Excerpts from the State of the Union address

The White House released the following excerpts ahead of President Barack Obama's State of the Union address tonight:

"With their votes, the American people determined that governing will now be a shared responsibility between parties. New laws will only pass with support from Democrats and Republicans. We will move forward together, or not at all -- for the challenges we face are bigger than party, and bigger than politics.
"At stake right now is not who wins the next election - after all, we just had an election. At stake is whether new jobs and industries take root in this country, or somewhere else. It's whether the hard work and industry of our people is rewarded. It's whether we sustain the leadership that has made America not just a place on a map, but a light to the world. We are poised for progress. Two years after the worst recession most of us have ever known, the stock market has come roaring back. Corporate profits are up. The economy is growing again.
"But we have never measured progress by these yardsticks alone. We measure progress by the success of our people. By the jobs they can find and the quality of life those jobs offer. By the prospects of a small business owner who dreams of turning a good idea into a thriving enterprise. By the opportunities for a better life that we pass on to our children. That's the project the American people want us to work on. Together."

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"Half a century ago, when the Soviets beat us into space with the launch of a satellite called Sputnik¸ we had no idea how we'd beat them to the moon. The science wasn't there yet. NASA didn't even exist.
"But after investing in better research and education, we didn't just surpass the Soviets; we unleashed a wave of innovation that created new industries and millions of new jobs.
"This is our generation's Sputnik moment."

-- posted by Sebastian Kitchen

Who will be sitting with the First Lady at the State of the Union?

The White House released Monday night the list of people who will be sitting in the first lady's box with Michelle Obama at the State of the Union address on Tuesday.
The list includes some of those involved with the tragic shooting in Tucson, Ariz., including the parents of 9-year-old Christina Taylor and Daniel Hernandez, the intern who tried to help U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords at the scene after she was shot. The doctor who treated her in Tucson, Peter Rhee, will also be there.
The Obamas will use other seats to show the face of those who will benefit from the federal health care law including James Howard of Katy, Texas, who was diagnosed with brain cancer in March and thought his diagnosis was a death sentence because he did not have health insurance. Now, according to the White House, Howard joined the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan and is receiving the necessary treatment.
There will also be business owners in the box who benefited from the Recovery Act, know by many as the stimulus, and veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.


-- posted by Sebastian Kitchen