Former Clinton Speechwriter Reacts to Obama’s State of the Union Address

The Takeaway

President Obama delivered his third annual State of the Union Address last night. Obama focused primarily on income inequality. Jettisoning his normally conciliatory tone, the president instead highlighted the differences between right and left with impassioned rhetoric. Vowing to protect middle class families with mortgage assistance legislation, he also outlined his plans to institute the “Buffet rule” which would require those making over $1 billion to pay a 30 percent tax rate. Michael Waldman  is the executive director of the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University and former chief speechwriter for President Bill Clinton joins the program to discuss the President’s remarks.
Waldman is also the author of “My Fellow Americans: The Most Important Speeches of America’s Presidents from George Washington to Barack Obama.”

Are you with The World?

The story you just read is available to read for free because thousands of listeners and readers like you generously support our nonprofit newsroom. Every day, the reporters and producers at The World are hard at work bringing you human-centered news from across the globe. But we can’t do it without you: We need your support to ensure we can continue this work for another year.

When you make a gift of $10 or more a month, we’ll invite you to a virtual behind-the-scenes tour of our newsroom to thank you for being with The World.