(Thumbnail image: White House Flickr)
On Wednesday evening, President Barack Obama will give the State of the Union address. News analysts expect a return to populist themes from Obama’s presidential campaign, but can’t agree whether this throwback is a fresh start for the administration or part of the same old political machine.
On MSNBC’s Daily Rundown, political analysts from the New York Times and Washington Post differed on some points of Obama’s upcoming speech but both agreed that it would a difficult experience for the President.
“I think he’s going to have to say ‘we need to work on the state of our union’, much in the way you’re describing. Now he did give that big healthcare speech last August that had the effect of getting people excited again; actually turning around the momentum. Maybe he’ll be able to do that again on healthcare, but he’s got to do it on healthcare, jobs, the deficit, the morale of the country, changing Washington.”
On Fox News, George W. Bush’s former White House Chief of Staff Andy Card says that Obama won’t say anything new.
“The process probably is thrown up in the air over the last few days and I suspect the speech writers are looking for new rhetoric. I suspect it will be old policy and that will mean he won’t have listened to the voters.”’
NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt reports that Democratic politicians, however, are denying that Wednesday’s night’s speech will bring any retooling of political strategy.
Holt:“President Obama will tell all of us how the country is doing when he delivers his State of the Union address. But in many ways it will also be a kind of a self-assessment of his first year in office. And there are already indications tonight that the White House is not happy with what it sees in the mirror.”
“White House advisors deny a shift in political strategy.”
Gregory: “You’re not hitting the reset button here?”
Jarrett: “No, we’re not hitting the reset button at all.”
And an article on ABC.com news reports that Obama’s tone ahead of the State of the Union address may have changed. It cites the hiring of David Plouffe, Obama’s former campaign manager, and says Obama will use the State of the Union Speech to return to his populist roots.
“Also back were themes from Obama’s presidential campaign.”
“While the president may take a more populist tone Wednesday night, whether he will change course remains to be seen.”
So will president Obama’s State of the Union speech be change you can believe in? Or will it be just the same old, same old?
Writer: Elizabeth Eberlin
Producer: Nathan Giannini
