Transcripts For KQED State Of The Union 2014 20140129 : vima

KQED State Of The Union 2014 January 29, 2014

Blackwell of policylink and Michael Tanner of the cato institute. Ifill here with us now, as they will be throughout the evening, our own shields and brooks. Syndicated columnist mark shields and New York Times columnist david brooks. 7 so, gentlemen, put on your prognostication hats. What do you expect tonight . It wont be f. D. R. s new deal. Were not looking at the 100 days here. Were looking at modesty, theme of opportunity, discussion of the executive order. Immigration will be bigger, probably a few threats on the debt ceiling somake sure congress doesnt put us in default, but not look at a gigantic agenda. Im most interested in the tone. I think the president a nation that is severely pessimistic, has been now in the wrong direction rather than on the right track for 10 years now. The sense of pesmism is pervasive, and i want to see if the president can connect with people beyond the room tonight. Woodruff is there a defensiveness already setting in with this state of the union because the white house is already talking about the limits of the president s power. You know, president s discover this. They come in thinking they really can run things. They have trouble running their own administration, let alone running washington has been extremely difficult. Were watching the cabinet walk in and being introduced. You see john kerry, and it will be interesting to see how much Foreign Affairs there is. One of the disadvantages of writing the speeches, you have too cram everything in there, and it takes away from lyricism. Foreign affairs, especially iran, and syria, well see what the president says. Foreign affairs, the second half of the president s second terms, have oftentimes on Foreign Affairs certainly president reagans last two years, and gorbachev, the reproachment, was the highlight. And president can do it without dealing with the congress. If the congress is recaltrant or resistant, the president can act. Which member of the cabinet is not going to be there, in order to preserve the line of succession, should something terrible happen. And that person tonight is ernest miewnez, the secretary of energy. One of the new members of the cabinet. As we look at the assembles members of congress, you see attorney general eric holder. Youre seeing some other faces you may not recognize because some of these cabinet members are just a year old or less. The secretary of the interior, salary jewel. And chuck hagel, the secretary of defense. This feels like the prom every year, everybody coming in, its very exciting, but what impact do we actually see from these speeches, david . Traditionally, not so much. If you look at the Public Opinion, you can usually theyll move two or three Percentage Points one way or the other. The dpepgzs are bill clinton after the lewinsky scandal had a big movement. But the president laying out his agenda has a huge effect inside the white house. They have a fight over what gets mentioned what, doesnt get mentioned what, has priority, what doesnt. Its an organizing structure for the administration as much as it is an event. Bill clinton was roasted by the pundit class cltiond this pundit. In 1998 he talked too long. He was endless, he had no discipline. Ifill was that the hour and 20 minutes . And lo and behold, the American People responded to it more than they had to a state of the union before. There has been a set of lawppedry lists ever since. Woodruff when you step back, both of you, what does the president need to accomplish . Well, hes got to convince democrats that he is going to be a positive, energetic, Dynamic Force from this point between now and election day. Judy, if the democrats lose the senate in 2014, 20 15 and 2016 will be Foreign Affairs. It will be a lot of travel, bought because we just will have nothing going for him in the congress. Woodruff thats right, this is an election year. Its an election year, and there has to be in that sense and i think he also needs the to Richard Nixons phrase the force of a driving dream. I think economic inequality is it. I think its something republicans, as douglas deacon has announce theyre responding to it. Theyre acknowledging it. Its been an item that has not been addressed by republicans or acknowledged. Ifill were looking at the president s domestic cabinet, sean donovan from hud, anthony fox from transportation, we just saw arnie duncan from education, and kathleen sebelius, the architect of the Health Care Plan. We talked a little about Foreign Affairs but this is really going to be a domestic speech. Yeah, and arnie duncan is one of the secretaries who has created, in a town of partisan split, arnie duncan, the secretary of education, has done actually a fabulous job creating bipartisan agreement on education policy. It can be done. I think immigration is the one were most likely if were going to see legislation this year, it will be the immigration bill. There is softening on the republican side. There is some desire to pass some comprehensive reform, Something Like what the senate did. But i really dont see much beyond that. I think the immigration is the ball game, i really do. And i think the war within the Republican Party on the subject is real. I mean, there are republicans who want the party to be competitive at the president ial level, and believe that without the Republican Party moving forcefully in support of an immigration bill, that they will write off the latino vote, in large part, and make the republican candidate noncom pettative in 2016. There are other republicans who say, no, that doesnt matter. Were to hold on to the house. This is a war that has gone on in washington for years and years. The democrat natessies didnt seem to bother them that they were losing the presidency by lopsided margins as long as they kept control