2
Newt Gingrich 11% 10% -1
Sarah Palin 13% 10% -3
Tim Pawlenty 3% 4% +1

So what's it mean? Well, first off, it means that no one's paying attention to people who aren't declared candidates. Shocking, I know. This also means that fundraising totals for the tier twos- Pawlenty, Bachmann, Thune, etc.- will be crucial. Could there be room for a late run at this? Yeah, but only for funded candidates. My sense is that this favors the front-runners. Romney, Huckabee, Palin, and Gingrich all will gather lots of attention no matter the early polling, and to be ahead means they will squeeze others out. It could hurt them too, if they all stay stagnant for months. We'll see in due time I guess, but clearly no one has the early mo'.

The State of the Union Hits The Road

President Obama took right to the road- right where he belongs right now- the day after his big State of the Union Speech. He showed up in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, to tout their energy saving, job creating work there at Orion Energy Systems, hoping to both sell his policies and his politics there. While he won Wisconsin by 14% in 2008, the GOP cleaned house there in 2010.

The President belongs on the road. He needs to sell people on what he wants to do. Only public pressure will help him get anything done these next two years, while the GOP runs the House. They won't just pass stuff he wants to be nice, he needs to pressure them into action. The public likes him, but they need to understand his policies. For that, he needs to be on the road. This was a good step. Get out of the bubble.

Oh yeah, and you have to win Wisconsin in 2012 to be re-elected. Not a bad start.

Will Ideology Trump People In Harrisburg?

Tom Corbett was inaugurated last week as Governor of Pennsylvania. To be fair to him, I did not believe he had been in office long enough to do anything bad yet. Then I got an email. Here's the text:

Join the fight for affordable health care

More than 40,000 working Pennsylvanians who now have access to health care through adultBasic health insurance will soon be without health-care coverage...unless Gov. Tom Corbett acts.

adultBasic provides bare-bones health insurance to uninsured working adults. The state's tax-exempt Blue Cross and Blue Shield insurers have helped to fund the program over the past six years under an agreement that fulfills their charitable obligations as tax-exempt insurers. These Blues' insurers also have a surplus of $5.6 billion.

The agreement with the Blues expired Dec. 31, and the fund is expected to run out of money at the end of February. If the Blues continued to fund the program it would cost $150 million, or 2.6 percent of their surplus, and working people could continue to afford to go to the doctor.

Gov. Corbett has said he will let the program expire rather than renegotiate.

House Democrats are calling on Gov. Corbett to renegotiate with Pennsylvania's Blue Cross and Blue Shield providers and are asking the governor to sit down with lawmakers and discuss other viable funding options. We must continue to fight to ensure affordable health care for all Pennsylvanians.

Please join us in this fight. Sign the petition to save adultBasic!

Let's be clear about a few things here. Politically no one can force Governor Corbett's hand here. He has majorities in both houses of the legislature, and easily. The people in the adultBasic program are people who really need help, and the help they get here is exactly what the name says- basic. It means they get to see a doctor. The Blues fund this program under an obligation they have anyway, so this isn't a "trouble" to them, it's part of their mission. So why not do this? Why not help these people? There's really no reason, except for ideology. It's a shame when ideology trumps humans.

Congressman Paul Ryan's Response

Good evening. I'm Congressman Paul Ryan from Janesville, Wisconsin — and Chairman here at the House Budget Committee.

President Obama just addressed a Congressional chamber filled with many new faces. One face we did not see tonight was that of our friend and colleague, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona. We all miss Gabby and her cheerful spirit; and we are praying for her return to the House Chamber.

Earlier this month, President Obama spoke movingly at a memorial event for the six people who died on that violent morning in Tucson. Still, there are no words that can lift the sorrow that now engulfs the families and friends of the fallen.

What we can do is assure them that the nation is praying for them; that, in the words of the Psalmist, the Lord heals the broken-hearted and binds up their wounds; and that over time grace will replace grief.

As Gabby continues to make encouraging progress, we must keep her and the others in our thoughts as we attend to the work now before us.

Tonight, the President focused a lot of attention on our economy in general — and on our deficit and debt in particular.

He was right to do so, and some of his words were reassuring. As chairman of the House Budget Committee, I assure you that we want to work with the President to restrain federal spending.

In one of our first acts in the new majority, House Republicans voted to cut Congress's own budget. And just today, the House voted to restore the spending discipline that Washington sorely needs.

The reason is simple.

A few years ago, reducing spending was important. Today, it's imperative. Here's why.

We face a crushing burden of debt. The debt will soon eclipse our entire economy, and grow to catastrophic levels in the years ahead.

On this current path, when my three children — who are now 6, 7, and 8 years old — are raising their own children, the federal government will double in size, and so will the taxes they pay.

No economy can sustain such high levels of debt and taxation. The next generation will inherit a stagnant economy and a diminished country.

Frankly, it's one of my greatest concerns as a parent — and I know many of you feel the same way.

Our debt is the product of acts by many presidents and many Congresses over many years. No one person or party is responsible for it.

There is no doubt the President came into office facing a severe fiscal and economic situation.

Unfortunately, instead of restoring the fundamentals of economic growth, he engaged in a stimulus spending spree that not only failed to deliver on its promise to create jobs, but also plunged us even deeper into debt.

The facts are clear: Since taking office, President Obama has signed into law spending increases of nearly 25 percent for domestic government agencies — an 84 percent increase when you include the failed stimulus.

All of this new government spending was sold as "investment." Yet after two years, the unemployment rate remains above 9% and government has added over $3 trillion to our debt.

Then the President and his party made matters even worse, by creating a new open-ended health care entitlement.

What we already know about the President's health care law is this: Costs are going up, premiums are rising, and millions of people will lose the coverage they currently have. Job creation is being stifled by all of its taxes, penalties, mandates and fees.

Businesses and unions from around the country are asking the Obama Administration for waivers from the mandates. Washington should not be in the business of picking winners and losers. The President mentioned the need for regulatory reform to ease the burden on American businesses. We agree — and we think his health care law would be a great place to start.

