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January 26,
2011
President Gets
High Marks For Speech
A CNN Public
Opinion Poll following President Obama's second State of the Union (SOTU) Speech last night shows the public's
overwhelmingly positive reaction to the President's tone and agenda.
52 percent of
respondents had a "very positive" reaction to the speech,
while 32 percent had "somewhat positive" reactions with
only 15 percent reacting negatively to his second SOTU.
While it was
assured that the President would focus on the economy, little was
known about the speech before Mr. Obama took to the floor of the
House of Representatives at 9 p.m. EST, aside from a proposed
five-year spending freeze on which the New York Times had previously
reported.
A number of
pundits were surprised about the number of Republican priorities the
President highlighted as issues he would like to tackle in 2011,
including simplifying the tax code to lower corporate and individual
rates, reducing the deficit, reviewing burdensome regulations for
businesses, reorganizing federal government, and vetoing any bill
that includes earmarks.
Of course, the
President also highlighted a number of issues important to his party,
including the elimination of big oil subsidies, the return of higher
income tax rates for millionaires, investment in infrastructure with
clear renewable energy targets -- 80 percent of America's energy
should come from renewable sources by 2035. In addition, the
President said that 80 percent of Americans should have access to
high-speed rail and 98 percent should have high-speed Internet, but
offered no deadlines.
SOTU speeches are
usually short on specifics. The details will arrive in two
weeks when the President unveils his Fiscal Year 2012 Budget.
Even then, Congress will still be working on figuring out the Fiscal
Year 2011 Budget, despite being five months into the fiscal year.
If you have
any questions concerning these issues, please contact Chris Wagner at
202.772.0924 or cwagner@clarkhill.com.
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