Spending freeze leads Obama’s list of centrist proposals in State of the Union address
Steve Holland
Washington— Reuters
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U.S. President Barack Obama proposed a five-year freeze on some government spending and struck a centrist tone in a speech designed to prove he has fiscal discipline and can work with resurgent Republicans.
Mr. Obama said in his State of the Union speech that voters want Democrats and Republicans to govern with “shared responsibility.” He offered a raft of proposals that some of his opponents might find appealing as he positions himself for a 2012 re-election bid.
“We will move forward together, or not at all, for the challenges we face are bigger than party, and bigger than politics,” Mr. Obama said.
Mr. Obama’s goal in the speech was to reassure Americans weary of stubbornly high 9.4 percent unemployment, fearful of rising debt and worried that their country is falling behind economic powers like China and India.
He called for a job-creating “Sputnik moment” fed by new investments in research and education like the 1950s space race, saying what is at stake is “whether new jobs and industries take root in this country, or somewhere else.”
“Yes, the world has changed,” Mr. Obama said. “The competition for jobs is real. But this shouldn’t discourage us. It should challenge us.”
The speech took place in a changed atmosphere on Capitol Hill. Republicans enjoy increased power in Congress after November’s congressional elections and Mr. Obama was forced to take account of that shellacking by emphasizing areas where agreement might be possible.
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