Last week, House Republicans voted for a full repeal of this law, as we pledged to do, and we will work to replace it with fiscally responsible, patient-centered reforms that actually reduce costs and expand coverage.

Health care spending is driving the explosive growth of our debt. And the President's law is accelerating our country toward bankruptcy.

Our debt is out of control. What was a fiscal challenge is now a fiscal crisis.

We cannot deny it; instead we must, as Americans, confront it responsibly.

And that is exactly what Republicans pledge to do.

Americans are skeptical of both political parties, and that skepticism is justified — especially when it comes to spending. So hold all of us accountable.


In this very room, the House will produce, debate, and advance a budget. Last year — in an unprecedented failure — Congress chose not to pass, or even propose a budget. The spending spree continued unchecked.

We owe you a better choice and a different vision.

Our forthcoming budget is our obligation to you — to show you how we intend to do things differently … how we will cut spending to get the debt down… help create jobs and prosperity … and reform government programs. If we act soon, and if we act responsibly, people in and near retirement will be protected.

These budget debates are not just about the programs of government; they're also about the purpose of government.

So I'd like to share with you the principles that guide us. They are anchored in the wisdom of the founders; in the spirit of the Declaration of Independence; and in the words of the American Constitution.

They have to do with the importance of limited government; and with the blessing of self-government.

We believe government's role is both vital and limited — to defend the nation from attack and provide for the common defense ... to secure our borders ... to protect innocent life ... to uphold our laws and Constitutional rights ... to ensure domestic tranquility and equal opportunity ... and to help provide a safety net for those who cannot provide for themselves.

We believe that the government has an important role to create the conditions that promote entrepreneurship, upward mobility, and individual responsibility.

We believe, as our founders did, that "the pursuit of happiness" depends upon individual liberty; and individual liberty requires limited government.

Limited government also means effective government. When government takes on too many tasks, it usually doesn't do any of them very well. It's no coincidence that trust in government is at an all-time low now that the size of government is at an all-time high.

The President and the Democratic Leadership have shown, by their actions, that they believe government needs to increase its size and its reach, its price tag and its power.

Whether sold as "stimulus" or repackaged as "investment," their actions show they want a federal government that controls too much; taxes too much; and spends too much in order to do too much.

And during the last two years, that is exactly what we have gotten — along with record deficits and debt — to the point where the President is now urging Congress to increase the debt limit.

We believe the days of business as usual must come to an end. We hold to a couple of simple convictions: Endless borrowing is not a strategy; spending cuts have to come first.

Our nation is approaching a tipping point.

We are at a moment, where if government's growth is left unchecked and unchallenged, America's best century will be considered our past century. This is a future in which we will transform our social safety net into a hammock, which lulls able-bodied people into lives of complacency and dependency.

Depending on bureaucracy to foster innovation, competitiveness, and wise consumer choices has never worked — and it won't work now.

We need to chart a new course.

Speaking candidly, as one citizen to another: We still have time ... but not much time. If we continue down our current path, we know what our future will be.

Just take a look at what's happening to Greece, Ireland, the United Kingdom and other nations in Europe. They didn't act soon enough; and now their governments have been forced to impose painful austerity measures: large benefit cuts to seniors and huge tax increases on everybody.

Their day of reckoning has arrived. Ours is around the corner. That is why we must act now.

Some people will back away from this challenge. But I see this challenge as an opportunity to rebuild what Lincoln called the "central ideas" of the Republic.

We believe a renewed commitment to limited government will unshackle our economy and create millions of new jobs and opportunities for all people, of every background, to succeed and prosper. Under this approach, the spirit of initiative — not political clout — determines who succeeds.

Millions of families have fallen on hard times not because of our ideals of free enterprise — but because our leaders failed to live up to those ideals; because of poor decisions made in Washington and Wall Street that caused a financial crisis, squandered our savings, broke our trust, and crippled our economy.


Today, a similar kind of irresponsibility threatens not only our livelihoods but our way of life.

We need to reclaim our American system of limited government, low taxes, reasonable regulations, and sound money, which has blessed us with unprecedented prosperity. And it has done more to help the poor than any other economic system ever designed. That's the real secret to job creation — not borrowing and spending more money in Washington.

Limited government and free enterprise have helped make America the greatest nation on earth.

These are not easy times, but America is an exceptional nation. In all the chapters of human history, there has never been anything quite like America. The American story has been cherished, advanced, and defended over the centuries.

And it now falls to this generation to pass on to our children a nation that is stronger, more vibrant, more decent, and better than the one we inherited.

Thank you and good night.

My Reaction To Bachmann And Ryan

So Paul Ryan and Michele Bachmann took their best cracks at responding to the President of the United States and his State of the Union speech. I'll be the first one to say, it's nearly impossible to ever "win" against any President's speech, so they had a mountain to climb. I don't think either did climb it.

We'll start with Congressman Ryan, since he gave the official response. Basically, he endorsed his "Road Map." He only committed to preserving Social Security for those close to being in the system. He didn't back away from gutting the program out for younger people, or the same for Medicare. He proposed to destroy these programs, while reverting spending levels to 2008 marks. He claims this will be job creating, but in fact it's job killing. Ryan signaled little willingness to work on the Health Care law, and instead called for repeal again. All-in-all, his speech's tone was fine, but his specifics were very partisan, and meant to set a full opposition to the President.

Then there was Michele Bachmann. She spoke about tyranny, but didn't speak much to the camera (the TV one, the internet one she did).  Unlike Ryan, who attempted to at least sound like an adult, Bachmann clearly was appealing to her base in this speech, and tried to cast a good vs. evil look to it.

Basically, I think the GOP didn't get much out of these. Essentially, you saw what the Beltway Republicans want (Ryan) against what the grassroots want (Bachmann). Ultimately, these speeches never are what's remembered, and generally are meant only to provide a little more news for the junkies out there.

Congresswoman Bachmann's Speech

From CNN.

