Tuesday night was State of the Union time again, which meant two things:
President Barack Obama had to pull off the most difficult oratorical balancing act there is for any president: delivering a substantive policy speech that manages to inspire and move Americans.
And it means that we do what we do after every State of the Union address—grade his performance. Here is a list of highs and lows from the president’s speech:
High
Giving voice to “men of color.”
For much of his presidency, Obama has faced criticism from many in the black community, including yours truly, for not more candidly acknowledging the specific problems that plague African Americans, men in particular. Issues like racial profiling and unemployment have disproportionately impacted men of color, but rarely has their story been told by this president, or any president, particularly before a racially diverse national audience. But with the simple words, “And I’m reaching out to some of America’s leading foundations and corporations on a new initiative to help more young men of color facing especially tough odds stay on track and reach their full potential,” the president gave voice to the millions of men of color whose voices have previously been silenced and forgotten.
Low
Barely there gun control.
The Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting that left 20 children dead occurred just over one year ago, and in response, in his 2013 State of the Union address, the president made gun control a major focus. Shortly before his speech and right on the heels of the Newtown, Conn., tragedy, was also the shooting death of 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton. Her parents attended last year’s State of the Union as guests of first lady Michelle Obama, and the first lady attended Hadiya’s memorial. This year, though, there was only a brief reference to as-yet-undone gun-control legislation.
High
Making the case for health care reform. (Finally.)
If President Obama had defended the Affordable Care Act as clearly, deftly and ferociously as he did in this year’s State of the Union, it’s hard to see how anyone in the GOP would have had the chutzpah to continue trying to fight it the way they have, so hard, for so long. The president managed to channel some humor by saying, “Now, I do not expect to convince my Republican friends on the merits of this law,” which drew laughs from members of both parties. He then delivered the devastating blow, saying, “But I know that the American people are not interested in refighting old battles. So again, if you have specific plans to cut costs, cover more people, increase choice, tell America what you’d do differently.”
