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State of Union Address

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State of the Union Address Analysis
The following paper will discuss the recent 2011 State of the Union address as presented by President Barack Obama with particular regard to the implications the policies may have for African American Politics. Midway through his term, the address reconfirmed many of the policies presented previously. President Obama particularly emphasised the need for bipartisanship and respect for one another as a result of the recent Tucson tragedy. Democrats and Republicans intermingling in their seating displayed this. He called for all members of the “American family” to be “bound together as one people”. This is an important note when taking into account that of race for although over time the situation involving African Americans on the whole has improved, there are still many inequalities that still exist. The address emphasised three major points which will analyse innovation, education and infrastructure and technology.
Continuing on the strong theme of unity, President Obama suggests that one of the most important investments the United States of America needs to make is that of innovation. He proposes that the nation needs to aim for “this generation’s Sputnik moment”. In this way, President Obama points out that developing nations like India and China are well on their way to becoming leaders in areas of technology and education. To continue being competitive in these areas he suggests the nation needs to “out-innovate, out-educate and outbuild” the rest of the world in order to reduce deficit and allow the nation to prosper. Traditionally, African Americans have had much higher rates of unemployment and lower levels of education. In order for President Obama’s policies to take hold, consideration should be taken as to how this may be addressed.
Education was addressed significantly throughout the presentation. The reasoning

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