Good evening. My name is Congresswoman Michele Bachmann from Minnesota's 6th District.
I want to thank the Tea Party Express and Tea Party HD for inviting me to speak this evening. I'm here at their request and not to compete with the official Republican remarks.
The Tea Party is a dynamic force for good in our national conversation, and it's an honor for me to speak with you.
Two years ago, when Barack Obama became our president, unemployment was 7.8%, and our national debt stood at what seemed like a staggering $10.6 trillion. We wondered whether the president would cut spending, reduce the deficit and implement real job-creating policies.
Unfortunately, the president's strategy for recovery was to spend a trillion dollars on a failed stimulus program, fueled by borrowed money. The White House promised us that all the spending would keep unemployment under 8%. Not only did that plan fail to deliver, but within three months, the national jobless rate spiked to 9.4%. It hasn't been lower for 20 straight months. While the government grew, we lost more than 2 million jobs.
Let me show you a chart. Here are unemployment rates over the past 10 years. In October of 2001, our national unemployment rate was at 5.3%. In 2008, it was at 6.6%. But just eight months after President Obama promised lower unemployment, that rate spiked to a staggering 10.1%. Today, unemployment is at 9.4% with about 400,000 new claims every week.
After the $700 billion bailout, the trillion-dollar stimulus, and the massive budget bill with over 9,000 earmarks, many of you implored Washington to please stop spending money that we don't have. But instead of cutting, we saw an unprecedented explosion of government spending and debt. It was unlike anything we've ever seen before in the history of the country.
Well, deficits were unacceptably high under President Bush, but they exploded under President Obama's direction, growing the national debt by an astounding $3.1 trillion.
Well, what did we buy? Instead of a leaner, smarter government, we bought a bureaucracy that now tells us which lightbulbs to buy and which may put 16,500 IRS agents in charge of policing President Obama's health care bill. Obamacare mandates and penalties may even force many job-creators to just stop offering health insurance altogether, unless, of course, yours is one of the more than 222 privileged companies, or unions, that's already received a government waiver under Obamacare.
In the end, unless we fully repeal Obamacare, a nation that currently enjoys the world's finest health care might be forced to rely on government-run coverage. That could have a devastating impact on our national debt for even generations to come.
For two years, President Obama made promises, just like the ones we heard him make this evening, yet still we have high unemployment, devalued housing prices, and the cost of gasoline is skyrocketing.
Well, here's a few suggestions for fixing our economy. The president could stop the EPA from imposing a job-destroying cap-and-trade system. The president could support a balanced budget amendment. The president could agree to an energy policy that increases American energy production and reduces our dependence on foreign oil.
The president could also turn back some of the 132 regulations put in place in the last two years, many of which will cost our economy $100 million or more. And the president should repeal Obamacare and support free-market solutions, like medical malpractice reform and allowing all Americans to buy any health care policy they like anywhere in the United States.
We need to start making things again in this country, and we can do that by reducing the tax and regulatory burden on job-creators. America will have the highest corporate tax rate in the world. Think about that. Look no further to see why jobs are moving overseas.
But thanks to you, there's reason for all of us to have hope that real spending cuts are coming, because last November, you went to the polls, and you voted out the big-spending politicians and you put in their place great men and women with a commitment to follow our Constitution and cut the size of government. I believe that we're in the very early days of a history-making turn in America.
Please know how important your calls, visits and letters are to the maintenance of our liberties. Because of you, Congress is responding, and we're just beginning to start to undo the damage that's been done the last few years, because we believe in lower taxes, we believe in a limited view of government and exceptionalism in America. And I believe that America is the indispensable nation of the world.
Just the creation of this nation itself was a miracle. Who can say that we won't see a miracle again? The perilous battle that was fought during World War II in the Pacific at Iwo Jima was a battle against all odds, and yet this picture immortalizes the victory of young GIs over the incursion against the Japanese. These six young men raising the flag came to symbolize all of America coming together to beat back a totalitarian aggressor.
Our current debt crisis we face today is different, but we still need all of us to pull together. But we can do this. That's our hope. We will push forward. We will proclaim liberty throughout the land. And we will do so because we, the people, will never give up on this great nation.
So God bless you, and God bless the United States of America.

Congressman Ryan's Response vs. Congresswoman Bachmann's Response

The 2011 State of the Union Address

My Take: The State of the Union Speech

Well, he did it. The President went before the newly Republican House (and for that matter, the whole Congress), and delivered his 2011 State of the Union. All-in-all, I give the speech a "B." There were high mountains, but also low, low valleys. Let's look at the highs:

• For the first time in my lifetime, a President made EDUCATION the center-point of his State of the Union Speech, a must to move this nation forward. This to me, was the high-point.
• The President actually called for the end of subsidies to the oil industry, even going so far as to call it "yesterday's industry." He's spot on here, but will Congress act? Ending these subsidies and putting the money into alternative energy would be a huge step forward.
• The President called out the falsehood that we can just cut "discretionary, non-defense" spending, and balance the budget. Good for him for talking about deficits like an adult.
• The President gave the GOP Congress a way to be constructive on health care.
• High-speed rail, high speed internet, infrastructure spending. Beautiful. Great priorities.

Now the bad.

• If the objective in Afghanistan is to deny the Taliban and Al Qaeda a safe haven, then any guarantees to draw down in the near future would seem to be in doubt. From a pure cost standpoint, we just can't afford to do this forever. This is concerning, if not alarming.
• The Federal Budget has little in-common with household budgets. I hate when people use this rhetoric. Household budgets exist entirely to pay bills. The Federal Government's budget exists to carry out programs that are supposed to help the greater society. Totally different missions, and totally different consequences from their actions. When a household fails, it fails. When the government fails, we all suffer.

As I said, overall, good speech. I enjoyed it.

