Obama’s speech: We are the world

On the surface, last night's State of the Union address read like a domestically-focused pep rally with a mantra of jobs, jobs, jobs.

But as GlobalPost columnist Mike Moran points out this morning, the world was hiding behind almost everything President Obama said.

Money quote:

As American power rests on the vitality of the world’s largest economy, foreign policy loomed large in almost every paragraph of his speech. At a time when American power is undeniably in relative decline and national debt is projected to reach 90 percent of GDP by 2020, the idea that domestic policy is distinct from foreign policy simply isn’t realistic.

“At stake right now is not who wins the next election — after all, we just had an election,” Obama said. “At stake is whether new jobs and industries take root in this country, or somewhere else.”

Again and again, whether addressing cuts to the federal spending, U.S. trade policy or clean energy initiatives, he returned to a common theme: America is falling behind.

“Nations like China and India realized that with some changes of their own, they could compete in this new world. And so they started educating their children earlier and longer, with greater emphasis on math and science. They're investing in research and new technologies. Just recently, China became home to the world's largest private solar research facility, and the world's fastest computer.”

Now go read the whole column. You'll feel better.