President Obama's Speech - What to Watch for

All eyes will be on President Obama tonight as he makes his speech to a joint session of Congress. Viewed separately, the steps he has taken so far to restore confidence and stabilize the economy may appear disparate and disjointed, but together they constitute a vision - both inspiring and pragmatic - of what needs to be done - and tonight is his opportunity to clarify that vision and place it in context.

In the short term, institutions that are crucial to the functioning of our economy (consumer and business), such as banks, require support. Allowing a huge industry, such as automobile manufacturing, to collapse in a disorderly fashion would be devastating. Detroit is now on life support, with an orderly bankruptcy or massive restructuring being the likely road ahead.

In the long term, our nation needs to invest in projects critical to our future - infrastructure, energy, education - with a plan that keeps spending in line and aims, over time, to reduce government borrowing and spending as private sector activity resumes and replaces it.

All this will take time. The President must counsel patience and exhort us to give his measures time to work. For too long, in both government and business, our leaders have opted for the short-term view, the quick fix, the budget gimmick, the balance-sheet fudge. It is time to start looking five or ten years ahead and understand the impact that making long-term policy decisions can have, while also understanding that we must be flexible and prepared to adapt to a constantly changing environment.

The President should also put those who oppose him, for political reasons, on notice, that now is not the time for politics. Now is the time for problem-solving. 

All eyes will be on President Obama tonight as he makes his speech, but we as viewers should carefully observe the republican reaction. The American people desperately need to see republicans clapping and standing in solidarity with the democrats as the President delivers his key lines. Opposition politics has no place in a crisis, especially one of this magnitude. The President has tried to "reach across the aisle" and been met with a forearm shiver. Tonight he will lay out his vision and his plan, and those who disagree with him must work to further, not frustrate, their realization and execution.