Scarborough, Rendell React

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Rachel Maddow's Initial Response to the Speech

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Reactions To The President's Speech

Reactions to the speech:

• CBS polling shows 81% approval for the President's plan for the economy, and 92% approved of the plans he put forth in the speech. This is amongst viewers, which is an audience that kind of skews Democratic, because he's a Democrat. Still, high marks.
• CNN Polling shows 52% had a very positive reaction to the speech, 32% had a somewhat positive reaction, and 15% had a negative reaction. Last year, 48% had a very positive reaction. 39% of their pool were Democratic, 19% were Republican, and the rest independent.
• PostPartisan was stirred, but unmoved. The opinion here is that the speech didn't go far enough.
• The Fix offered several opinions on the speech.

The Transcript: President Obama's 2011 State of the Union Speech

From the White House site.

Remarks of President Barack Obama in State of the Union Address

State of the Union Address, Washington, DC

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, Members of Congress, distinguished guests, and fellow Americans:

Tonight I want to begin by congratulating the men and women of the 112th Congress, as well as your new Speaker, John Boehner. And as we mark this occasion, we are also mindful of the empty chair in this Chamber, and pray for the health of our colleague – and our friend – Gabby Giffords.

It’s no secret that those of us here tonight have had our differences over the last two years. The debates have been contentious; we have fought fiercely for our beliefs. And that’s a good thing. That’s what a robust democracy demands. That’s what helps set us apart as a nation.

But there’s a reason the tragedy in Tucson gave us pause. Amid all the noise and passions and rancor of our public debate, Tucson reminded us that no matter who we are or where we come from, each of us is a part of something greater – something more consequential than party or political preference.

We are part of the American family. We believe that in a country where every race and faith and point of view can be found, we are still bound together as one people; that we share common hopes and a common creed; that the dreams of a little girl in Tucson are not so different than those of our own children, and that they all deserve the chance to be fulfilled.

That, too, is what sets us apart as a nation.

Now, by itself, this simple recognition won’t usher in a new era of cooperation. What comes of this moment is up to us. What comes of this moment will be determined not by whether we can sit together tonight, but whether we can work together tomorrow.

I believe we can. I believe we must. That’s what the people who sent us here expect of us. With their votes, they’ve determined that governing will now be a shared responsibility between parties. New laws will only pass with support from Democrats and Republicans. We will move forward together, or not at all – for the challenges we face are bigger than party, and bigger than politics.

At stake right now is not who wins the next election – after all, we just had an election. At stake is whether new jobs and industries take root in this country, or somewhere else. It’s whether the hard work and industry of our people is rewarded. It’s whether we sustain the leadership that has made America not just a place on a map, but a light to the world.

We are poised for progress. Two years after the worst recession most of us have ever known, the stock market has come roaring back. Corporate profits are up. The economy is growing again.

But we have never measured progress by these yardsticks alone. We measure progress by the success of our people. By the jobs they can find and the quality of life those jobs offer. By the prospects of a small business owner who dreams of turning a good idea into a thriving enterprise. By the opportunities for a better life that we pass on to our children.

That’s the project the American people want us to work on. Together.

We did that in December. Thanks to the tax cuts we passed, Americans’ paychecks are a little bigger today. Every business can write off the full cost of the new investments they make this year. These steps, taken by Democrats and Republicans, will grow the economy and add to the more than one million private sector jobs created last year.

But we have more work to do. The steps we’ve taken over the last two years may have broken the back of this recession – but to win the future, we’ll need to take on challenges that have been decades in the making.

Many people watching tonight can probably remember a time when finding a good job meant showing up at a nearby factory or a business downtown. You didn’t always need a degree, and your competition was pretty much limited to your neighbors. If you worked hard, chances are you’d have a job for life, with a decent paycheck, good benefits, and the occasional promotion. Maybe you’d even have the pride of seeing your kids work at the same company.

That world has changed. And for many, the change has been painful. I’ve seen it in the shuttered windows of once booming factories, and the vacant storefronts of once busy Main Streets. I’ve heard it in the frustrations of Americans who’ve seen their paychecks dwindle or their jobs disappear – proud men and women who feel like the rules have been changed in the middle of the game.

They’re right. The rules have changed. In a single generation, revolutions in technology have transformed the way we live, work and do business. Steel mills that once needed 1,000 workers can now do the same work with 100. Today, just about any company can set up shop, hire workers, and sell their products wherever there’s an internet connection.

Meanwhile, nations like China and India realized that with some changes of their own, they could compete in this new world. And so they started educating their children earlier and longer, with greater emphasis on math and science. They’re investing in research and new technologies. Just recently, China became home to the world’s largest private solar research facility, and the world’s fastest computer.

So yes, the world has changed. The competition for jobs is real. But this shouldn’t discourage us. It should challenge us. Remember – for all the hits we’ve taken these last few years, for all the naysayers predicting our decline, America still has the largest, most prosperous economy in the world. No workers are more productive than ours. No country has more successful companies, or grants more patents to inventors and entrepreneurs. We are home to the world’s best colleges and universities, where more students come to study than any other place on Earth.

What’s more, we are the first nation to be founded for the sake of an idea – the idea that each of us deserves the chance to shape our own destiny. That is why centuries of pioneers and immigrants have risked everything to come here. It’s why our students don’t just memorize equations, but answer questions like “What do you think of that idea? What would you change about the world? What do you want to be when you grow up?”

The future is ours to win. But to get there, we can’t just stand still. As Robert Kennedy told us, “The future is not a gift. It is an achievement.” Sustaining the American Dream has never been about standing pat. It has required each generation to sacrifice, and struggle, and meet the demands of a new age.

Now it’s our turn. We know what it takes to compete for the jobs and industries of our time. We need to out-innovate, out-educate, and out-build the rest of the world. We have to make America the best place on Earth to do business. We need to take responsibility for our deficit, and reform our government. That’s how our people will prosper. That’s how we’ll win the future. And tonight, I’d like to talk about how we get there.

The first step in winning the future is encouraging American innovation.

