In his first State of the Union address tonight, President Barack Obama is expected to revive his campaign rhetoric of hope and change in an attempt to improve dwindling approval ratings.
According to the most recent Gallup poll, Obama’s approval rating dropped from 68 percent in January 2009 to 48 percent last week.
Rapidly declining approval from Republicans has also created the largest gap in ratings between the two parties ever recorded during a president’s first year in office.
Topics that President Barack Obama is expected to address:
- Job creation
- Economic challenges
- Health care legislation
- War in Afghanistan
- Dealing with terrorist threats on U.S. soil
- Assisting Haiti
- Improving education
- Immigration
- Carbon emissions
“During the campaign, his rhetoric sounded nice. Most Republicans thought they could swallow it,” said Anthony Dent, UNC College Republicans treasurer.
“Now they have woken up and realized that we have one of the most extreme leaders at helm,” he said.
Obama’s 9 p.m. speech will address topics such as job creation, paying for student loans and saving for retirement — issues aimed at strengthening his middle-class base, McClatchy News Services reports.
Obama will also focus on addressing non-partisan issues that affect all Americans such as economic growth, government spending and health care legislation, according to McClatchy.
Presidents have historically used the State of the Union address to showcase accomplishments and give current projects one last push, said journalism professor Leroy Towns.
Obama’s speech could win back support from liberals who have been frustrated with his compromises with the Republicans on proposed reforms, said Lee Storrow, co-president of the Young Democrats.
“It’s important for Democrats to reaffirm why we elected Obama,” Storrow said. “It’s disappointing to see the Republicans not reach out as we’ve seen with the Obama administration.”
Obama has had many bumps to deal with in his first year of presidency — health care being the biggest one, Towns said.
But the Democrats still have control, and Obama has time to work on his campaign promises, he said.
“It’s still too early to judge the Obama administration,” Towns said.
What do you think of Obama’s first year in office?
“He campaigned on a lot but didn’t follow through. I’m not happy with his presidency so far.” — Heather Kagan,
sophomore, economics
“I don’t really think he’s done anything so far. We’re sitting at a standstill.” — Caitlin Newby,
sophomore, history and English
“I think he’s taking on issues that are central to his platform. However, he’s dropped the ball on a lot of issues, like the genocide in Darfur. I’m moderately happy.” — Matthew Karkutt, junior, English
“He’s mostly only cleaning up the mess that the last presidents made. He has inspired hope, change and progress.” — Jaimee Daniels, sophomore, health policy and management
Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.
