Nation’s Proxy

“Being president is as much as anything the figurehead of the United States, and therefore you’re the proxy for how the country is doing,” Brands said.

Even so, Tuesday’s speech may only play a minor role, if any, in defining Obama’s presidency. “I cannot think of a single State of the Union address at a comparable period of the presidency that anyone remembers for anything,” Brands said. For other presidents, “the eighth year State of the Union addresses have been pretty forgettable.”

The speech is likely to offer a glimpse of the role Obama hopes he will play after he leaves office, said Vin Weber a former Republican congressman from Minnesota and an outside adviser to Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush. Weber expects Obama’s themes to “set up his own post-presidency.”

“He’s going to be involved in climate change, against gun violence,” Weber said. “I think we’re going to get other indications about the kinds of issues and causes he’s going to devote himself to.”

First « 1 2 3 » Next