The president is expected to give a "sober assessment" focusing on the economy and other key issues like health care.
Tonight's speech is not considered a "state of the union" address as Obama has not been in office long enough yet to give such an official assessment.
Many analysts believe Obama must get the people to feel that he is doing the right thing and to support him despite the gloom in the economy.
A bad economy does not necessarily harm the chief executive. Franklin D. Roosevelt, for example, was reelected twice during the Great Depression and served a total of four terms.
Even in those days when media was less sophisticated and people were less educated, they still were able to discern that Roosevelt was not to blame for the structural problems that caused the financial and economic collapse. Even though the markets bottomed out during his first term, the people still believed in his efforts to mend the economy and catch those falling through the wide gaps in the job market.
 ABC News |
ABC News -
By JAKE TAPPER and MARK MOONEY President Obama will give the nation a "sober assessment" about the status of the country's economy tonight as he assures Americans that there are "better days ahead," according to White House spokesman Robert Gibbs.
Video: Economy to Dominate Obama SpeechBorger: Q&A session showed Obama engaging opponents
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Tomorrow, 2/25 at 12:30, Brookings and Politico are kicking off a series of live web chats. We’ll have Brookings expert Bill Galston and Politico Senior Editor Fred Barbash on hand to answer questions about President Obama’s first address to a joint session of congress. The stakes are high leading up to this speech, and tomorrow’s chat will assess what President Obama has to say.
We thought you might be interested in participating in the chat. If so, please feel free to send in some questions in advance. Or, you can register for the chat here:
http://www.brookings.edu/events/2009/0225_obama_speech_chat.aspx
We’d love to see you there!
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