Obama Sets His National Campaign in the SOTU Address

If you didn't watch the speech you probably heard tidbits about the president's immediate and long-term goals. I think his intention is to uplift the national sentiment about the economy and the future of the US. Gloom and doom, even if the outlook is bleak, doesn't bode well for those in charge of government. Obama made some sensible proposals for action the US must undertake if we are to be a successful country in the near future.

Is a country better off if its people are educated? Why does China, in proportion, more high school graduates than the US? Why Russia has more college graduates than us?

How about health? How come we spend more, per GDP, than any other country, but we're not the healthiest, we don't live as long as other advanced societies, and we have so many millions uninsured & under-insured? I'm not going to ask about quality of life questions, like stress, and general happiness...

During the SOTU address, I noticed that the Republicans stood stone-faced when the president mentioned a good provision of the new health care law, that insurance companies can't deny or drop coverage for pre-existing conditions.

Same face for the DADT repeal. In this they were joined by the military brass. Tsk.

Immigration reform is a necessary for many reasons, but I don't see how this tea party-infected GOP would support any immigration reform other than taking the "law & order" route of building fences and raiding companies for hiring undocumented workers. Even the Dream Act--giving legal residency to children who were brought into this country by the parents if these kids got an education or joined the US armed forces--will probably be opposed by the Republicans.

The future will come, but the question is how we get there. We have to choose our path wisely.