None of us can predict with certainty what the next big industry will be, or where the new jobs will come from. Thirty years ago, we couldn’t know that something called the Internet would lead to an economic revolution. What we can do – what America does better than anyone – is spark the creativity and imagination of our people. We are the nation that put cars in driveways and computers in offices; the nation of Edison and the Wright brothers; of Google and Facebook. In America, innovation doesn’t just change our lives. It’s how we make a living.

Our free enterprise system is what drives innovation. But because it’s not always profitable for companies to invest in basic research, throughout history our government has provided cutting-edge scientists and inventors with the support that they need. That’s what planted the seeds for the Internet. That’s what helped make possible things like computer chips and GPS.

Just think of all the good jobs – from manufacturing to retail – that have come from those breakthroughs.

Half a century ago, when the Soviets beat us into space with the launch of a satellite called Sputnik¸ we had no idea how we’d beat them to the moon. The science wasn’t there yet. NASA didn’t even exist. But after investing in better research and education, we didn’t just surpass the Soviets; we unleashed a wave of innovation that created new industries and millions of new jobs.

This is our generation’s Sputnik moment. Two years ago, I said that we needed to reach a level of research and development we haven’t seen since the height of the Space Race. In a few weeks, I will be sending a budget to Congress that helps us meet that goal. We’ll invest in biomedical research, information technology, and especially clean energy technology – an investment that will strengthen our security, protect our planet, and create countless new jobs for our people.

Already, we are seeing the promise of renewable energy. Robert and Gary Allen are brothers who run a small Michigan roofing company. After September 11th, they volunteered their best roofers to help repair the Pentagon. But half of their factory went unused, and the recession hit them hard.

Today, with the help of a government loan, that empty space is being used to manufacture solar shingles that are being sold all across the country. In Robert’s words, “We reinvented ourselves.”

That’s what Americans have done for over two hundred years: reinvented ourselves. And to spur on more success stories like the Allen Brothers, we’ve begun to reinvent our energy policy. We’re not just handing out money. We’re issuing a challenge. We’re telling America’s scientists and engineers that if they assemble teams of the best minds in their fields, and focus on the hardest problems in clean energy, we’ll fund the Apollo Projects of our time.

At the California Institute of Technology, they’re developing a way to turn sunlight and water into fuel for our cars. At Oak Ridge National Laboratory, they’re using supercomputers to get a lot more power out of our nuclear facilities. With more research and incentives, we can break our dependence on oil with biofuels, and become the first country to have 1 million electric vehicles on the road by 2015.

We need to get behind this innovation. And to help pay for it, I’m asking Congress to eliminate the billions in taxpayer dollars we currently give to oil companies. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but they’re doing just fine on their own. So instead of subsidizing yesterday’s energy, let’s invest in tomorrow’s.

Now, clean energy breakthroughs will only translate into clean energy jobs if businesses know there will be a market for what they’re selling. So tonight, I challenge you to join me in setting a new goal: by 2035, 80% of America’s electricity will come from clean energy sources. Some folks want wind and solar. Others want nuclear, clean coal, and natural gas. To meet this goal, we will need them all – and I urge Democrats and Republicans to work together to make it happen.

Maintaining our leadership in research and technology is crucial to America’s success. But if we want to win the future – if we want innovation to produce jobs in America and not overseas – then we also have to win the race to educate our kids.

Think about it. Over the next ten years, nearly half of all new jobs will require education that goes beyond a high school degree. And yet, as many as a quarter of our students aren’t even finishing high school. The quality of our math and science education lags behind many other nations. America has fallen to 9th in the proportion of young people with a college degree. And so the question is whether all of us – as citizens, and as parents – are willing to do what’s necessary to give every child a chance to succeed.

That responsibility begins not in our classrooms, but in our homes and communities. It’s family that first instills the love of learning in a child. Only parents can make sure the TV is turned off and homework gets done. We need to teach our kids that it’s not just the winner of the Super Bowl who deserves to be celebrated, but the winner of the science fair; that success is not a function of fame or PR, but of hard work and discipline.

Our schools share this responsibility. When a child walks into a classroom, it should be a place of high expectations and high performance. But too many schools don’t meet this test. That’s why instead of just pouring money into a system that’s not working, we launched a competition called Race to the Top. To all fifty states, we said, “If you show us the most innovative plans to improve teacher quality and student achievement, we’ll show you the money.”

Race to the Top is the most meaningful reform of our public schools in a generation. For less than one percent of what we spend on education each year, it has led over 40 states to raise their standards for teaching and learning. These standards were developed, not by Washington, but by Republican and Democratic governors throughout the country. And Race to the Top should be the approach we follow this year as we replace No Child Left Behind with a law that is more flexible and focused on what’s best for our kids.

You see, we know what’s possible for our children when reform isn’t just a top-down mandate, but the work of local teachers and principals; school boards and communities.

Take a school like Bruce Randolph in Denver. Three years ago, it was rated one of the worst schools in Colorado; located on turf between two rival gangs. But last May, 97% of the seniors received their diploma. Most will be the first in their family to go to college. And after the first year of the school’s transformation, the principal who made it possible wiped away tears when a student said “Thank you, Mrs. Waters, for showing… that we are smart and we can make it.”

Let’s also remember that after parents, the biggest impact on a child’s success comes from the man or woman at the front of the classroom. In South Korea, teachers are known as “nation builders.” Here in America, it’s time we treated the people who educate our children with the same level of respect. We want to reward good teachers and stop making excuses for bad ones. And over the next ten years, with so many Baby Boomers retiring from our classrooms, we want to prepare 100,000 new teachers in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math.

In fact, to every young person listening tonight who’s contemplating their career choice: If you want to make a difference in the life of our nation; if you want to make a difference in the life of a child – become a teacher. Your country needs you.

Of course, the education race doesn’t end with a high school diploma. To compete, higher education must be within reach of every American. That’s why we’ve ended the unwarranted taxpayer subsidies that went to banks, and used the savings to make college affordable for millions of students. And this year, I ask Congress to go further, and make permanent our tuition tax credit – worth $10,000 for four years of college.

