Obama Congressional Speech Analysis: We the Politicians to You, the People

“But while our economy may be weakened and our confidence shaken, though we are living through difficult and uncertain times, tonight I want every American to know this: We will rebuild, we will recover, and the United States of America will emerge stronger than before.”

More motivational jargon with little to back it up, Obama continues his speech by speaking to the American people directly. The purpose of the Joint-Congressional speeches of old were to speak directly to Congress, today it is a chance to speak to the people. It is a good thing that he is trying to motivate us to move on with our lives, but we also need to remain real with the situations that are affecting us, or we will be doomed to repeat it.

“The weight of this crisis will not determine the destiny of this nation. The answers to our problems don't lie beyond our reach. They exist in our laboratories and our universities, in our fields and our factories, in the imaginations of our entrepreneurs and the pride of the hardest-working people on Earth."

"Those qualities that have made America the greatest force of progress and prosperity in human history we still possess in ample measure. What is required now is for this country to pull together, confront boldly the challenges we face, and take responsibility for our future once more.”

Obama sets his agenda in these paragraphs and moves towards addressing Congress and not the American people. He wants America to unite together, under that banner of the Government. In the guise of Uncle Sam of old, we have Uncle Obama today urging the American people to keep up with their patriotic duty. He than gets “honest” about the economic situation, and admits that this was not just Bush’s fault, but all of Congress.