OBAMA DEMANDS ‘YEAR OF ACTION’

President Obama’s State of the Union address had plenty of critics, but he may have been his own worst enemy, when it came to making his case.  The president tried to portray the country as strong, but his own facts appeared to contradict him. During Tuesday night’s speech, the president declared, “Today, after four years of economic growth, corporate profits and stock prices have rarely been higher, and those at the top have never done better.” But then he immediately undercut the picture of “four years of economic growth” by noting the nation’s stagnant wages, lack of upward mobility and persistent unemployment crisis. Obama suggested the nation is still united by what most call the American Dream, and what he described as, “the simple, profound belief in opportunity for all – the notion that if you work hard and take responsibility, you can get ahead.”
But then he admitted that dream has not fared well under his stewardship, stating, “Let’s face it: that belief has suffered some serious blows.” After five years of persistent recession, the president used the speech to call for a “year of action,” by which he meant the use of executive actions and orders when he wants to bypass Congress. The administration is portraying executive actions as way to get things done, and hoping the public will see that as better than gridlock in a Congress that’s even less-popular than the president. But, what the president Obama calls action, many of his critics call unconstitutional. All presidents can impose policy with directives, executive orders and by exercising rule-making authority at all federal agencies, but critics say this administration has been using those tools to change law, not just policy. More