Because people need to be able to train for new jobs and careers in today’s fast-changing economy, we are also revitalizing America’s community colleges. Last month, I saw the promise of these schools at Forsyth Tech in North Carolina. Many of the students there used to work in the surrounding factories that have since left town. One mother of two, a woman named Kathy Proctor, had worked in the furniture industry since she was 18 years old. And she told me she’s earning her degree in biotechnology now, at 55 years old, not just because the furniture jobs are gone, but because she wants to inspire her children to pursue their dreams too. As Kathy said, “I hope it tells them to never give up.”

If we take these steps – if we raise expectations for every child, and give them the best possible chance at an education, from the day they’re born until the last job they take – we will reach the goal I set two years ago: by the end of the decade, America will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world.

One last point about education. Today, there are hundreds of thousands of students excelling in our schools who are not American citizens. Some are the children of undocumented workers, who had nothing to do with the actions of their parents. They grew up as Americans and pledge allegiance to our flag, and yet live every day with the threat of deportation. Others come here from abroad to study in our colleges and universities. But as soon as they obtain advanced degrees, we send them back home to compete against us. It makes no sense.

Now, I strongly believe that we should take on, once and for all, the issue of illegal immigration. I am prepared to work with Republicans and Democrats to protect our borders, enforce our laws and address the millions of undocumented workers who are now living in the shadows. I know that debate will be difficult and take time. But tonight, let’s agree to make that effort. And let’s stop expelling talented, responsible young people who can staff our research labs, start new businesses, and further enrich this nation.

The third step in winning the future is rebuilding America. To attract new businesses to our shores, we need the fastest, most reliable ways to move people, goods, and information – from high-speed rail to high-speed internet.

Our infrastructure used to be the best – but our lead has slipped. South Korean homes now have greater internet access than we do. Countries in Europe and Russia invest more in their roads and railways than we do. China is building faster trains and newer airports. Meanwhile, when our own engineers graded our nation’s infrastructure, they gave us a “D.”

We have to do better. America is the nation that built the transcontinental railroad, brought electricity to rural communities, and constructed the interstate highway system. The jobs created by these projects didn’t just come from laying down tracks or pavement. They came from businesses that opened near a town’s new train station or the new off-ramp.

Over the last two years, we have begun rebuilding for the 21st century, a project that has meant thousands of good jobs for the hard-hit construction industry. Tonight, I’m proposing that we redouble these efforts.

We will put more Americans to work repairing crumbling roads and bridges. We will make sure this is fully paid for, attract private investment, and pick projects based on what’s best for the economy, not politicians.

Within 25 years, our goal is to give 80% of Americans access to high-speed rail, which could allow you go places in half the time it takes to travel by car. For some trips, it will be faster than flying – without the pat-down. As we speak, routes in California and the Midwest are already underway.

Within the next five years, we will make it possible for business to deploy the next generation of high-speed wireless coverage to 98% of all Americans. This isn’t just about a faster internet and fewer dropped calls. It’s about connecting every part of America to the digital age. It’s about a rural community in Iowa or Alabama where farmers and small business owners will be able to sell their products all over the world. It’s about a firefighter who can download the design of a burning building onto a handheld device; a student who can take classes with a digital textbook; or a patient who can have face-to-face video chats with her doctor.

All these investments – in innovation, education, and infrastructure – will make America a better place to do business and create jobs. But to help our companies compete, we also have to knock down barriers that stand in the way of their success.

Over the years, a parade of lobbyists has rigged the tax code to benefit particular companies and industries. Those with accountants or lawyers to work the system can end up paying no taxes at all. But all the rest are hit with one of the highest corporate tax rates in the world. It makes no sense, and it has to change.

So tonight, I’m asking Democrats and Republicans to simplify the system. Get rid of the loopholes. Level the playing field. And use the savings to lower the corporate tax rate for the first time in 25 years – without adding to our deficit.

To help businesses sell more products abroad, we set a goal of doubling our exports by 2014 – because the more we export, the more jobs we create at home. Already, our exports are up. Recently, we signed agreements with India and China that will support more than 250,000 jobs in the United States. And last month, we finalized a trade agreement with South Korea that will support at least 70,000 American jobs. This agreement has unprecedented support from business and labor; Democrats and Republicans, and I ask this Congress to pass it as soon as possible.

Before I took office, I made it clear that we would enforce our trade agreements, and that I would only sign deals that keep faith with American workers, and promote American jobs. That’s what we did with Korea, and that’s what I intend to do as we pursue agreements with Panama and Colombia, and continue our Asia Pacific and global trade talks.

To reduce barriers to growth and investment, I’ve ordered a review of government regulations. When we find rules that put an unnecessary burden on businesses, we will fix them. But I will not hesitate to create or enforce commonsense safeguards to protect the American people. That’s what we’ve done in this country for more than a century. It’s why our food is safe to eat, our water is safe to drink, and our air is safe to breathe. It’s why we have speed limits and child labor laws. It’s why last year, we put in place consumer protections against hidden fees and penalties by credit card companies, and new rules to prevent another financial crisis. And it’s why we passed reform that finally prevents the health insurance industry from exploiting patients.

Now, I’ve heard rumors that a few of you have some concerns about the new health care law. So let me be the first to say that anything can be improved. If you have ideas about how to improve this law by making care better or more affordable, I am eager to work with you. We can start right now by correcting a flaw in the legislation that has placed an unnecessary bookkeeping burden on small businesses.

What I’m not willing to do is go back to the days when insurance companies could deny someone coverage because of a pre-existing condition. I’m not willing to tell James Howard, a brain cancer patient from Texas, that his treatment might not be covered. I’m not willing to tell Jim Houser, a small business owner from Oregon, that he has to go back to paying $5,000 more to cover his employees. As we speak, this law is making prescription drugs cheaper for seniors and giving uninsured students a chance to stay on their parents’ coverage. So instead of re-fighting the battles of the last two years, let’s fix what needs fixing and move forward.

