and that's why he said now that we have 59 votes, it's time for everybody to start taking responsibility. how long can he separate himself from that? > well, you know, look, that's the reason he ran for president, to separate the future from the past, and all of the things that he talked about, about what he disliked about washington, why the american people were cynical, are all the things that as a senator, as a candidate and as a president he has tried to deal with.Īnd one of the things that's most frustrating to him and to me, quite frankly, having served in washington a long time as a united states senator, is the obstructionist ways of the united states senate on the part of the republicans requiring 60 votes, a supermajority for virtually every single solitary initiative we've had. already critics, however, are saying, look, the guy is now part of washington. he referenced the same tired battles that have dominated washington for decades. he talked about people's anger and doubts about how washington works. > he also spent time last night going ter washington. and the focus seemed to be well received by everyone in the chamber, democrats and republicans. they're the ones that generate these jobs. one of the things he did last night was talk about the significant investment we're making in terms of tax credits and loan guarantees to small businesses. but most importantly, we're going to begin to create jobs. ![]() unemployment insurance and continued help for them. To take care of those who do not have employment by the way we've been doing it. there's - the idea that we're going to be able to get 7 million people who are unemployed as a consequence of this recession all reemployed in the ne several months is not going to happen, but what is going to happen is we're going i think in the spring you're going to see a net increase on a monthly basis of jobs instead of a net loss of jobs, which has occurred the last 20 months or so, and i think you're going to see that. based on what he said last night, what do you say to them? > well, i say they're going to start to see unemployment grow this spring - > you mean employment. he talked about generating jobs through things like tax cuts for businesses, investing in clean energy and rebuilding our infrastructure, among other things, but there are 15 million unemployed in america who were listening last night, many of them, i'm sure, wanting to know when they will find employment again. he made it clear he's been listening to the voters when he says that jobs must be our number one focus in2010. i never thought that the mere fact of my election would usher in peace and harmony and some > reporter: without mentioning it by name, the president responded to last week's republican upset in massachusetts and voter anger at washington. > don't walk away from reform, not now, not when we are so close. > reporter: the president reiterated his hope that health care reform would pass soon. i take my share of the blame for not explaining it mor clearly to the american people. > and by now, it should be fairly obvious that i didn't take on health care because it was good politics. ![]() > reporter: but there were plenty of other priorities - financial regulatory rerm, energy, climate change, education, trade, deficit reduction, even gays in the military, and of course, health care. > jobs must be our number one focus in 2010, and that's why i'm calling for a new jobs bill tonight. > reporter: the president made it crystal clear, he knows what the top issue is for americans. > as i'm comfortable and contentious as the debates may become, it's time to get serious about fixing the premtz that are ![]() ![]() > reporter: his speech, as much about the tenor of the debate in washington as the policy. despite our hardships, our union is strong. > i have never been more hopeful about america's future than i am tonight. > reporter: the president took pains to talk about hope at a time when so many americans seemed to have so little. look, it was a very animated president obama last night who delivered his first state of the union that was as much about trying to shore up his own political standing with the american public as it was about laying out his agenda for the coming year. but let's begin at the white house with nbc's chuck todd, our chief white house correspondent. just ahead, some reaction to the speech from both sides of the aisle when we talk to vice president joe biden and former florida governor, republican jeb bush.
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