Reactions to Obama's State of the Union Address

President Obama’s State of the Union address was like many of his other speeches - it was clearly well delivered and certainly he has a gift.

But I was a little disappointed because the problem the President has is not a communications problem – he really has a credibility problem. He’s made a bunch of promises over this last year, including one tonight that I liked about more tax relief. But we’ve all heard these promises before, and he simply hasn’t delivered.

I would have liked to have heard the President commit to ending TARP immediately, instead of using it as a slush fund. I wish he had kept his promises about transparency and bipartisanship – going through the budget line by line to cut wasteful spending. Even the base of his party is complaining that President Obama says one thing and does another.

The President also has a priority problem. The American people’s priorities are simply different than his. The American people want us to focus on jobs ... keeping us safe from terrorists ... and getting spending under control. Instead, the Majority Party’s priority has been to force through a $2.5 trillion health care bill that the American people do not want.

Finally, the President has a problem with leaders in his own party. Speaker Pelosi and Senator Reid are clearly not bound by what the President says – which is why I’ll believe his 3-year spending freeze when I see it. And the President simply cannot duck his responsibility to lead on immigration reform.

The President said tonight, as he has many times before, that he is committed to these priorities. Hopefully, 2010 will prove to be more about action and less about talk.