Obama and the State of the Union

The State of the Union address, as defined by A2 S3 of the Constitution (now by convention delivered by the President in Congress in January) is a significant statement of intent of the executive’s legislative wish list.

The State of the Union gives the POTUS, according to McKeever, “a clear and unchallenged opportunity to present administration’s achievements in best possible light and recommend to Congress measures administrations would like to see enacted.”

If used skilfully it is an important part of agenda setting, eg Bush in 2003 “jobs and growth”.

Obama, clearly under pressure after a less than stellar first year laid out a number of promises and requests.

A shift in Obama’s focus was clear as he put forward a request for a bill promoting jobs. Economic growth will no doubt kick in at the end of his first term, but it is unlikely to be sufficiently robust to prevent his party receiving a kicking in the polls this November. If as a consequence he faces divided government, his agenda will be significantly modified. Parallels with Clinton’s first term are obvious.

Obama also threatened to use his only other formal legislative power, the veto. This expressed power in A1 S7 of the Constitution is employed relatively infrequently as often the mere threat of the veto is enough to steer policy. The plan to cut the deficit has been attacked by critics as being too small, but it does serve as a good example of how the President can legislate.