Students Respond to State of Union

Last night, just eight days after Democrats lost a Massachusetts Senate special election that robbed them of their 60-seat, filibuster-proof majority, President Barack Obama delivered his first State of the Union address.

“I don’t quit,” Obama vowed, urging Congress to approve a jobs bill that would spur investment in green jobs and clean energy. After a year of struggling to pass a health-care reform bill, Obama declared his top priority to be the economy and jobs. “People are out of work,” he said. “They are hurting. They need our help.”

Though he devoted nearly two-thirds of his speech to the economy, the president also addressed national security, education, health care, and repealing the ban on gays and lesbians serving openly in the military.

“We have finished a difficult year. We have come through a difficult decade,” Obama concluded. “But a new year has come. A new decade stretches before us. We don’t quit. I don’t quit. Let’s seize this moment, to start anew, to carry the dream forward, and to strengthen our union once more.”

How did it sell to BU students? To find out, BU Today turned to Katie Flannery (SMG’10), president of BU’s College Republicans, and Esha Rakhit (CAS’10), president of BU’s College Democrats.

BU Today: Was the president’s speech successful?
Flannery: I think the president’s speech was apologetic and optimistic, but not successful. I believe he repeated a lot of the same things he has said in the past and was defending himself from criticisms.

Rakhit: The State of the Union speech is supposed to be exactly that, and I think that the president addressed the state of the country in the past year and outlined his goals for the next. I think the president was also successful in addressing the people’s fears and promising to alleviate them.

Recent polls indicate Obama’s approval rating is slipping. Is this justified?
Flannery: Yes. Americans likely feel that they haven’t seen the “change” in the past year that they felt they voted for. Americans especially felt President Obama would have made more progress on the state of the economy by this point; instead, we have seen over a trillion dollars added to the national deficit, which is disheartening.

Rakhit: I think that Americans are unhappy about unemployment, about the war, and many other things, myself included, and the president himself said that the people are losing faith, but he also said change isn’t easy and he can’t do it alone.

What are your biggest concerns regarding the state of the country?
Flannery: The economy. As I near graduation and get ready to start my career, in finance, no less, the state of the economy is frightening.

Rakhit: My biggest concern is employment. Unemployment hit 10 percent last month, and as a graduating senior, I have to worry about my own future employment as well as that of my family. The president’s line about sending out résumé after résumé with no response hit home.

Did the president’s speech quell any of your fears?
Flannery: Not much. Estimates suggest that the national debt will double in the next 5 years, triple in 10. The president’s 2010 focus on job growth is promising; however, given his past performance and even more stimulus spending to come, I’m less than optimistic.

Rakhit: I believe that the president really made a point of addressing these fears. I think that he made a point of saying that the American people helped save the banks and that now they are going to get their due. He flat out said, “Jobs must be our number one focus in 2010,” and demanded that Congress pass a jobs bill.

Did it indicate that Obama is leaning toward a more bipartisan agenda?
Flannery: No. Although he tries to suggest he is seeking a more bipartisan agenda, all of his recommendations still had a big-government feel. Due to the recent political losses for the Democrats in Virginia, New Jersey, and last week in Massachusetts, I believe the president realizes he needs to work harder on cooperation with the Republicans. However, I didn’t see it reflected much in this speech.

Rakhit: Yes. He chastised both Democrats and Republicans for partisanship and mentioned starting at least one bipartisan commission, but he also made a point of criticizing Republicans in the Senate by telling them to be leaders, not politicians.

Is the president’s decision to freeze discretionary spending for three years starting in 2011 a viable solution to reducing the national deficit?
Flannery: I don’t think it’s a solution; however, it is a step in the right direction. It’s a very small contribution given the overall spending that has taken place and will take place from health-care reform, but at least his head is in the right place.

Rakhit: I think that it’s a good first step, but not a complete solution. I worry that a year is not a very long time to accomplish every goal he outlined, and that setting 2011 as a deadline for the freeze might be a little too optimistic.

What do you think of his ideas for restoring job growth?

Flannery: It’s good to see him put more emphasis on this issue given the 10 percent unemployment rate. He promised unemployment would be at 8 percent at this point, so his realization that he needs to focus more on this is refreshing.

Rakhit: I’m glad that he wants to focus on job growth, and I’m also glad part of his plan for growth is to focus on developing clean energy, although I have doubts about the benefits of nuclear energy and clean coal. I am hopeful about the president’s plan to move the money repaid by the banks into small business loans.

Vicky Waltz can be reached at vwaltz@bu.edu.