Image via WikipediaRepublican presidential candidates have been debating so often (they just had one Monday night on NBC) that it's easy to forget President Barack Obama is running for re-election. Tuesday night, he got to set his own agenda before a joint session of Congress and a worldwide TV audience.The President's State of the Union address was a mostly upbeat affair, emphasizing that Osama bin Laden was dead and General Motors (recipients of a government bailout) is back on top. Soldiers are no longer fighting in Iraq, and the war in Afghanistan is winding down. As a result, the President said the state of the union is "getting stronger".
Seeing the economy improve in spite of high unemployment levels, Obama made several proposals to level the playing field between the haves and have-nots--most of which were met with a cool reception by Republicans. He wanted an economy that was "built to last", just like how Detroit used to make cars.
One thing Obama advocated was the Buffett Rule (named for Warren, not Jimmy), asking the rich to pay tax rates equal to that of the middle class. Buffett's secretary, who was used as an example, just happened to be sitting in First Lady Michelle Obama's box.
Another special guest was Gabrielle Giffords, who resigned as Arizona's Democratic congresswoman to continue recovering from her assassination attempt of a year ago. The only surprise here is what took her so long.
Obama is making a slight improvement in his approval ratings, though not in the way he's handling the economy. The polls also show that Congress is doing much worse. That's why Obama really needed the State of the Union address to jack up his chances for re-election. Because if he doesn't, somebody else could be doing this next year.
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