State of the Union

On January 25, 2011, the 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama, delivered the second official State of the Union Address since he took office.   The speech was held in the chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives during a Joint Session of the new 112th Congress of the United States.   In attendance was nearly the entire body of Congress, including many newly elected representatives that had promised to halt the political agenda of President Obama.   Sitting directly behind the President was Vice President Joe Biden and the new Speaker of the House, John Boehner.   Six of the nine Supreme Court Justices were also present along with a number of civilians that the President had invited.   This speech was extremely important as it came two months after the mid-term election in November.   President Obama covered many politically charged issues during the speech that I found myself having very strong reactions to what he was talking about.
      Nearly overshadowing the State of the Union address was the tragic shooting that took place in Tucson, Arizona, in which Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was severely injured and six others were killed.   In a show of unity, the Democratic and Republican members of Congress broke tradition and sat amongst each other instead of by party lines.   I felt this was advantageous for President Obama as it almost guaranteed applause throughout the chamber, as opposed to previous years when it would seem that either the Democrats or Republicans would stand and applause on one side of the aisle while the other party sat still.   Even more, the idea was a stirring presentation of the unity of the citizens of the United States.   The seating arrangement was aesthetically pleasing, but did not take away from the fact that President Obama was speaking at a time of political turmoil and economic uncertainty.   President Obama needed to strike the perfect chord in order to win over the Republicans that opposed the agenda he has put in...