The First in the Circle

President Obama dedicated his first address to the nation on the “State of the Union” to the future. Perhaps that is why Obama’s speech to Congress, which lasted for almost an hour and a half, was interrupted by applause no less than 10 times.

The American leader painted the future in strictly light colors and the past in mostly black. Obama did not tire of repeating that the hard times are behind us. The president did not claim to be the savior of the economy, the banking system or the international prestige of the United States, but this thought obviously resounded in people’s thoughts, sharpened by numerous expert comments regarding Obama’s appearance.

There was not a sign of repentance from Obama during his “one year as president” interview. The President talked about getting carried away, along with his closest staff, with “policy formulation” and making “balanced, rational decisions.” He lost some skill in communicating “a direct appeal to the American people about his core values,” which led to the “alienation” of voters. The president’s chief political strategist, David Axelrod, made conclusions; before Obama’s speech in Congress, Axelrod promised that although he will not change the core of the political line of the White House, he will have to think about the tactics.

Obama’s speech was exactly what the voters expected from him. “The economic storm is over,” proclaimed the President, addressing the American public. He casually mentioned the devastation caused by the “bad weather,” as if it is not substantial or longstanding. “Our efforts to prevent a second Great Depression added another trillion dollars to our national debt,” Obama explained his actions during the crisis with a little self-irony, thus answering to the charges of his political opponents who accused the Head of State of almost committing socialism. Many in America were scared by the extravagance with which the White House was handing out taxpayers’ money.

In his address, the President tried to restore the “live contact” which has been lost with voters in recent months. His speech was not so much the talk of a “technocrat” on the global challenges of the economy, but more of a list of measures that can give confidence to ordinary Americans.

Of course, the President could not resist the temptation to once again go through the banks which caused the crisis. Obama admitted that he “hates” the assistance provided to the major financial institutions, but without it, the “unemployment would be twice the current rate.”

To overcome the lack of confidence (for the last six months the president’s approval rating has fallen by 10 per cent), Obama is going to austerely economize on unnecessary government programs and increase social spending. There is no need to list all the proposals that have been raised in the address. The vast majority of them are designed, with the help of changes in the tax system, to revive the economy and raise employer interest for creating new jobs. “1.5 million jobs before the end of the year” was a goal announced by Obama. The expenditures in the budget will be reduced from 2011 to 2013. At the same time, the amounts allocated to defense, veterans’ support, assistance to foreign states and national security remain unchanged.

Regarding the long-term projects, Obama elaborated on plans to create “clean energy,” but once again connected these issues with the creation of new jobs in the country.

The President spent only nine minutes on foreign policy, generally concerning the withdrawal of troops from Iraq and continuing U.S. military operations in Afghanistan, where, according to Obama, Americans “are waiting for the difficult days.”

There was nothing new in Obama’s speech about the nuclear programs of Iran and North Korea. He limited himself to a convenient and, most importantly, voter-friendly approach to these problems, which is imposing new sanctions on these countries among American allies.

In connection with the preparation of a treaty on strategic offensive armaments between Moscow and Washington, Obama referred to the importance of dialogue with Russia and the “restart,” which the administration regards as one of its most important achievements.

Nevertheless, international issues had been lowered to the second, if not third, place behind the topic of the economy which, in no small measure of psychological pressure, brought down the Obama voters. Most experts do not doubt that the speech of the U.S. president, designed to restore morale among all Americans, without exception, was enjoyed by more than just legislators.