Obama states that “jobs must be our number one focus” as he spoke about the State of the Union.

On Wednesday, January 27, Barack Obama addressed Congress and the nation giving his view on a number of issues. The state of the economy dominated the 71minute speech and the need to create more jobs for Americans. President Obama stated he would make it an ‘overwhelming priority’ to create a million jobs in the next coming year, as an addition to the 2 million he created in 2009. This reflects the proposals recently made by Mr. Donohue, President of the US Chamber of Commerce, (see article here).

Another issue highlighted was the military’s current “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, which restricts gay men and lesbians serving openly in the armed forces. Obama stated he will be working with Congress to repeal this.

Other areas that the President touched upon included the health care system in the US, where he accepted some blame for not explaining the situation better but requested that people come together to implement reform. Foreign issues featured little in the speech and it was also stated that there will be a freeze on government spending for 3 years from 2011, as well as limits on campaign spending by corporations and interests groups in order to try and revive the economy.

“We don’t quit” concluded the speech, with the President vowing not to give up on the State of America.

To view the entire speech please click here