The theme for President Obama's speech was “Rescue, Rebuild, Restore – a New Foundation for Prosperity”.[3][4] Among the topics that Obama covered in his speech were proposals for job creation andfederal deficit reduction.[5]
All student loan debt forgiven after 20 years, or after 10 years if they choose a career in public service
Cost cutting at colleges and universities
Middle Class
Nearly double the child tax credit
Giving access to a retirement account for every worker
Expanding the tax credit for those who start a nest egg (retirement fund)
Refinancing to make more mortgages affordable
Tackling childhood obesity (headed by the First Lady, Michelle Obama)
Health care reform
Deficit reduction
Starting in 2011, freeze government spending for 3 years on discretionary programs (excluding national security, Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security)
Eliminate programs that are unaffordable or don't work
Extend middle-class tax cuts
Bipartisan fiscal commission to provide solutions (created by Executive Order, if necessary)
Restoring pay-as-you-go law
Require lobbyists to disclose every contact they make
Limits on contributions that lobbyists give to candidates
Reform for earmarks, publish them in a single location on the web
During the address, Obama condemned theCitizens United v. Federal Election Commission ruling, stating, "Last week, the Supreme Court reversed a century of law that I believe will open the floodgates for special interests – including foreign corporations – to spend without limit in our elections." JusticeSamuel Alito was seen frowning and mouthing the words "not true" when Obama criticized the Supreme Court.[8][9][10][11][12]
Chief JusticeJohn Roberts later commented on the subject at theUniversity of Alabama, saying, "The image of having the members of one branch of government standing up, literally surrounding the Supreme Court, cheering and hollering while the court – according to the requirements of protocol – has to sit there expressionless, I think is very troubling."[13]
In response to Roberts,Justice Breyer said he would continue to attend the address: "I think it's very, very, very important—very important—for us to show up at that State of the Union, because people today are more and more visual. What [people] see in front of them at the State of the Union is that federal government. And I would like them to see the judges too, because federal judges are also a part of that government."[14]
The Republican response to the State of the Union Address was delivered byBob McDonnell who had been sworn in as the Governor of Virginia 11 days before. McDonnell sought to replicate the trappings State of the Union Address by giving a speech in the chamber of the Virginia House of Delegates with the audience filled with his supporters and included shots of McDonnell entering the chamber while shaking hands as he walking down the aisle. He also selected ten guests to stand behind him as he delivered the speech, including a member of the armed forces wearing his uniform[16] that critics alleged to be a violation of military regulations.[17][18] In addition, the use of House chamber for McDonnell's speech did not comply with House Rule 82.[19][20] In his prepared text, McDonnell stated, "Today, the federal government is simply trying to do too much."[21]
Originally, theWhite House was considering two dates for the State of the Union Address:[22] January 26 and February 2.[23] Were the latter date selected,ABC would have then preempted the already scheduled premiere of thesixth and final season of the TV seriesLost, sabotaging months of promotion for "The Final Season" and forcing some awkward rescheduling of the season, which had no leeway for interruptions.[24] This prompted an online protest among fans and the story was picked up by dozens of media outlets.[25] On January 8, White House press secretaryRobert Gibbs announced "I don't foresee a scenario in which millions of people who hope to finally get some conclusion withLost are preempted by the president",[26] to which the show's co-creatorDamon Lindelof responded via his Twitter account with "OBAMA BACKED DOWN!!!! Groundhog Day is OURS!!!!!!! (God Bless America)".[27]
Ben East of the United Arab EmiratesThe National newspaper summed up the story with "confirmation of just how important [Lost] is came with an almost unbelievable communiqué from the White House last week ... That's right. Obama might have had vital information to impart upon the American people about health care, the war in Afghanistan, the financial crisis—things that, you know, might affect real lives. But the most important thing was that his address didn't clash with a series in which a polar bear appears on a tropical island. After extensive lobbying by the ABC network, the White House surrendered."[28]
^"After spending binge, White House says it will focus on deficits". Politico.com. November 13, 2009. RetrievedJanuary 8, 2010.President Barack Obama announced in next year's State of the Union address that he wants to focus extensively on cutting the federal deficit in 2010 – and downplayed other new domestic spending beyond jobs programs, according to top aides involved in the planning.
^"Military Directive 1344.10: Political Activities by Members of the Armed Forces"(PDF). February 19, 2008. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on August 25, 2009. RetrievedApril 10, 2010.Use or allow the use of photographs, drawings, and other similar media formats of themselves in uniform as the primary graphic representation in any campaign media, such as a billboard, brochure, flyer, Web site, or television commercial.
Written message with national radio address * Split into multiple parts
† Included a detailed written supplement
‡ Not officially a "State of the Union" PresidentsWilliam Henry Harrison (1841) andJames Garfield (1881) died in office before delivering a State of the Union
