President Barack Obama posted a video on his website on Jan. 22 previewing his upcoming State of the Union address. In front of Congress Tuesday, the President will first and foremost peruse the state of the economy. “My number one focus is going to be making sure that we are competitive,” he stated in the Jan. 22 video. “That we are growing and creating jobs not just now, but well into the future.”
The preview garnered responses from several New York Times columnists, some of whom argued that Obama should concentrate on issues such as health care, gay rights and gun control. Since the recent Tucson shootings, pundits have called for weapons bans and looked to the President to makes moves regarding gun safety.
The State of the Union would be a perfect opportunity for him to make leaps and bounds in terms of the confounding Second Amendment. Although it’s unfortunate that politicians have used the Tucson tragedy as a political device, gun control still needs to be addressed. In a perfect world, Obama would utilize the State of the Union to make progress in terms of controversial issues. That’s the only way true progress can be made.
Understandably, the President wants to update the nation on the state of the economy. And if he wants to get re-elected, he should remind voters of what he’s accomplished during these past two years. His message should be clear: Since his time in office, he’s made progress with the economy, removed troops from Iraq – and the tipping point is going to be gun control. America has been in crisis mode since Rep. Gabrielle Giffords’ attempted assassination and the six correlating murders by Jared Lee Loughner, as was the case with similar national catastrophes like the Oklahoma City bombing years ago.
First delivered in 1790 by George Washington, the State of the Union has historically existed to serve the purpose of informing, and sometimes consoling, the American people. It’s obvious the economy is a priority and nothing should prevent Obama from speaking about its condition. People will be waiting with bated breath to see if the President will go outside the box and attempt to take a stance against the gun industry, which would be a daring political move with positive future repercussions.
It’s a risky move for a first term president, but Obama’s slogan remains “Change we can believe in.” With that kind of a message, he shouldn’t be afraid to stand up against those who would prohibit change in favor of an outdated self-protection philosophy.
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