President Barack Obama gave his annual State of the Union address on Tuesday night, with the Republican Party’s official rebuttal from Iowa’s new Senator Joni Ernst.
Dr. Andrew Green, professor of Political Science feels the president was effective with his speech, because Obama seemed more relaxed.
“[Obama] did not seem constrained by either a reelection bid or a congressional midterm as he has in the past,” Green says.
While significant policy proposals were announced, including minimum wage increases and two years of free education at community colleges, Green says the speech was more about the president’s values.
“The bulk of the speech was about what the president called ‘middle class economics.’ He discussed that the U.S. needs to help Americans gain the tools necessary to compete in the 21st century economy,” Green says.
He says Ernst did well in her rebuttal, as she focused on the narrative that worked in her campaign. Green says overall, the response didn’t specifically address the State of the Union. We’ll have more with Dr. Green about the State of the Union on Thursday’s In-Depth with Dr. Bob Leonard.