Obama Lays Out Democratic Manifesto
President aims to set the agenda for next two years.
President
Barack Obama speaks about proposed legislation to offer paid sick leave
for working Americans during a stop at Charmington's Cafe in Baltimore
on Thursday.
Day after day, week after week, President Barack Obama has been delivering his State of the Union address in dribs and drabs.
Taken together, his actions and promises amount to a manifesto that he
will aggressively push an activist agenda during his remaining two years
in office.
He told Senate Democrats at a private retreat Thursday that he will continue to take unilateral actions to bypass the Republican majority in Congress and will veto legislation that would block his agenda. "I'm not going to spend the next two years on defense; I'm going to pay offense," Obama said, according to Politico.
[READ: Obama Proving He Is No Lame Duck]
White House advisers say his gradual rollout of State of the Union initiatives is getting lots of favorable attention in the news media and in social media. This is adding to the impression that Obama won't be pushed off center stage any time soon even though his Democratic party suffered major losses in the midterm elections in November. The 2015 version of the annual SOTU address is scheduled for Tuesday evening. Presidents use the address to assess how the country is doing and define their goals for the following year.
The crux of Obama's problem is that some of his initiatives have weak support in Congress and, by pushing so hard for them, Obama may come across as flailing and over-reaching.
Obama's most recent initiative, unveiled Thursday, was to advocate a requirement that companies give workers up to seven days of paid sick leave a year. Business representatives, however, said the program should not be forced on them and it amounts to an unwarranted government power grab. Obama also announced an executive action to give at least six weeks of paid leave to federal employees after the birth or adoption of a child, and an additional six weeks of unpaid leave. This program also applies to federal workers who care for family members who are sick.
In the past two months, Obama has:
—Asked Congress to provide free tuition for millions of community college students.
—Announced a program to limit identity theft and protect cybersecurity.
—Moved to expand access to high-speed internet.
—Unveiled new mortgage rules designed to make home ownership more affordable for first-time buyers.
—Suspended deportations of millions of people who entered the United States illegally.
—Begun to normalize U.S. relations with Cuba.
—Served notice that his administration, in an effort to reduce climate change, would impose more stringent regulations on the oil and gas industry to cut unintended methane emissions from drilling sites, wells and pipelines.
All these moves are designed not only to increase interest in his State of the Union address – which tends to lose TV viewership for every president in his later years in office – but to portray Obama as a forceful and vigorous leader. He also wants to depict Republicans as out of touch because so many of them oppose his initiatives.
[ALSO: Obama Readies for Battle With GOP in 2015]
Overall, Obama is trying to frame the political debate for the remaining two years of his presidency and help the next Democratic presidential nominee win the 2016 election.
He told Senate Democrats at a private retreat Thursday that he will continue to take unilateral actions to bypass the Republican majority in Congress and will veto legislation that would block his agenda. "I'm not going to spend the next two years on defense; I'm going to pay offense," Obama said, according to Politico.
[READ: Obama Proving He Is No Lame Duck]
White House advisers say his gradual rollout of State of the Union initiatives is getting lots of favorable attention in the news media and in social media. This is adding to the impression that Obama won't be pushed off center stage any time soon even though his Democratic party suffered major losses in the midterm elections in November. The 2015 version of the annual SOTU address is scheduled for Tuesday evening. Presidents use the address to assess how the country is doing and define their goals for the following year.
The crux of Obama's problem is that some of his initiatives have weak support in Congress and, by pushing so hard for them, Obama may come across as flailing and over-reaching.
Obama's most recent initiative, unveiled Thursday, was to advocate a requirement that companies give workers up to seven days of paid sick leave a year. Business representatives, however, said the program should not be forced on them and it amounts to an unwarranted government power grab. Obama also announced an executive action to give at least six weeks of paid leave to federal employees after the birth or adoption of a child, and an additional six weeks of unpaid leave. This program also applies to federal workers who care for family members who are sick.
In the past two months, Obama has:
—Asked Congress to provide free tuition for millions of community college students.
—Announced a program to limit identity theft and protect cybersecurity.
—Moved to expand access to high-speed internet.
—Unveiled new mortgage rules designed to make home ownership more affordable for first-time buyers.
—Suspended deportations of millions of people who entered the United States illegally.
—Begun to normalize U.S. relations with Cuba.
—Served notice that his administration, in an effort to reduce climate change, would impose more stringent regulations on the oil and gas industry to cut unintended methane emissions from drilling sites, wells and pipelines.
All these moves are designed not only to increase interest in his State of the Union address – which tends to lose TV viewership for every president in his later years in office – but to portray Obama as a forceful and vigorous leader. He also wants to depict Republicans as out of touch because so many of them oppose his initiatives.
[ALSO: Obama Readies for Battle With GOP in 2015]
Overall, Obama is trying to frame the political debate for the remaining two years of his presidency and help the next Democratic presidential nominee win the 2016 election.
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