US President Barack Obama gave Americans a sign of how he’ll lead the country in the run up to next year’s election, as he used his State of the Union address to stake out ground in the political center and call on Republicans and Democrats to work together to revive the US economy.
The nationally televised speech on Tuesday night was Obama’s first appearance before Congress since opposition Republicans took control of the House of Representatives earlier this month. It marked the midpoint of his presidential term, as he rebounds from the Democrats’ electoral defeat in November. The speech also came as he begins positioning himself for next year’s re-election campaign.
Obama kept the focus on the economy, calling for both parties to unite behind his program of cuts and spending, saying: “We will move forward together or not at all.”
PHOTO: AFP
He proposed no major initiatives comparable to the health care overhaul that dominated the first two years of his presidency, instead outlining an agenda aimed at both ends of the political spectrum.
For Democrats, he defended his health care plan, opposed privatization of the Social Security pension program and called for ending tax cuts for the rich. He also proposed a burst of spending on education, research, technology and transportation to make the US more competitive with emerging economic powers like China and India.
However, Obama also backed some top priorities of Republicans. He called for freezing some federal spending, cutting the corporate tax rate, shaking up the federal government and eliminating lawmakers’ pet projects.
Though Obama won some cheers from Republicans, they remain dissatisfied with his efforts to cut the deficit, their core issue.
House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, giving the official Republican response, said the US was at “a tipping point” leading to a dire future if federal deficits aren’t trimmed.
Obama spoke to a television audience in the millions and a Congress sobered by the assassination attempt against one if its own members, Gabrielle Giffords. She was seriously wounded in the shooting rampage in Tucson, Arizona, that killed six people. Her seat sat empty.
Obama entered the House chamber to prolonged applause, and to the unusual sight of Republicans and Democrats seated next to one another rather than on different sides of the center aisle, in a show of support and civility following Giffords’ shooting. And he began on a graceful note, taking a moment to congratulate John Boehner, the new Republican speaker of the House.
Calling for a new day of cooperation, Obama said: “What comes of this moment will be determined not by whether we can sit together tonight but whether we can work together tomorrow.”
In a speech with little focus on national security, Obama appeared to close the door on keeping any significant US military presence in Iraq beyond the end of the year.
“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,” he said.
The president reiterated his call for a comprehensive immigration bill, although there appears little appetite for it in Congress.
TYPHOON: The storm’s path indicates a high possibility of Krathon making landfall in Pingtung County, depending on when the storm turns north, the CWA said Typhoon Krathon is strengthening and is more likely to make landfall in Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said in a forecast released yesterday afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the CWA’s updated sea warning for Krathon showed that the storm was about 430km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point. It was moving in west-northwest at 9kph, with maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts of up to 155kph, CWA data showed. Krathon is expected to move further west before turning north tomorrow, CWA forecaster Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said. The CWA’s latest forecast and other countries’ projections of the storm’s path indicate a higher
TYPHOON DAY: Taitung, Pingtung, Tainan, Chiayi, Hualien and Kaohsiung canceled work and classes today. The storm is to start moving north this afternoon The outer rim of Typhoon Krathon made landfall in Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) at about noon yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, adding that the eye of the storm was expected to hit land tomorrow. The CWA at 2:30pm yesterday issued a land alert for Krathon after issuing a sea alert on Sunday. It also expanded the scope of the sea alert to include waters north of Taiwan Strait, in addition to its south, from the Bashi Channel to the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島). As of 6pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 160km south of
SECURITY: The New Zealand and Australian navies also sailed military vessels through the Strait yesterday to assert the right of freedom of navigation The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force on Wednesday made its first-ever transit through the Taiwan Strait in response to the intrusion by a Chinese reconnaissance aircraft into Japan’s sovereign airspace last month, Yomiuri Shimbun reported yesterday. The Japanese news platform reported that the destroyer JS Sazanamisailed down through the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday, citing sources in the Japanese government with knowledge of the matter. Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi declined to comment on the reports at a regular briefing because they concern military operations. Military vessels from New Zealand and Australia also sailed through the Strait on the same day, Wellington’s defense ministry
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) is set to issue sea and land warnings for Tropical Storm Krathon as projections showed that the tropical storm could strengthen into a typhoon as it approaches Taiwan proper, the CWA said yesterday. The sea warning is scheduled to take effect this morning and the land warning this evening, it said. The storm formed yesterday morning and in the evening reached a point 620 nautical miles (1,148km) southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, moving west-southwest at 4 kph as it strengthened, the CWA said. Its radius measured between 220km and 250km, it added. Krathon is projected