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Cult Watch Title: Obama calls for budget freeze as he uses State of the Union address to launch his 2012 re-election campaign * Obama to call for freeze in overall public spending * Republicans watching to see if Mr Obama moves to the centre * Speech set to focus on the economy, jobs and healthcare * But will it tackle gun control? * Democrats and Republicans to sit together in wake of Tucson Barack Obama will tonight set out ambitious plans for an overall budget freeze as he uses his State of the Union speach to launch his campaign for re-election in 2012. In his annual address to Congress, the President faces the dual task of resuscitating America's flagging economy and reviving his own political fortunes after his party's devastating mid-term election defeat. Against the backdrop of escalating economic gloom, tonight's set-piece speech is likely to provide the toughest test of Mr Obama's presidency. The President is expected to call for a ban on earmarks and to propose an overall budget freeze. According to ABC News, he will propose some new spending on education and infrastructure but will demand a reduction in the government's debt - now topping $14 trillion - and a reform of government. The crucial test for the President tonight is whether he can convince the American people that he has a vision for creating jobs while reining in the nation's growing debt. The mid-term elections gave Republicans control of the House of Representatives, the lower house of the American Congress, and a stronger minority vote in the Senate, so Mr Obama will not be able to push changes through over Republican objections. The contrast between the two parties' visions remains stark, and where to slash spending, and by how much, will drive much of the debate for 2011. The president will also discuss the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, terrorism threats and diplomacy. The speech comes less than three weeks after an assassination attempt on Democrat Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson, Arizona. Among those who will sit with first lady Michelle Mr Obama at the speech will be the family of the nine-year-old girl who was killed in the shooting, an aide who rushed to help Mrs Giffords, and surgeons who have treated her. Mr Obama will be giving his main speech of the year in the shadow of his eulogy for the Tucson victims, which called for national unity and civility. But tonight's speech has been marred by a number of Supreme Court justices threatening to boycott it after being targeted in a stinging rebuke by Mr Obama a year ago. Judge Samuel Alito is skipping the address to lecture students in Hawaii and Chief Justice John Roberts was leaving his decision over whether to attend to the very last minute. Both justices admit the partisanship nature of the annual address has left them feeling increasingly uncomfortable. Partisanship at the address has become such an issue that this year there is a drive for representatives from opposing parties to sit together during the speech, rather than facing each other across the aisle. The movement has gathered pace in the wake of the attempted assassination attempt on U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords. But for the judges, it may not be enough. ‘To the extent the State of the Union has degenerated into a political pep rally, I’m not sure why we’re there,’ Chief Justice Roberts said. It was Justice Alito’s minor gesture of defiance that led to a firestorm after Mr Obama’s first State of the Union address last year. The president had criticised the Supreme Court’s 5-4 ruling that gave corporations and labour unions the right to spend unlimited amounts on political campaigns. ‘With all due deference to separation of powers, last week the Supreme Court reversed a century of law that I believe will open the floodgates for special interests - including foreign corporations - to spend without limit in our elections,’ said Mr Obama. With six members of the court, including justices Roberts and Alito seated just a few feet in front of him, he added: ‘I don't think American elections should be bankrolled by America's most powerful interests, or worse, by foreign entities.’ Justice Alito was caught on camera shaking his head and appearing to mouth the words ‘not true’ as Democrats in the House chamber cheered and applauded. According to Fox News, an official at the University of Hawaii said the judge will be with students all week and will not be returning to Washington for the address. Some judges lost patience with the political bickering before last year. ‘I don't go because it has become so partisan,’ Justice Clarence Thomas told students in Florida last year just days after the State of the Union speech, which he did not attend. ‘And it's very uncomfortable for a judge to sit there. There's a lot that you don't hear on TV: the catcalls, the whooping and hollering and under-the-breath comments. 'One of the consequences is now the court becomes part of the conversation, if you want to call it that, in the speeches. It's just an example of why I don't go.’ Justice Antonin Scalia was even more outspoken. ‘It is a juvenile spectacle, and I resent being called upon to give it dignity,’ he told the Federalist Society in November. ‘It's really not appropriate for the justices to be there,’ he added. Some analysts suggested, however, that Chief Justice Roberts may yet decide to attend, if only because the distinguished service of US District Judge John Roll - one of the victims of the Tucson shooting - is likely to be acknowledged by the president. Tonight's speech, which will be Mr Obama's second State of the Union address, is expected to focus on creating jobs, whittling down the federal debt - and, of course, the political chasm between Republicans and Democrats. The nationally televised address at the halfway point of his term also effectively marks the opening of Mr Obama's 2012 re-election bid. It offers a chance to reset the political calculus after Republicans swept out the Democratic majority in the House of Representatives in the November elections and gained ground in the Senate where they remain in the minority. The president's expected focus on the economy springs from voters' overwhelming concern about the weak recovery, stubbornly high unemployment and an overall federal government debt that now tops $14trillion. Those worries propelled the Republican wave in the last election. Mr Obama has adjusted quickly by showing a readiness to compromise with Republicans on taxes. He also shook up his White House staff, adding important advisers who are seen as far friendlier to the business community, a Republican bastion. In turn, the president has seen his approval rating climb sharply since the Republican election landslide. His overall approval rating in an Associated Press-GfK poll released last week stood at 53 per cent, 6 points higher than after the November congressional election. Mr Obama also has found help in a glimmer of better news about the economy. A survey released Monday by the National Association for Business Economics was more positive than at any time since the start of the Great Recession, the deepest economic decline in the United States since the 1930s. The survey showed that all major industry groups were seeing more demand for their products and services, a precursor to job growth. Mr Obama's speech will also give nods to American interests around the globe, with a traditional foreign policy section that will cover the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, terrorism threats and diplomacy. The President is also under growing pressure to address the issue of gun controls in the wake of the Tucson massacre, in which Democrat Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords almost lost her life. Many liberals are pushing for much tighter controls on firearms, particularly more stringent monitoring of the FBI list which names individuals who should not be allowed to have a gun licence. Some commentators believe there needs to be a greater emphasis on preventing those with mental health problems from obtaining firearms, an issue that is likely to be at the centre of the prosecution of alleged Arizona gunman Jared Loughner. However, Mr Obama will be acutely aware of the political power of the gun lobby and that many Americans would strongly oppose any attempt to weaken their basic right to take up arms.
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#1. To: hondo68 (#0)
Running for public office and voting!
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