EDITORIAL: Obama's speech

In his first State of the Union address, U.S. President Barack Obama frankly admitted that "there are many Americans who aren't sure if they still believe we can change."

Speaking from the same podium in February 2009, Obama, who was elected on a groundswell of popular support, strongly declared, "We will rebuild, we will recover ... ."

But it is difficult to claim that the U.S. economy has since been put on a solid path to recovery from the recession. Obama devoted two-thirds of his speech before a joint session of Congress to the topic of rebuilding the U.S. economy.

"Jobs must be our No. 1 focus in 2010," he said. He promised to double U.S. exports over the next five years and to create 2 million new jobs.

The U.S. jobless rate has hit 10 percent, and Obama's approval ratings have been declining. In a Senate by-election in Massachusetts earlier this month, the ruling party's candidate was defeated even though the state has long been a Democratic stronghold.

It is clear that there is growing discontent with the Obama administration among voters. Obama's speech reflected his strong sense of crisis about midterm elections in November.

Obama has apparently realized that he has not done enough to win support from the middle class. He offered fresh policy support to households rearing children and new tax cuts for smaller businesses. The president also pledged to promote infrastructure projects, including a network of high-speed railroads, and create jobs through the development of renewable energy sources.

Obama expressed his determination to maintain the U.S. status as the world's largest economy, saying, "I do not accept second place for the United States of America."

But the United States is facing a fiscal squeeze. The government cannot afford to deliver another big economic stimulus package that would have direct job-creating effects. There are mounting concerns about the federal budget deficit, which has swelled to a record level.

Responding to the nation's fiscal woes, Obama called for a three-year freeze in spending on part of "discretionary government programs" along with the creation of a "bipartisan fiscal commission" to maintain fiscal discipline.

This kind of dilemma is shared by most industrial nations, including Japan. Even if the government maps out a bold strategy for economic growth, it will take time before policy efforts under the strategy actually start to create jobs and revitalize the economy.

One big mistake the Obama administration has made is that it has not acted quickly enough to provide relief to working-class families struggling to make ends meet while rescuing big financial institutions with emergency measures.

There will be no rebuilding of the United States without a dependable social safety net for the poor and vulnerable. Obama's health-care reform plan has become snarled in political wrangling in Congress, and there is no prospect for an early enactment.

What is disappointing about Obama's speech is that he made few new foreign policy proposals. He stressed the need to bolster measures to fight terrorism and reduce nuclear weapons but passed over the issue of establishing a new international framework for efforts to stem global warming.

Given the nation's economic distress, it is understandable that Obama focused on domestic policy issues. But the world would be in trouble if the United States became too preoccupied with problems at home.

"We don't quit," Obama declared in his speech. We don't want him to forget that we still expect the new president to change the United States and the world.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Jan. 29