As we discussed in American Studies class last week, the State of the Union Address seemed very unique from any other that has been given in the last few years. Not only was the content of the speech very different from a "traditional" State of the Union, but the writing style was almost like that of a poem or a story rather than a speech. One of the first lines Obama says after greeting his audience is: "...today in America, a teacher spent extra time with a student who needed it and did her part to lift America's graduation rate to its highest levels in more than three decades." By starting his speech in a more relatable way by talking about a teacher helping her student, Obama was able to grab the attention of the "average American." Instead of starting his speech by talking about complex issues about foreign policies or the very controversial "Obama Care," Mr. Obama gave a list of stories that "gave a face" to what would otherwise be bland statistics.
Another observation many of my classmates picked up on about the State of the Union Address was a general lack of "negativity." What I mean is, Obama did not take very much time to address any controversial issues such as troops in Afghanistan or the recent shootings in the U.S.; Obama tended to only look at the good things that have come as a result of his presidency.
Though Obama did make a very positive speech, he did address the fact that "Inequality has deepened. Upward mobility has stalled." Obama knows that many successes have occurred during his administration such as the decreasing obesity rate and increasing college graduation rates, however, many people are still without jobs and health care in the U.S. Both unemployment and health care are major issues and I am not sure they can be solved as easily as Obama claims. I agree that things have been improving in our country, but I hope the State of the Union is really able to deliver all its promises and make Obama's dream-like speech a reality.
Why do you think the State of the Union Address focused mainly on the greatness of the United States rather than the many issues going on? Why do you think Obama decided to give such a different State of the Union compared to others given in the past?
Josh, I agree with what you said about the state of the union address really being more positive this year, and what you said about it starting with a narrative to catch the average American's attention. I think that Obama did these two things very deliberately. First he wanted to grab the average Joe's attention. He did this by bringing him in, not with specific facts or big words or boring things that congress discusses, but by really relating to his audience. I think that this made people want to keep watching, so that he could specifically bring up his next part. The part where he highlighted the things that he has improved upon. Obama has already been reelected, and after this term is finished, he will have no more positions to run for. For this reason there is no need for him to get the audience worked up about issues that he hopes to resolve. Instead, he wants to preserve his image so that when out of office, people really remember him for the good he did.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment, Carolyn! I definitely agree with you. I think that is probably the main reason Obama's speech seemed more positive than in past years--he wanted to reflect on all the good work that he and his administration have accomplished rather than discuss any new issues because he is not worried about reelection (which is sadly often politicians' main motive). But, why didn't any past president's State of the Union ever sound like Obama's even if they didn't have to worry about being reelected?
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