Now, the final step – a critical step – in winning the future is to make sure we aren’t buried under a mountain of debt.

We are living with a legacy of deficit-spending that began almost a decade ago. And in the wake of the financial crisis, some of that was necessary to keep credit flowing, save jobs, and put money in people’s pockets.

But now that the worst of the recession is over, we have to confront the fact that our government spends more than it takes in. That is not sustainable. Every day, families sacrifice to live within their means. They deserve a government that does the same.

So tonight, I am proposing that starting this year, we freeze annual domestic spending for the next five years. This would reduce the deficit by more than $400 billion over the next decade, and will bring discretionary spending to the lowest share of our economy since Dwight Eisenhower was president.

This freeze will require painful cuts. Already, we have frozen the salaries of hardworking federal employees for the next two years. I’ve proposed cuts to things I care deeply about, like community action programs. The Secretary of Defense has also agreed to cut tens of billions of dollars in spending that he and his generals believe our military can do without.

I recognize that some in this Chamber have already proposed deeper cuts, and I’m willing to eliminate whatever we can honestly afford to do without. But let’s make sure that we’re not doing it on the backs of our most vulnerable citizens. And let’s make sure what we’re cutting is really excess weight. Cutting the deficit by gutting our investments in innovation and education is like lightening an overloaded airplane by removing its engine. It may feel like you’re flying high at first, but it won’t take long before you’ll feel the impact.

Now, most of the cuts and savings I’ve proposed only address annual domestic spending, which represents a little more than 12% of our budget. To make further progress, we have to stop pretending that cutting this kind of spending alone will be enough. It won’t.

The bipartisan Fiscal Commission I created last year made this crystal clear. I don’t agree with all their proposals, but they made important progress. And their conclusion is that the only way to tackle our deficit is to cut excessive spending wherever we find it – in domestic spending, defense spending, health care spending, and spending through tax breaks and loopholes.

This means further reducing health care costs, including programs like Medicare and Medicaid, which are the single biggest contributor to our long-term deficit. Health insurance reform will slow these rising costs, which is part of why nonpartisan economists have said that repealing the health care law would add a quarter of a trillion dollars to our deficit. Still, I’m willing to look at other ideas to bring down costs, including one that Republicans suggested last year: medical malpractice reform to rein in frivolous lawsuits.

To put us on solid ground, we should also find a bipartisan solution to strengthen Social Security for future generations. And we must do it without putting at risk current retirees, the most vulnerable, or people with disabilities; without slashing benefits for future generations; and without subjecting Americans’ guaranteed retirement income to the whims of the stock market.

And if we truly care about our deficit, we simply cannot afford a permanent extension of the tax cuts for the wealthiest 2% of Americans. Before we take money away from our schools, or scholarships away from our students, we should ask millionaires to give up their tax break.

It’s not a matter of punishing their success. It’s about promoting America’s success.

In fact, the best thing we could do on taxes for all Americans is to simplify the individual tax code. This will be a tough job, but members of both parties have expressed interest in doing this, and I am prepared to join them.

So now is the time to act. Now is the time for both sides and both houses of Congress – Democrats and Republicans – to forge a principled compromise that gets the job done. If we make the hard choices now to rein in our deficits, we can make the investments we need to win the future.

Let me take this one step further. We shouldn’t just give our people a government that’s more affordable. We should give them a government that’s more competent and efficient. We cannot win the future with a government of the past.

We live and do business in the information age, but the last major reorganization of the government happened in the age of black and white TV. There are twelve different agencies that deal with exports. There are at least five different entities that deal with housing policy. Then there’s my favorite example: the Interior Department is in charge of salmon while they’re in fresh water, but the Commerce Department handles them in when they’re in saltwater. And I hear it gets even more complicated once they’re smoked.

Now, we have made great strides over the last two years in using technology and getting rid of waste. Veterans can now download their electronic medical records with a click of the mouse. We’re selling acres of federal office space that hasn’t been used in years, and we will cut through red tape to get rid of more. But we need to think bigger. In the coming months, my administration will develop a proposal to merge, consolidate, and reorganize the federal government in a way that best serves the goal of a more competitive America. I will submit that proposal to Congress for a vote – and we will push to get it passed.

In the coming year, we will also work to rebuild people’s faith in the institution of government. Because you deserve to know exactly how and where your tax dollars are being spent, you will be able to go to a website and get that information for the very first time in history. Because you deserve to know when your elected officials are meeting with lobbyists, I ask Congress to do what the White House has already done: put that information online. And because the American people deserve to know that special interests aren’t larding up legislation with pet projects, both parties in Congress should know this: if a bill comes to my desk with earmarks inside, I will veto it.

A 21st century government that’s open and competent. A government that lives within its means. An economy that’s driven by new skills and ideas. Our success in this new and changing world will require reform, responsibility, and innovation. It will also require us to approach that world with a new level of engagement in our foreign affairs.

Just as jobs and businesses can now race across borders, so can new threats and new challenges. No single wall separates East and West; no one rival superpower is aligned against us.

And so we must defeat determined enemies wherever they are, and build coalitions that cut across lines of region and race and religion. America’s moral example must always shine for all who yearn for freedom, justice, and dignity. And because we have begun this work, tonight we can say that American leadership has been renewed and America’s standing has been restored.

Look to Iraq, where nearly 100,000 of our brave men and women have left with their heads held high; where American combat patrols have ended; violence has come down; and a new government has been formed. This year, our civilians will forge a lasting partnership with the Iraqi people, while we finish the job of bringing our troops out of Iraq. America’s commitment has been kept; the Iraq War is coming to an end.

Of course, as we speak, al Qaeda and their affiliates continue to plan attacks against us. Thanks to our intelligence and law enforcement professionals, we are disrupting plots and securing our cities and skies. And as extremists try to inspire acts of violence within our borders, we are responding with the strength of our communities, with respect for the rule of law, and with the conviction that American Muslims are a part of our American family.

