Opinion: Obama’s State of the Union: Live blogging coming soon
This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.
A year ago, in his inaugural address, President Obama told the nation that its many problems would “not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America -- they will be met.”
He also suggested bipartisanship could help accomplish this great work:
‘On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord. On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn-out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.’
So what will his tone be tonight as he delivers his first State of the Union address? As The Times reported earlier today, the president will talk about his administration’s efforts to jump start the creation of jobs in the private sector. He’ll talk about efforts to improve the lot of the middle class. He’ll return to healthcare as well -- and call for an end to the ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy, which prohibits acknowledged gays and lesbians from serving in the military.
But what about Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, who will deliver the Republican response? Will his talk help his star continue to rise? A speech won’t necessarily kill a political career, but it certainly can wound it, as seen when Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal delivered the GOP response to an Obama speech last year. Even Republicans called those remarks off-putting, amateurish, disastrous. (And will anyone shout out ‘You lie!’ this time?)
So stay tuned to Top of The Ticket, which will offer live blogging of the president’s address and the Republican response. The ticket also will post transcripts of both speeches when they become available. And watch latimes.com for further coverage and analysis later tonight. The speech starts at 6 p.m. PST.
-- Steve Padilla
Keep track of the state of politics with Twitter alerts of each new Ticket item -- or follow us on Facebook.
