The president certainly has a set of recurring themes in his
addresses, including his forthcoming policy updates on immigration. Immigration
policy has been an issue Obama has worked closely with since his election in
2009, referring to it in his 2010 State of the Union address as a “broken
system.” But even with more recent issues pulling on the president’s mind, like
his new movement in stricter gun control laws following several tragic mass
shootings in 2012, immigration will no doubt make up at least a small mention
in the 2013 address.
The gun control debate that has congress locked in battle
has become championed by Vice President Joe Biden and openly supported by
Obama. Obama gun control policies center on semi-automatic weapon
private-ownership and have met great resistance from his conservative
counterparts.
Another issue likely to be addressed in Obama’s speech is
his upcoming clash with Republican Congress members over taxes and the
ever-looming “fiscal cliff” America experienced earlier this month. The
president will likely remain silent on the Bush Tax cut expiration, but will
address the outcomes of those expirations and, at the very least, assure
citizens of the attention he intends to pay toward America economic problems.
On the economic decline front, Obama will likely also
address America’s unemployment rate. America unemployment went through a sharp
downward spike earlier in the Obama presidency but, according to the Bureau of
Labor Statistics, has been holding steady since mid-2012. However, the topic
was of heated debate during the 2012 election and will likely still be in the
forefront of the American mind.
Gay rights is another issue the president is likely to
tackle in 2013. The president has become more vocal on the issue since his
election in 2009 when he ended Clinton’s conservative “don’t ask, don’t tell”
policy which made it difficult for openly homosexual men to enlist in the
military. Obama has worked to move gay rights to the forefront of political
issues since then, applying more liberal laws on the Federal level.
In a speech given in Las Angeles during his campaign trail
in 2012, Obama vowed to block any attempts made by conservative Congress
members to roll back headway made in the Gay Rights movement, vowing to
continue his work for equality.
Obama will also bring the success and operation of his
health care reform plan to light, which has been another recurring topic for
the president in his past State of the Union addresses. Health care reform was
one of Obama’s main focuses in his 2012 State of the Union, when explained the
lack of order in the country’s current system and explained congresses need to
accept his administration’s reforms.
"There's a reason why many doctors, nurses, and health
care experts who know our system best consider this approach a vast improvement
over the status quo." Obama said.
Speculation on Obama’s State of the Union Address could be
endless. The president is in his last term, a cherry position for a president.
He will have less concern about pleasing Congress and will have the ability to
more brazenly present his plans, be they popular or not. He will recognize the
conflicts that will likely erupt between congressional parties but he will have
the voice of the people who elected him for a second time into office beside
him as the nation pushes forward. Either way, America will know soon enough.