Pre-SOTU Questions & Thoughts

Well Washington is definitely abuzz about President Obama's State of the Union Address tonight. Here are some of my thoughts T-5 hours before the speech:

1) How "big" a speech is this, really? Sure, every time the President addresses a joint session of Congress, it is a big deal, and especially when it's the first SOTU of an Administration, but with no expected major policy announcements and an American public seemingly anxious, distracted and angered- will tonight's speech really be remembered as a "turning point," "crossroads" or "pivotal moment" as it is being described in the media today? I'm doubtful.

2) Will there be any surprises? This week the White House tested expected SOTU announcements to freeze non-discretionary non-security related spending, present a five-point Middle Class Agenda and create a budget reduction task force. Today, reports are all but confirming that the President will make repeal of the Don't Ask Don't Tell policy a part of the speech. And in just a few hours, the first leaks of the actual text of the speech will come out. It's possible that the Administration will have some surprises, but they are likely to be subtle, at best.

3) My biggest question tonight: does the President continue with the narrative that drove his election and the first year of his Administration and use the speech to give a progress report of that journey, or is the speech narrowly focused on job creation and the economy with just brief mention of other issues. In the President's first two addresses to Congress, we heard a similar theme: American renewal. Build a better future. A permanent, lasting economic recovery. Will the same language that has been used throughout the Administration make a return tonight, or will it be replaced with something new?

4) How partisan is the rhetoric of the audience (inside the room and of TV pundits)? In September, Congressman Joe Wilson became a national disgrace (to some) and a hero (to others) for interrupting the President by yelling "You Lie!" during a health care address. Although another outburst is unlikely tonight, we'll be able to sense the partisan atmosphere by the number of standing ovations that are split (one side or the other). House Minority Leader Boehner has said that he has a war room team to send out rapid responses during the President's speech rebutting his claims- even before the GOP Response. The SOTU has become the ultimate spin game and, unfortunately, it seems that Republicans already know their election-year talking points before the President even reaches the podium.

On the policy side, I'm really interested in the President's talk on education reform tonight. I also hope that he makes mention of the accomplishments that the Administration and Congress have had this year: from reforming the tobacco industry to cracking down on credit card companies and predatory lenders, passing a historic national service law and making progress towards eroding waste, fraud and abuse in military contracts. The economic urgency and the consumption of health care in the media's agenda obscured these key victories, and the President should remind the American people just how productive Congress and his White House have been.

I'll be liveblogging the President's State of the Union Address beginning around 8pm tonight.

Honoring MLK's Legacy as a Day On, Not a Day Off

Today, I had the pleasure of joining the City Year Washington, DC corps at Ron Brown Middle School and Houston Elementary Schools in Northeast DC who welcomed nearly 600 community volunteers on the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Day of Service. As it always is when myImpact.org partners with CYDC, it as an inspiring experience that affirmed my belief, yet again, in the important work of the national service community.

It was a big day for the service world. The President and his family traveled to SOME (So Others Might Eat) soup kitchen to feed the homeless in the mid-morning. At our site, Education Secretary Duncan and CNCS Acting CEO Nikki Goren came to serve. Robert Egger's DC Central Kitchen had the VA Secretary. Volunteers around the country joined non-profit and service organizations; many stories were captured on a daylong live webcast produced by the Hands On Network.

Through it all, reminders of last week's devastating Haitian earthquake were present. With pictures of such utter devastation just  a few hundred miles from the US mainland, today's day of service took on a more urgent significance. It was, as Steve Culbertson reminded in a Huffington Post essay today, a reminder of the meaning behind the MLK Day of Service and the legacy of Dr. King.

Hopefully, I will have time in the next few days to post pictures & videos - and perhaps a longer-form video - of today's CYDC service in Northeast. In the meantime, here are some of the articles on service, out of literally hundreds that were published today, that captured my attention:

"Youth Poised for Action" by Steve Culbertson, President, YSA (referenced above)

"Capital Culture: Obama cites value of volunteerism" - AP

"King service co-founder: Holiday "has a long way to go" - citing Fmr. Penn. Sen. Harris Wofford, who  pushed for the creation of the King Holiday, saying that last year was the first time that MLK Day took, what he called, a "quantum leap forward" - Washington Post

"A New York Volunteer Effort Will Soon Spread to 10 Cities" - NY Times- about the Cities of Service Initiative, a project of the ServiceNation Coalition and Be The Change, Inc.

Finally, this press release from The White House listing the locations that various Administration officials served in the Greater DC Region today.

For more coverage of MLK Day 2010, visit www.myImpact.org, and look for our tweets from today, @myImpact 

Statement of DNI Director on WH Terror Meeting

Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair, who has come under some criticism for his agency's handling of the Flight 253 Christmas Day terror attack, released the following statement after the President's Situation Room Briefing today:

The Intelligence Community received the President's message today - we got it, and we are moving forward to meet the new challenges.  The system did not catch Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab and prevent him from boarding an airliner and entering the United States.  We must be able to stop such attempts.    

The Intelligence Community has made considerable progress in developing collection and analysis capabilities and improving collaboration, but we need to strengthen our ability to stop new tactics such as the efforts of individual suicide terrorists.  The threat has evolved, and we need to anticipate new kinds of attacks and improve our ability to stay ahead of them and protect America. 

We can and we must outthink, outwork and defeat the enemy's new ideas.  The Intelligence Community will do that as directed by the President, working closely with our nation's entire national security team


The President met with leaders of the Intelligence, Homeland Security and National Security agencies today for several hours. He delivered a statement afterwards that was nationally-televised.