Obama: US must seize 'Sputnik moment'
Obama: 'This is our generation's Sputnik moment'
Appeals to Republicans for co-operation to 'win the future'
Warns rise of China is a threat to American influence
Barack Obama has warned of the threat to American economic power and global influence by China's rise with an appeal for Republicans to abandon demands for massive budget cuts and back the biggest government investment programme since the 1960s space race.
In an annual State of the Nation address, the president appealed for cooperation with Republicans "to win the future" by saying that the present generation faces what he called its "Sputnik moment" requiring government investment in research, infrastructure and education, paid for in part by eliminating subsidies to hugely profitable oil companies, to match that of the rising economic powers.
"Half a century ago, when the Soviets beat us into space with the launch of a satellite called Sputnik, we had no idea how we'd beat them to the moon. The science wasn't there yet. NASA didn't even exist. But after investing in better research and education, we didn't just surpass the Soviets; we unleashed a wave of innovation that created new industries and millions of new jobs. This is our generation's Sputnik moment," he told a changed Congress following the Republicans seizure of the House of Representatives in November's elections.
"At stake is whether new jobs and industries take root in this country, or somewhere else. It's whether the hard work and industry of our people is rewarded. It's whether we sustain the leadership that has made America not just a place on a map, but a light to the world.
The president's call, in a speech which ostensibly called for unity but laid bare the ideological divide with the Republicans, was swiftly rejected by his opponents who said that the real threat to the US's global dominance is its rapidly deepening debt. Th! ey said that what Obama calls investment they call borrowing and spending.
But instant polling on CNN showed a rise in support for Obama's policies with more than three-quarters of respondents saying they had a favourable view of the speech. A similar number said they were more optimistic after the address.
The president said in his address that the US faces a changed world.
"The rules have changed. In a single generation, revolutions in technology have transformed the way we live, work and do business," he said.
"Meanwhile, nations like China and India realised 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."
Obama said that he will send a budget to congress that invests in research, especially clean energy technology which he said could see one million electric vehicles on US roads within four years and break dependence on fossil fuels, although his clean energy commitment involves a heavy reliance on nuclear power. But the president did not directly speak about climate change or global warming.
Obama also called for a leap forward in educational standards.
"Think about it. Over the next ten years, nearly half of all new jobs will require education that goes beyond a high school degree. And yet, as many as a quarter of our students aren't even finishing high school," he said.
While appealing for cooperation, Obama laid bare the ideological divide with the Republicans. In the face of a Republican leadership demanding spending cuts and action on the deficit, the president proposed a five year freeze on non-security related spending that would require "painful cuts". But they come nowhere near those proposed by his political opponents who instinctively recoil fr! om the i dea of greatly increased government spending on research, education and promises to greatly improve internet access and expand high speed rail.
Hours before the president's speech, the House Republicans passed a resolution in support of rolling back spending to levels before Obama came to power which would require far deeper cuts than the president is proposing.
Obama attempted to pressure the Republican leadership over its threat of obstructionist tactics by appealing for it to consider the national good.
"With their votes, the American people determined that governing will now be a shared responsibility between parties. New laws will only pass with support from Democrats and Republicans. We will move forward together, or not at all for the challenges we face are bigger than party, and bigger than politics," the president said.
"Cutting the deficit by gutting our investments in innovation and education is like lightening an overloaded airplane by removing its engine. It may feel like you're flying high at first, but it won't take long before you'll feel the impact."
But the Republicans spurned Obama in a response by Congressman Paul Ryan who said that the real threat to America's dominance is the country's huge budget.
"We are at a moment, where if government's growth is left unchecked and unchallenged, America's best century will be considered our past century. This is a future in which we will transform our social safety net into a hammock, which lulls able-bodied people into lives of complacency and dependency," he said.
Ryan said that if the government does not address spending the US will face the same depth of crisis gripping Ireland, Greece and Britain.
"Depending on bureaucracy to foster innovation, competitiveness and wise consumer choices has never worked - and it won't work now," he said.
"The facts are clear: since taking office, President Obama has signed into law spending increases of nearly 25% for domestic government agencies - an 84! % increa se when you include the failed stimulus. All of this new government spending was sold as 'investment.' Yet after two years, the unemployment rate remains above 9% and government has added over $3 trillion to our debt."
Obama defended his controversial health care reforms which the Republicans are attempting to overturn, saying he was open to improving it but he would not abandon the principle of ensuring health care for almost every American.
Members of Congress wore ribbons in support of Gabrielle Giffords, their colleague wounded during an assassination attempt in Tucson in which six other people were killed, and applauded at mention of her name.
Several members of both parties moved over to the other side's seating in a demonstration of bipartisanship in the wake of the debate over aggressive political rhetoric following the Tucson shootings.
Among those sitting with Michelle Obama were the parents and brother of Christina Taylor Green, the nine year-old girl killed in the attack.
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