SOTU to Focus on Jobs

Get those bets ready for what President Obama’s grand ambition will be in Tuesday’s State of the Union address. Sources said the president will focus the speech, his first State of the Union of his second term, on the economy as the unemployment rate ticked up last month—as well the need for public investment in infrastructure, education, and research. The president is also expected to propose ways to make college more affordable. At a policy retreat in Virginia on Thursday, the president said the priority of his second term “starts with an economy that works for everybody.” According to speechwriter Cody Keenan, the president “likes” the draft of the speech he saw last week. Obama’s speechwriters began drafting the State of the Union after Election Day in November.