President Obama: Hmmm…Left or Right!!

Yesterdays State of the Union (SOTU) speech might not be the best of President Obama’s works, but I think it did the trick for his ever depleting poll rating. When he spoke about how he will ‘support’ the limiting of the mal-practice law suites against the doctors and reviewing the corporate tax code, it felt as if, for a brief moment, President Obama might have changed the party!

His referencing of China, India and South Korea in the first five minutes of the speech shows how the views have changed in Washington and Whitehouse, especially. From being a ‘blind-folded world superpower’ to ‘one of the competitors in the truly globalize world’. I think it was important for the Whitehouse to accept this fact first before it sells it to the American people. Global economy is ‘not a zero-sum game’ anymore. And other emerging powers, like India and most notably, China, should also know this. If they want to keep there trade surplus with US, they have to offer US companies the same level playing field in there domestic market as local competitors. 

Coming back to President Obama, I think he should have focused on corporate tax reform before signing off the second Quantitative Easing (QE). As per Larry Kudlow of CNBC, supply-side economics have to be given a chance if demand-side doesn’t work in the first try (first QE).

After watching last years SOTU when the then, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D) was standing and applauding President Obama after the end of each and every sentence, it was strange to see the new House Speaker John Boehner(R), only standing up thrice during the whole 50 minute speech. Although, understandably so.

As far as building the hi-speed rail network, expanding the wireless connectivity to every nook and corner of the nation, building ‘better’ schools, making public school teachers the ‘nation builders’, cutting budget deficit and selling more electric cars then anyone else on the planet, Obama sounded more as a Presidential candidate for 2012, then the US President of 2011.