Article II, Section 3 of the United States Constitution reads: "The President shall from time to time give to the Congress Information on the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient...." . Based on the age long tradition that began with the America's first President George Washington, every American President makes this report annually to the Congress, even though the clause in the Constitution says "from time to time", this leaves the matter open to varied interpretations.
The online encyclopedia the Wikipedia defines the State of the Union Address as the "annual address presented by the President of the United States to the United States Congress. The address not only reports on the condition of the nation but also allows the president to outline his legislative agenda (the office of the President does not have Constitutional power to enact legislation, only Congress can do this legally) and national priorities to Congress.
Today's address to the United States Congress is very important for a number of reasons and because of the many recent events that happened in America. President Obama promises to focus his speech on two key national issues that affect most Americans, which are Jobs and the Economy. At the moment 15 million Americans are out of jobs, the unemployment rate is 9.8%, the highest since the years of national economic depression of the 1930s. Millions of Americans are also facing foreclosures and out national debt reaches the highest level ever standing now at about $14 trillion.
Our national politics has gone out of the norms, it is no longer civil, it is now a politics of do or die, our politicians are so heavily divided, polarized and volatile to their opponents and their opposing views in the way our politics is played today. We are no longer practicing the politics of civility, compromise and understanding, loyalty to party's ideology is put above the nation and her welfare. The President has called us to a new era in our body polity, to promote the politics of civility in our rhetorics.
Today at the State of the Union address, the Republican and the Democratic members of the United States Congress will be seating together for the first time to show and to promote this new national order of politics of civility. The President will also focus most of his speech on his plans and the recent progress he has made on the economy and job creation. The job situation and the national economy are both improving now, we are now totally out of the economic recession, corporate profits are going up, Wall Street is booming and more jobs are now created.
The Republicans have called for a reduction in our government spending, our national deficit and for a smaller government. These issues are opened for national debate in the months to come at the U.S. Congress. The President has now got his priorities right and he is now focusing his energy on the two most important issues to all Americans which are jobs and the economy. He has two more years of handwork ahead of him. His approval rating is now very high amongst the Democrats, Republicans and the Independents.
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