-
US President Barack Obama gives his first speech to the joint houses of Congress as US Vice-President Joe Biden and House Speaker, Democrat Nancy Pelosi look on - Source: Reuters -
Watch Video
-
Related
President Barack Obama sought to strike a delicate balance
between hope and reality to reassure Americans mired in economic
crisis that they would survive a day of reckoning.
Riding high in opinion polls as he delivered his first address to a
joint session of Congress, Obama was careful to include a sober
assessment of the grim economic situation and his efforts to fix
it.
But the politician whose memoir was called "The Audacity of Hope"
and who won the White House in last November's election amid chants
of "yes, we can" was also back in stride, telling recession-weary
Americans they can expect better days ahead.
"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," Obama, a Democrat, said in a televised speech five weeks
after taking office.
"And the United States of America will emerge stronger than
before," he said to loud applause in the packed chamber.
Obama was interrupted by applause more than 60 times as he
addressed Congress, where Democrats control both chambers.
His primetime address came against a backdrop of growing anxiety
across the country in the face of the worst financial meltdown in
decades.
While his public support is strong, Wall Street remains
sceptical of his economic remedies.
Jittery investors sent US stocks to a 12-year low on Monday, but
the markets rallied on Tuesday on Federal Reserve Chairman Ben
Bernanke's assurances that the country's troubled banks should be
able to weather the downturn without being nationalized.
Banks, automakers
Obama said more money may be needed to fix debt-laden banks and
revive the economy, warning that "while the cost of action will be
great, I can assure you that the cost of inaction will be far
greater."
But he seemed to take a harder line against troubled US automakers,
saying that while he supports making the companies more
competitive, the government would not protect them from their own
bad decision-making.
Trying to show he will make good on his promise of fiscal
responsibility, Obama said he had identified US$2 trillion in
budget cuts over the next decade.
Obama, who rolls out his first budget proposal on Thursday, has
vowed to halve the US$1 trillion-plus annual deficit he inherited
from Bush by the end of his term.
That may be difficult, critics say, if he moves swiftly on his
pledge to undertake a costly healthcare overhaul while the economy
is still slumping and tax revenues are down.
But some analysts were cheered by his words.
"Obama is obviously trying to allay concerns that there will be
a budget blow-out. Whether he can deliver it or not is tough to
say, but it is the rhetoric that matters," said Amy Auster, head of
foreign exchange and international economics research at ANZ Bank
in Melbourne.
Obama was quick with indirect criticism for his Republican
predecessor George Bush, citing his administration's failure to
plan for the country's economic plight and bloated debt.
"Critical debates and difficult decisions were put off for some
other time on some other day," Obama said. "Well, that day of
reckoning has arrived, and the time to take charge of our future is
here."
Break with Bush
Underscoring his break with some of Bush's more divisive policies
that damaged America's image overseas, Obama also reiterated that
the United States does not torture.
He has ordered the closing of the internationally condemned
Guantanamo Bay military prison where foreign terrorism suspects are
held.
He also highlighted a shift in the US military focus from Iraq to
Afghanistan, saying he would soon unveil a plan that responsibly
ends the unpopular Iraq war launched by Bush in 2003.
He offered assurances that his administration would not pursue the
go-it-alone approach for which Bush was widely criticized abroad,
saying, "In words and deeds, we are showing the world that a new
era of engagement has begun."
He also made an indirect overture to US foe Iran, saying, "We
cannot shun the negotiating table."
First and foremost, however, Obama pressed the case for his
economic approach while laying out a broader agenda, including a
much-anticipated push for a healthcare overhaul and a stepped-up US
role in the fight against climate change.
He was candid about problems. But with misgivings among some fellow
Democrats that his tone has become too gloomy, he also injected a
clear note of optimism.
Obama's first weeks in office have been marked by a US$787 billion
economic stimulus package, a retooled financial industry bailout
program and a home mortgage rescue plan.
But he has also faced embarrassing miscues in the completion of his
cabinet and criticism that some of his early financial proposals
have been lacking in specifics.
Taking a page from Obama's upbeat tone as a candidate in delivering
the Republican response, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, a rising
star in the opposition party and a potential presidential candidate
in 2012, entitled his rebuttal Americans can do anything.
Jindal insisted Republicans were ready to work with Obama on the
economy but also tore into the president and Democrats who control
Congress for legislation he said will saddle future generations
with debt.
World News Video
-
Dangerous rush to Everest summit (1:59)
-
Dozens killed in Syrian massacre (2:09)
-
'King of Romance' competes in Eurovision (1:46)
