Obama to focus on immigration, guns

WASHINGTON—President Barack Obama’s speech Tuesday night on the condition of the United States will likely focus on cajoling recalcitrant lawmakers into bending to his second-term agenda on such issues as immigration reform, reducing gun violence and increasing taxes.

The annual State of the Union speech, which is closely monitored as the presidential blueprint for his goals for the year, is expected to push again for the ambitious progressive plans Obama outlined in his second inaugural address just three weeks ago. The president’s priorities also include easing back on spending cuts and addressing climate change.

Aware of the continuing partisan gridlock gripping Washington, Obama is banking on his popularity and the political capital from his convincing reelection victory in November to call on Americans to join him in persuading opposition lawmakers to stop stonewalling his vision for what he calls a fairer America with greater opportunity for all.

To that end, Obama plans immediately afterward to make a two-day, three-state to North Carolina, Georgia and his home state of Illinois to take his message directly to the American people.

Massive federal spending cuts that will hit the US economy on March 1 if a compromise isn’t hammered out with Congress will surely color Obama’s speech like nothing else. Some economists predict those cuts, known as the sequester, could push the United States back into recession even before it has fully recovered from the Great Recession—the most serious econom- ic downturn in more than 70 years.

The cuts will slice deeply into spending for the Pentagon and a range of social programs. Obama has indicated some readiness to compromise. For example, he has said he would curb some spending on the Medicare health insurance program available to Americans at age 65, but he is pressing Republicans to give ground on taxes. Obama says he wants “a balanced approach” to tackling the spiraling deficit with a mix of increased tax revenues and cuts in spending.

The opposition declares it will not give ground on raising taxes. Speaker of the House John Boehner insists that revamping the tax code to close loopholes that benefit the wealthiest Americans and the corporate sector are not open for consideration.

“He’s gotten all the revenue he’s going to get,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, said on Monday. “Been there, done that.”