Slate

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The president uses the State of the Union speech to relaunch his brand.

By John DickersonPosted Thursday, Jan. 28, 2010, at 1:21 AM ETIt was appropriate that the iPad was unveiled the same day President Obama gave his first State of the Union speech. Both were centered on Jobs, and both sought to give people something useful they could put their hands on.

Obama answered complaints that he hasn't been focusing on the economy by calling for passage of a jobs bill and a series of other breaks for the middle class. None of the ideas was new or revolutionary (the House has already passed the jobs bill), but the speech was about emphasis. He'd planned to focus on the economy in the speech and in 2010, but he gave it a top priority he hadn't before. He called on Congress to pass the jobs bill before it did anything else. Health care reform is now clearly in second place—or lower.

The speech had a feel of a relaunch. In tone and spirit, the president returned repeatedly to the themes he campaigned on—a call to end partisanship and special interest influence, and to create a government equal to the spirit of the American people. "What the American people hope—what they deserve—is for all of us, Democrats and Republicans, to work through our differences; to overcome the numbing weight of our politics."

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