Obama announces jobs top priority in 2010

Thursday 28th January 2010

Barack Obama has announced the creation of a million new jobs will be the chief priority for his administration in the coming year in his first State of the Union address.

In the face of growing US public anger at the sorry state of the country's economy and the high unemployment rate, the US president dedicated the majority of his 71-minute speech on Wednesday to the creation of new jobs.

In the prime-time address at a joint session of the Senate and the House of Representatives, Mr Obama set out a range of measures aimed at helping the economy recover.

The US president has come under severe pressure since the Democrats surprisingly lost control of the Massachusetts Senate seat the late Ted Kennedy had held for almost half a century earlier this month, with many analysts seeing it as a clear message the American public had become disheartened at how Mr Obama has gone about restoring economic growth.

Despite a near-trillion dollar economic stimulus last year, unemployment in the US is refusing to recede, contributing to an anticipated deficit this year of $1.35 trillion.

The Massachusetts defeat has threatened Mr Obama's beloved healthcare reform bill, but Mr Obama devoted little time to the plans in his address.

He focused instead on the understanding that the American public were "hurting" and that conceded his election pledge for change hadn't come about fast enough.

Addressing unemployment, he said: "People are out of work. They are hurting. They need our help. And I want a jobs bill on my desk without delay.

"Jobs must be our number one focus in 2010."

On the state of the country's economy, Mr Obama admitted "devastation remains" with one in ten Americans still unable to find work, and small and rural communities hit hardest.

"I know the anxieties that are out there right now. They're not new. These struggles are the reason I ran for president."

The US president defended the huge bailout of the financial system, describing it as "necessary" to prevent further disaster.

He also announced a three-year spending freeze from 2011 in an attempt to cut the budget deficit

On his healthcare reforms, Mr Obama declared he would not desert those without cover, stating: "I will not walk away from these Americans. And neither should the people in this chamber."

He also moved to ease Democrat fears over the Massachusetts result, reminding them the party still had the largest majority in years.

"People expect us to solve some problems, not run for the hills," he declared.

Mr Obama also discussed climate change, immigration and foreign policy in the hour and 11 minute speech.

Ending on an upbeat message, he rallied: "We have finished a difficult year. We have come through a difficult decade. But a new year has come. A new decade stretches before us. We don't quit. I don't quit."

Republicans though seemed less enthusiastic about the address, with many remaining in their seats throughout the annual speech.

The House Republican leader, John Boehner, said afterwards: "Unfortunately, the president and the Democrats in charge of Congress still aren't listening to the American people.

"The American people were looking for President Obama to change course tonight, and they got more of the same job-killing policies instead."

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