What do people think of President Obama's address?

I think he is being a bit ambitious in trying to present a revamped health care plan in the midst of this economic crisis. It seems as if the economy is the base for all other issues. When that is fixed, I think it will be a better time to move onto some of the issues he promised voters he would get to.

In not being flexible, it seems as if Obama is trying to satisfy some special interests. As of right now, I do not think that too many people are worried about healthcare... They are worried about their jobs.

-pk

My bread and butter...

I think, quite frankly, that he has the possibility of doing a lot. Going for the Health Care issue is a good move. President Obama has pulled together a very advanced team and my hopes are that by pulling these people together, he can rely on them to come forth with strong plans in each of the big issues. When you look at it, what are his issues?

Afghanistan War
Iraq War
Economy
Health Care
Green

But, what is nice is that everything sort of ties in together. By getting out of Iraq and Afghanistan, it'll give us more money and might rebound us. Investing in health care helps economic posts and going green, arguably, helps the economy. So, by doing all this, maybe he has the chance to really put some great policies forward. But, who really knows?

Jacob wrote:So, by doing all this, maybe he has the chance to really put some great policies forward. But, who really knows?

You said it best by stating "who really knows?" I am hopeful, but am naturally critical. It is our job, as Americans, to both question, and at the same time, support what our leaders do. I will always stand by our president, but will never blindly agree with him.

Every president has the chance to put great policies forward... It is a matter of whether they cease that opportunity.

Thanks for the comment Jacob.

-pk

He said everything he was supposed to say. But, that is the unfortunate part.

The public needs to realize how little power the President has in affecting the important issues we are facing right now.

1.) The economy - it is debatable whether the government can induce positive change, at best. It is another story what happens when they do not do the "best" job. And I do not think they are doing the "best" job right now. It is up to the people of the country to get through these tough economic times, not one person sitting in the Oval Office.

2.) Energy - private people and companies need incentive to go to alternative energy, which they are not currently getting right now with oil prices being so low. It is too big of an industry for the gov't to have much control over.

3.) Environment - do not possibly see how Obama could affect this in a large way, unless he is like Nixon

4.) Foreign relations - the US has good relations with nearly every country in the world; the ones that it has terrible relations with are diametrically opposed to the US as a country, so I do not foresee how Obama could change the relationship in a radical way

5.) Abortion/Death Penalty, etc - really up to the states

6.) Terrorism - can affect a marginal amount, but not really. If someone wants to attack the US, there are plenty of vulnerabilities to exploit.

There are others (SS, Medicare, Education, etc) that somewhat fall under the President to manage, but in general, I doubt that the President has much control over these.

My main point is that the world we live in is incredibly complex. No person or machine can possibly control or predict what is going to happen next, so it is presumptuous of us to believe that Obama can make radical changes. It starts and ends with the 300 million people in the US and the 6 billion people worldwide.

I like what you have to say and so I am going to break it down and agree or disagree with you based on the issues that you've talked talked about. We'll see where we can come to an agreement or just agree to disagree in regards to this.

1. Economy. I don't agree with his method, quite frankly. Over the past few months, I have gone from a liberal economist to a libertarian economist. Free markets all the way in my book and by them trying to help the economy, it's just getting us more in debt. If a bank messes up, let them deal with it. Not us.

2. Energy. He can have a huge impact on this, though. If he invests a ton of Federal money into alternative energy, it'll become more and more popular. Already, Home Depot only sells those fluorescent light bulbs. That's a start. What if suddenly there was a solar panel in front of the White House? That'd be cool.

3. Environment. If energy changes are made, there will be changes here. Energy and environment go hand in hand.

4. Foreign Relations. I'm not sure where you've been in the past eight years, but more of the world hates us than likes us. We need to stop meddling in people's problems and just focus on our own issues.

5. Abortion/Death Penalty. I agree.

6. Terrorism. Not really anything that can be done there. However, if we change our policy and don't try to police the world, fewer will have a reason to want us dead.

There is a lot he can do. He did say what needed to be said, but there is a ton that can be done to have a better America in the next four or eight years.

I hope he can turn this around, we all may need to wear a full face motorcycle helmet through the rest of this slowdown and recession, but I have hope we'll make it through and be a growing economy again.