We have also taken the fight to al Qaeda and their allies abroad. In Afghanistan, our troops have taken Taliban strongholds and trained Afghan Security Forces. Our purpose is clear – by preventing the Taliban from reestablishing a stranglehold over the Afghan people, we will deny al Qaeda the safe-haven that served as a launching pad for 9/11.

Thanks to our heroic troops and civilians, fewer Afghans are under the control of the insurgency. There will be tough fighting ahead, and the Afghan government will need to deliver better governance. But we are strengthening the capacity of the Afghan people and building an enduring partnership with them. This year, we will work with nearly 50 countries to begin a transition to an Afghan lead. And this July, we will begin to bring our troops home.

In Pakistan, al Qaeda’s leadership is under more pressure than at any point since 2001. Their leaders and operatives are being removed from the battlefield. Their safe-havens are shrinking. And we have sent a message from the Afghan border to the Arabian Peninsula to all parts of the globe: we will not relent, we will not waver, and we will defeat you.

American leadership can also be seen in the effort to secure the worst weapons of war. Because Republicans and Democrats approved the New START Treaty, far fewer nuclear weapons and launchers will be deployed. Because we rallied the world, nuclear materials are being locked down on every continent so they never fall into the hands of terrorists.

Because of a diplomatic effort to insist that Iran meet its obligations, the Iranian government now faces tougher and tighter sanctions than ever before. And on the Korean peninsula, we stand with our ally South Korea, and insist that North Korea keeps its commitment to abandon nuclear weapons.

This is just a part of how we are shaping a world that favors peace and prosperity. With our European allies, we revitalized NATO, and increased our cooperation on everything from counter-terrorism to missile defense. We have reset our relationship with Russia, strengthened Asian alliances, and built new partnerships with nations like India. This March, I will travel to Brazil, Chile, and El Salvador to forge new alliances for progress in the Americas. Around the globe, we are standing with those who take responsibility – helping farmers grow more food; supporting doctors who care for the sick; and combating the corruption that can rot a society and rob people of opportunity.

Recent events have shown us that what sets us apart must not just be our power – it must be the purpose behind it. In South Sudan – with our assistance – the people were finally able to vote for independence after years of war. Thousands lined up before dawn. People danced in the streets. One man who lost four of his brothers at war summed up the scene around him: “This was a battlefield for most of my life. Now we want to be free.”

We saw that same desire to be free in Tunisia, where the will of the people proved more powerful than the writ of a dictator. And tonight, let us be clear: the United States of America stands with the people of Tunisia, and supports the democratic aspirations of all people.

We must never forget that the things we’ve struggled for, and fought for, live in the hearts of people everywhere. And we must always remember that the Americans who have borne the greatest burden in this struggle are the men and women who serve our country.

Tonight, let us speak with one voice in reaffirming that our nation is united in support of our troops and their families. Let us serve them as well as they have served us – by giving them the equipment they need; by providing them with the care and benefits they have earned; and by enlisting our veterans in the great task of building our own nation.

Our troops come from every corner of this country – they are black, white, Latino, Asian and Native American. They are Christian and Hindu, Jewish and Muslim. And, yes, we know that some of them are gay. Starting this year, no American will be forbidden from serving the country they love because of who they love. And with that change, I call on all of our college campuses to open their doors to our military recruiters and the ROTC. It is time to leave behind the divisive battles of the past. It is time to move forward as one nation.

We should have no illusions about the work ahead of us. Reforming our schools; changing the way we use energy; reducing our deficit – none of this is easy. All of it will take time. And it will be harder because we will argue about everything. The cost. The details. The letter of every law.

Of course, some countries don’t have this problem. If the central government wants a railroad, they get a railroad – no matter how many homes are bulldozed. If they don’t want a bad story in the newspaper, it doesn’t get written.

And yet, as contentious and frustrating and messy as our democracy can sometimes be, I know there isn’t a person here who would trade places with any other nation on Earth.

We may have differences in policy, but we all believe in the rights enshrined in our Constitution. We may have different opinions, but we believe in the same promise that says this is a place where you can make it if you try. We may have different backgrounds, but we believe in the same dream that says this is a country where anything’s possible. No matter who you are. No matter where you come from.

That dream is why I can stand here before you tonight. That dream is why a working class kid from Scranton can stand behind me. That dream is why someone who began by sweeping the floors of his father’s Cincinnati bar can preside as Speaker of the House in the greatest nation on Earth.

That dream – that American Dream – is what drove the Allen Brothers to reinvent their roofing company for a new era. It’s what drove those students at Forsyth Tech to learn a new skill and work towards the future. And that dream is the story of a small business owner named Brandon Fisher.

Brandon started a company in Berlin, Pennsylvania that specializes in a new kind of drilling technology. One day last summer, he saw the news that halfway across the world, 33 men were trapped in a Chilean mine, and no one knew how to save them.

But Brandon thought his company could help. And so he designed a rescue that would come to be known as Plan B. His employees worked around the clock to manufacture the necessary drilling equipment. And Brandon left for Chile.

Along with others, he began drilling a 2,000 foot hole into the ground, working three or four days at a time with no sleep. Thirty-seven days later, Plan B succeeded, and the miners were rescued. But because he didn’t want all of the attention, Brandon wasn’t there when the miners emerged. He had already gone home, back to work on his next project.

Later, one of his employees said of the rescue, “We proved that Center Rock is a little company, but we do big things.”

We do big things.

From the earliest days of our founding, America has been the story of ordinary people who dare to dream. That’s how we win the future.

We are a nation that says, “I might not have a lot of money, but I have this great idea for a new company. I might not come from a family of college graduates, but I will be the first to get my degree. I might not know those people in trouble, but I think I can help them, and I need to try. I’m not sure how we’ll reach that better place beyond the horizon, but I know we’ll get there. I know we will.”

We do big things.

The idea of America endures. Our destiny remains our choice. And tonight, more than two centuries later, it is because of our people that our future is hopeful, our journey goes forward, and the state of our union is strong.

Thank you, God Bless You, and may God Bless the United States of America.