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A SERVICE OF OHIO'S PUBLIC BROADCASTING STATIONS
A SERVICE OF OHIO'S PUBLIC BROADCASTING STATIONS
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Mark Naymik, politics reporter, The Plain Dealer; Ned Whelan, Whelan Communications; Brian Tucker, publisher and editorial director, Crain's Cleveland Business.
Deficit of Trust?:
President Obama's first State of the Union address sought to re-energize a Congress and a nation beset by 'deep and corrosive' doubt about its abilities to solve problems. He labeled it a 'deficit of trust.' The President called on Congress to renew efforts to replace inertia with bipartisan action; he challenged Democrats to make use of their big majority and not 'run for the hills.' He vowed not to walk away from the push for health reform and promised continued efforts to revitalize the troubled economy. The speech came at a time when Obama's approval ratings have slipped, a majority of Americans think the country is headed in the wrong direction and recent elections have produced an anti-Democrat backlash. Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell, who won election in 2008 in a state Obama carried, delivered the Republican response. He said the country can't afford the programs Democrats are proposing.
Strickland's State of the State:
Governor Strickland made jobs the focus of his fourth State of the State speech. Sounding much like the ordained Methodist minister that he is, he vowed to move heaven and earth to get the state's economy moving again. He made green jobs a special point of emphasis, saying the state that leads the nation in the green economy will lead the world. Strickland wants to create a fund to serve as seed money for advanced energy companies and eliminate the tangible personal property tax on such companies. Republicans hint the Governor might have trouble moving some of his initiatives forward. They say all the talk of green jobs hides the reality that 330-thousand Ohio jobs have disappeared since 2007. Strickland faces a stiff re-election challenge by Republican John Kasich, who leads in some polls.
January 29, 2010