Rachel Ford
JMC414
Jan. 30, 2013
State of the Union prediction column
JMC414
Jan. 30, 2013
State of the Union prediction column
Millions of Americans will tune in to
President Obama’s first State of the Union address as a second-term president
on Feb. 12 when he addresses the nation on how the country is doing and what he
plans to do throughout 2013.
Obama will take the podium to address the
United States about the upcoming issues he hopes to tackle in the upcoming
year, such as gun control, equal rights for gay men and women, immigration and
rights for women.
The 2013 address will be Obama’s fourth
State of the Union. It is not customary for a newly elected president to give a
State of the Union, so he did not give a State of the Union address in 2009.
The purpose of the State of the Union
address is to give the citizens of the United States a report on the condition
of the nation. It also allows the president to present his planned agenda and
things he considers a priority.
The ability for the president to give the
annual address is stated in the United States Constitution. Article II, Section
3, Clause 1 states the president “shall from time to time give to the Congress
information on the state of the Union, and recommend to their consideration
such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient.”
The president will likely discuss several
hot-button issues, many of which have come to light in the recent past.
Gun control is an issue that has been on
the minds of Americans since the Newtown, Conn., tragedy in December, resulting
in the deaths of more than a dozen children. The president is pushing for
tighter gun control laws due to the recent shootings that have happened
nationwide in an attempt to make communities safer. It’s predicted this topic
will take up a considerable part of his State of the Union address and be a
stand-out topic throughout the evening.
The topic of gun control is recent, as it
had not been addressed in past State of the Union addresses by Obama.
During his first term, President Obama
began fighting for equal rights for same sex couples. President Obama publicly
announced his support of equal rights for same sex couples and gay men and
woman individually, as well as repealed the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy in
late 2010, allowing openly gay men and women to serve in the military.
Obama was the first president to mention
the subject of equal rights for gay men and women in a formal speech, and was
the first president to use the word “gay” in an inaugural address. It is likely
his plans for the fight for equality will be mentioned somewhere throughout the
course of his speech, although it will probably not be a large part of the
address.
The president will also likely discuss
equal rights for women. This was another topic mentioned briefly during his
inauguration speech, and will probably be discussed more in depth during the
State of the Union. According to his official website, he signed the Lilly
Ledbetter Act in 2009, which would allow women the right to be paid the same as
men for doing the same amount of work. This topic was discussed during the 2012
address, where Obama said, “An economy built to last
is one where we encourage the talent and ingenuity of every person in this
country. That means women should earn equal pay for equal work.”
Obama is also trying to keep abortion a
legal practice, believing women should have final say in what happens to her
body, with help deciding from a doctor—the president believes politicians
should not be involved in any way with decisions made by individual women.
Women were recently granted the ability
to fight in combat in the military for the first time since 1994. The president
may address this topic and what it means for the future of the United States
military, as well as what it means in terms of equal rights for women.
Immigration is an issue President Obama
will likely make a high priority. He wants to continue to control borders, but
also wants to make it easier for people to become citizens. Wants to approach
it broadly with a bipartisan view. The president wants to have a completely restructured
immigration laws for citizenship, and it is predicted that will be a topic he
mentions more in depth during his speech.
Obama’s official website summarizes his
views on the issue of immigration by saying “President Obama refuses to give up
on DREAM Act. He believes that young people, who were brought here through no
fault of their own, should be able to earn citizenship through military service
or the pursuit of a higher education.”
President Obama also is likely to discuss
several other issues that are important for the continued success of the United
States, but only few will be seen has high priority issues. There is always
room for a surprise and the eyes of those watching will be on Obama as he makes
first State of the Union address as a second term president.
The State of the Union address began in
1790, when George Washington gave the first address to the newly formed United
States. According to the “History, Art & Archives” section of the House of
Representatives website, Washington gave, to date, the shortest address, at
just more than 1,000 words. The longest address was given by President William
H. Taft in 1910 at 27,651 words. President Obama’s 2012 address was about 7,000
words.
United States
Constitution
Transcripts for
past State of the Union addresses
No comments:
Post a Comment