President Obama delivered his sixth State of the Union Address in the House Chamber on January 20th.
Within his speech, Obama talked about the core political, economic, and social issues that have constantly occurred throughout his six-year presidency. According to the Wall Street Journal, main issues addressed included tax overhaul, college tuition, foreign policy, and trade.
On a national level, the President’s speech was received by viewers as “very effective,” according to a poll done by CNN. Similarly, at Staples, students shared the opinions of so many others nationwide.
“I thought that the overall message of the speech — being a united nation to overcome hardship — was really inspirational to all Americans, regardless of political party, ethnicity, religion, or social class,” Katherine Coogan ’17, a member of the Young Republicans of Staples, said.
In a similar manner, Madison Malin ’17, a member of the Young Democrats of Staples, was in agreement with Coogan. “I think Obama sent a clear message,” Malin said. “So many things have and are improving and the two parties have to work together so that there is further progress over his last two years in office.”
Although some students agree that Obama’s message was powerful, others were not as smitten with its effectiveness. Nick Roehm ’17 said, “I thought Obama sounded very ambitious. I think that some of his proposals sound very good from a theoretical standpoint, however, I don’t see them to be very practical.”
By contrast, Malin said, “The results aren’t immediate, but for the most part [Obama] does fulfill his promises.”
Although there are varied thoughts about the speech, Obama delivered his opinion about how the United States is doing today. “The shadow of crisis has passed, and the State of the Union is strong.”
