In about thirty minutes the president will give what may be the most important speech in his presidency. It will set the tone for what is expected to be a very contentious political period in our country. If you think the last four years have been bad…wait until you see what plays out over the next few months.
The president will be speaking to the country, urging them to pressure the very people sitting in front of him to act on their behalf. How effective he will be in breaking through the intransigence that the Republican led congress has displayed for the past four years remains to be seen.
The Republicans will have an opportunity to respond to the president’s remarks. This is a difficult task. For shear optics it is hard to follow the pomp and circumstance of the most powerful person in the world.
The Republicans have chosen one of their brightest stars, Senator Marco Rubio, to deliver their response. Rubio is a legitimate candidate for the presidency in 2016. No surprise here. His Hispanic background enables him to speak to a growing demographic that his party has historically alienated.
But Rubio will not be the only one providing a televised response to the president’s remarks. Senator Rand Paul, who represents the Tea Party faction of the Republican Party, will also speak. Paul has made clear his intentions to run for president in 2016. He has as much of a chance to win the oval office as we do. He is speaking because the Tea Party faction does not agree with nor trust the more centrist ideology of Rubio and the party moderates.
Rubio and Paul’s remarks will not only illustrate the difficulties the president will face in moving his agenda forward; they will highlight the divisiveness within the Republican Party itself.
It should be an interesting evening.
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