Last night, Americans were given the opportunity to witness the President they voted for– a man who brought hope and the promise of a better future. Not the man who some claim brought contention and divided the nation into polar, unyielding political factions.
Coming off of a speech in Arizona that experts claim revived his presidency and won the hearts of Americans, President Obama approached the nation a humbled man. Humbled not only by the monumental losses in the midterm elections, but also by the realization of his administration’s mistakes and disconnect with the American people.
Like many State of the Union addresses, the things the President said were old news. All Americans understand the dire need for jobs. We get the issue of the national debt. Even though he danced around certain topics, we know the challenges the nation faces.
It wasn’t the things the President said, but it was the way in which he said them.
Watching the State of the Union last night showed an obvious shift in the president’s political stance. While he addressed hot button issues such as health care, immigration and the two wars, he kept talk on these issues relatively light. Instead, he focused more on the issues of job creation, reducing deficit spending and government reform.
He urged bipartisanship with each issue. More importantly, he stated his willingness to work alongside Republicans to make the changes and tough decisions that need to be made. While liberal supporters of the president are upset about his shift towards the middle, the rest of the nation breathes a sigh of relief.
America might be getting the man it voted for; the man it deserves.
Moving forward, Americans now have the chance to see if the President will work to make the changes that need to happen. We will all be watching to see if this new Congress is willing to meet him halfway.
As the President closed his address, he repeated the phrase “We do big things.”
We can only hope the President and Congress take those words to heart.
For a full breakdown of the speech, issues, and various other commentary, check out http://abcnews.go.com/politics/obama