of the house and senate. I think thats where the real test is. And thats yet president cant just write off the congress. Hes got to work with them expr this Administration Work with them if theres any hope for administration. Woodruff as we wait for the president to come in and theyre going to be announcing his arrival shortly is there a sense already, david, that the clock is ticking . He is only one year into his second term. It feels like the seventh or eighth year. I dont know why that is. Ifill seventh or eighth . It feels that way. It feels the end of a second term. I think thats because health care has been so big, something passed in the first term. Theres a bit, i think, of exhaustion. Its a very small team. Hes kept people around him who have been there since the first campaign, and i think there is some lack of new big energies, new big policies coming into the administration, and just the gridlock in Congress Makes it extremely hard for them to do fresh stuff. One thing i do look for, as they talk about the economic in, quality issue are, they emphasizing opportunity and mobility or are they emphasizing redistribution . And sort of the tone they set on that will determine, i think, qloo theres any hope of any bipartisanship. Woodruff you dont think the president is going to use the word redistribution . Oh, no, no, definitely not. But you can gesture in that direction. Decembers speech was certainly strenuous in emple sizing exphk inequality. That was probably the strongest liberal economic statement of his entire it administration. Ifill whats different now is people like paul rubio there you go paul ryan and marco rubio also talking about it but using the ferm social mobility rather than inequality. Thats why i think there there is some chanc chance for. Getting money down the income stream to reduce inequality, and i think that can be seized on if it isnt pushed too far or too hard. Woodruff mark, go ahead. Its interesting to look at this picture of all of them, nawl their sunday finest, and we know right now in the Public Opinion polls, congress is not held in the highest regard by the American People. Ifill paul urban, who is the door keeper of the house, is about to make ta an announcemen. You can see john boehner is waiting for his queue. Hes pushing joe biden out of the picture, don isnt he. Ifill i dont think so. Woodruff very handsome ties. Mr. Speaker, the president of the United States. applause woodruff speaking of joslin, the members do jostle for a front row place, so they can lean over and hug, kiss, or otherwise embrace the president , as he comes in, even if theyre a republican. Mark, is this right . Youre absolutely right. And you will see eliot engel of new york, who has been there since the 11th of january. Now we have to get the seat. Ifill the president in the last few days has said he will do whatever he wants toot without congress. He considers congress to be intransigent. But there are rituals you go through in the city, in this capital, and also were going to see about 20 people in the first ladys box tonight. Remember when all of a sudden we have a lot of american here whose are part of that box. Woodruff well, they do look like theyre enjoying each Others Company right now. They are politicians. We need to sleep and eat. They need other people. And they do thrive on each Others Company. And lets face it, when youre in the room, its kind of electric. Its a much smaller room than it looks like on television. Its crowded. And they just love each Others Company. Woodruff its interesting for all the pomp and circumstance here, essentially everybody agrees that not a whole lot changes as a result of this event. They come together. Its a formal occasion. They listen to the president , and then they go their separate ways. And one thing you hear about from the members, theyre now 52 teagued with the standingip and sitting down applause. This has become a volleyball game, as you stand up in a partisan way, and they feel its dehumanizing and demeaning to themselves. Somehow theyre in an arms race and cant stop doing it. They feel its degrading. I hear that a lot. Ifill what kind of signs it can we look for to be hopeful for a moment that there may be bits of bipartisanship in that room tonight . Any signs . Well, the seating arrangement, i think, is something that was done by mark udall, lisa mikulski. I think its a good sign. Ifill democrat and republican sitting together. It will be an endote to the updown, whatever, puppet strings applause lines. Theres separation of powers. Elena kagan, steven breyer. But its not mat jort who sit with the other party. By and large the democrats sit on one side, and the republicans sit on the other. President greeting members of the joint chiefs of staff, the head of the military branches, as he makes his way up to the podium, the front of the house of representatives. Ifill youd think maybe hes done this before. Now comes the moment in which he makes his nirs address, and then the applause continues a little bit longer because thats the way they do it. Woodruff and the tradition has it that the president if i thought we could hear, id stop talking. If the president gives the speaker a copy of his remarks, one year, when bill clinton was president , he handed a copy to the thenrepublican speaker, and there was nothing. All that was in it was a line about the jokes on you. And im resigning as president. Ifill michele obama. Woodruff i dont think president obama is going to do that tonight. Members of congress, i have the high privilege and distinct honor of presenting to you the president of the United States. cheers and applause pelley and her we go again, right on cue. This is political theater, ifill this will probably be the only time tonight they will all stand at the same time. Woodruff now thats ps misc. Well wait and see. Thank you, thank you. Thank you so