An embattled President Obama will try to stop his skid in the polls and jump-start his agenda tonight in a crucial State of the Union Address that will emphasize his plans to restore jobs and rescue a nation drowning in red ink.
The 9 p.m. (EST) speech comes as Democrats are badly in need of a boost heading into the congressional midterm elections and facing angry voters who want proof that Obama is offering change.
The address also comes eight days after the president suffered a debilitating political loss: once-unknown Republican Scott Brown running away with the Massachusetts US Senate seat held for nearly 50 years by liberal lion Ted Kennedy.
Brown’s victory was widely seen as a referendum on Obama’s policies — especially his attempts to ram a health-care reform bill through Congress in his first year .
He has had no signature legislative achievements, and instead of bringing a nonpartisan voice to Washington, critics say, he has tacked hard to the left.
Then, there’s the massive, $1.35 trillion deficit, an unemployment rate above 10 percent, and the sense that the economy is recovering at a snail’s pace.
The economy will dominate the State of the Union, the White House confirmed. And while Obama will make it clear he feels everyone’s pain, he is not expected to do a wholesale revamp of his agenda.
“What he’ll discuss more than anything is getting our economy moving again,” White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said.
He’ll address voter fury over the taxpayer bailouts of Wall Street banks and the hefty bonuses given to their executives.
Other themes will include:
* How to push ahead with health care — including admitting that the way the issue has dragged on has alienated voters.
* Stricter regulation of Wall Street, an issue on which Republicans have urged an Obama compromise. Gibbs said the president will explain “what he would find acceptable on that.”
* A push for immigration reform, including a plan to seal the Mexican border and deal with the status of roughly 12 million illegals.
Among the financial proposals will be a repeated call for tax credits so that small businesses can add employees, and incentives for making homes more energy efficient and cost-effective.
He also wants a new child care tax break, retirement savings and incentives for paying down college loans.
Obama plans a freeze on discretionary funding as part of a “slow chipping away” at the deficit, Gibbs said.
The president is also expected to announce a salary freeze for some top appointees and senior White House officials.
The largely symbolic step will freeze salaries for about 1,200 people making more than $100,000, offering only minimal savings.
Obama will also seek nearly $9 billion in spending for military families; and end to the ban on gays serving in the armed forces; and a renewed focus on thwarting bioterrorism.
Meanwhile, the Senate yesterday shot down an effort to set up a deficit task force — prompting Obama aides to say he’ll consider forming his own.
The panel would have tried to come up with a plan to trim the ballooning, $1.35 trillion deficit after the midterm elections.
But GOP senators who oppose tax hikes joined with Democrats afraid of cuts to Medicare and Social Security.