After riding into Washington with promises of hope and change and overwhelming public support, one year later President Obama is sitting in a much different position.  He has yet to pass one of his major agenda items, including health care and cap-and-trade, and his approval rating has dropped below 47% according to the latest Rasmussen poll.

In his first State of the Union address this evening, the president has the opportunity to change his tune a bit.

Although the full text of the speech has not been released, the White House has stated that the president plans to focus his speech on the economy – not his stalled health care bill.  There has been mention that he will propose a three-year freeze on all discretionary, non-defense spending.  I am encouraged by president’s change of heart – during the election he stated that spending freezes sound good but don’t actually work.  However, I hope he is actually serious about this.  It has also been announced that he will request a 6.2% increase in education spending during the speech, all the while continuing to support the Senate’s $80 billion jobs bill and their $1.9 trillion debt limit increase proposal.

The election in Massachusetts last week should have served as a wake up call for my colleagues on the other side of the aisle that their current agenda of dramatically expanding the size and scope of the federal government that require unprecedented levels of spending and borrowing is simply not what the American people want.  Rather, we need to get back to focusing on job creation, improving our economy, and providing tax relief for the American people.

I encourage everyone to tune in tonight at 8:00pm central and hear what the president has to say – it should be an interesting watch.

# # #