much. Mr. Speaker, mr. Vice president , members of congress, my fellow americans. Today in america a teacher spent extra time with a student who needed it and did her part to lift americas graduation wait to its highest levels in more than three decades. An entrepreneur flipped on the lights in her tech startup and did her part to add to the more than eight million new jobs our businesses have created over the past four years. applause an auto worker finetuned some of the best, most fuelefficient cars in the world and did his part to help america wean itself off foreign oil. A farmer prepared for the spring after the strongest fiveyear stretch of farm exports in our history. A rural doctor gave a young child the first prescription to treat asthma that his mother could afford. cheers and applause a man took the bus home from the graveyard shift, bone tired but dreaming big dreams for his son. And in tightknit communities all across america fathers and mothers will tuck in their kids, put an arm around their spouse, remember fallen comrades, and give thanks for being home from a war that, after 12 long years, is finally coming to an end. cheers and applause tonight, this chamber speaks with one voice to the people we respect. It is you, our citizens who make the state of our union strong. applause and here are the results of your efforts. The lowest Unemployment Rate in over five years. A rebounding housing market. A Manufacturing Sector thats adding jobs for the First Time Since the 1990s. More oil produced applause . More oil produced at home than we buy from the rest of the world. The first time thats happened in nearly 20 years. applause our deficits cut by more than half. applause and for the first time in over a decade Business Leaders around the world have declared that china is no longer the worlds numberone place to invest america is. cheers and applause thats why i believe this can be a break through year for america. After five years of grit and determined effort, the United States is better positioned for the 21st century than any other nation on earth. The question for everyone in this chamber, running through every decision we make this year, is whether we are going to help or hinder this progress. For several years now, this town has been consumed by a rancorous argument over the proper size of the federal government. Its an important debate, one that dates back to our very founding. But when that debate prevents us from carrying out even the most basic functions of our democracy, when our differences shut down government or threaten the full faith and credit of the United States, then we are not doing right by the American People. cheers and applause now, as president im committed to making washington work better and rebuilding the trust of the people who sent us here. I believe most of you are, too. Last month, thanks to the work of democrats and Republicans Congress finally produced a budget that undoes some of the last years severe cuts to priorities like education. Nobody got everything they wanted, and we can still do more to invest in this countrys future while bringing down our deficit in a balanced way, but the budget compromise should leave us freer to focus on creating new jobs, not creating new crises. And in the coming months applause . In the coming months lets see where else we can make progress together. Lets make this a year of action. Thats what most americans want. For all of us in this chamber to focus on their lives, their hopes, their aspirations. And what i believe unites the people of this nation regardless of race or region or party, young or old, rich or poor is the simple, profound belief in opportunity for all. The notion that if you work hard and take responsibility, you can get ahead in america. applause lets face it, that belief has suffered some serious blows. Over more than three decades even before the Great Recession sheut massive shifts in technology had eliminated middleclass jobs and weakened the economic foundations families depend on. Today after four years of Economic Growth, corporate profits and stock prices have rarely been higher. And those at the top have never done better. But average wages have barely budged. Inequality has deepened. Up ward mobility has stalled. The cold hard fact is that even in the midst of recovery too Many Americans are working more than ever just to get by, let alone to get ahead. And too many still arent working at all. So our job is to reverse these trends. It wont happen right away and we wont agree on everything. But what i offer tonight is a set of concrete, practical proposals to speed up growth, strengthen the middleclass, and build new ladders of opportunity into the middleclass. Some require congressional action. And i am eager to work with all of you. But america does not stand still and neither will i. So wherever and wherever i can take steps without legislation to expand opportunity for more American Families thats what im going to do. cheers and applause as usual, our first lady sets a good example. Michelles applause . Michelles lets move partnership with schools, businesses, local leaders, has helped bring down Childhood Obesity rates for the first time in 30 years and thats an achievement that will improve lives and reduce Health Care Costs for decades to come. The joining forces alliance that michelle and jill biden launched has encouraged employers to hire or train nearly 400,000 veterans and military spouses. applause taking a page from that play book, the white house just organized a College Opportunity summit where already 150 universities, businesses, and nonprofits have made concrete commitments to reduce inequality and access to Higher Education and to help every hardworking kid go to college and succeed when they get to campus. And across the country were partnering with mayors, governors, and sta

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