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Obama forgoes Valley plug in address
YOUNGSTOWN
In his final State of the Union address, President Barack Obama had an opening to mention Youngstown as he did in his 2013 and 2014 speeches.
But he opted not to take it.
About halfway through the address, which lasted about 60 minutes Tuesday, Obama spoke of his accomplishments during his seven-plus years as president.
“We’ve launched next-generation manufacturing hubs,” Obama said.
Youngs-town’s America Makes was the first advanced manufacturing facility established by Obama’s administration.
America Makes’ Twitter account stated: “NEW ECONOMY is a big message tonight” and our “members are a huge part of this change!”
In 2014, Obama, a Democrat, said the facility was an example of how the United States can “beat other countries in the race for the next wave of high-tech manufacturing jobs,” and that it “connected businesses to research universities that can help America lead the world in advanced technologies.”
A year earlier, the president said of America Makes: “A once-shuttered warehouse is now a state-of-the-art lab where new workers are mastering the 3-D printing that has the potential to revolutionize the way we make almost everything. There’s no reason this can’t happen in other towns.”
As for Tuesday’s State of the Union address, Democrats praised it while Republicans were critical.
U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Howland, D-13th, said, “I applaud President Obama for directly confronting the all-too-familiar narrative being played out every night on television that America is no longer ‘great.’ This doom-and-gloom ethos may help win political points among some, but to focus on such negativity is disingenuous and does nothing but distract from the truly important problems facing us today. America is, in fact, still great and we remain a leader on the world stage.”
The world is rapidly changing. But, Ryan said, “in the midst of all this change, the year ahead, or even the next five, might look scary. But despite any lingering uncertainty, there is little doubt in my mind that a better future for our families and our nation is within reach. What we need is the courage and the clarity of thought that the present demands of us to make the right choices for the American people.”
U.S. Rep. Bill Johnson of Marietta, R-6th, said, “Never in my lifetime have I seen a president seem so small and insignificant in the face of so many tremendous global challenges – challenges that require American leadership abroad, and the ability to unite at home. [Tuesday’s] speech didn’t change any of that, and he continues to preside over the downsizing of the American Dream with a record number of Americans pessimistic about the future. I found it particularly stunning that this president, after seven years of dividing our country more deeply than we’ve been in generations, is now, in his final year, calling for civility.”
Johnson added: “America cannot afford for this president to go legacy hunting. His legacy of failure is clear, even if he doesn’t know it yet.”
U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat from Cleveland, said: “President Obama outlined a clear vision [Tuesday] for expanding American opportunity, and I’m ready to get to work building a future where anyone who’s willing to work hard and play by the rules can succeed. We’ve come a long way in the last eight years. The auto industry is soaring back and our economy is growing. But we have more work ahead of us to make sure working families across Ohio, and across the country, are benefiting from that success.”
Brown added: “This year I will continue pushing forward to expand tax cuts that allow working people to keep more of their hard-earned money, fighting against trade deals that threaten American jobs, and finding ways we can work together to deliver results for Ohio.”
Among those trade deals is the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership, one of the largest such agreements in the world that Obama backs and Brown strongly opposes.
Before the address, U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, a Republican from the Cincinnati area, said he wanted the president to focus on “working with Congress to achieve results in this final year.”
Portman said, “Ohioans are deeply concerned about the future, what’s happening with jobs and wages and how to better address the terrorist threat. These are areas that we can and should work on together.”
He added: “We also need to work to protect and create jobs here at home. Too many American companies have left our shores and we need to take steps to address our broken tax code so that we can keep these jobs and their tax dollars here in the U.S.”
Gov. John Kasich, a Republican presidential candidate, said that eight years from now – which presumes he is elected president this year and re-elected in 2020 – he looked “forward to giving a State of the Union that describes a stronger, safer and more united America. We’re going to cut taxes, balance the budget and get government out of the way so every American can rise. We’re also going to strengthen our military and renew our alliances to proclaim the values of the civilized world and stand up to extremists and bullies. On-the-job training in this presidency has marched us down a trail of failure and left America weaker, divided and adrift. That’s going to end and by working together, we’re going to fight, win and succeed.”