Obama again cites India, China to spur US
Sputnik Moment
WASHINGTON: Don't write off the United States. For the world, that was the sub-text of President Obama's State of the Union address in which he invoked the country's storied creative spirit and entrepreneurial energy while laying out a blueprint for an American revival in the face of an Asian challenge from countries such as China and India.
In a feisty 65-minute speech that was nationalistic in spirit and challenging in tone, Obama gave not a call to arms, as many past presidents have done, but a rallying cry to preserve and extend American economic, scientific and technological primacy through greater investment in education and technology.
There was nary a mention of terrorism and he barely touched on issues such as climate change. Instead, it was a rage against US decline couched in language challenging Americans to rediscover their drive in the face of the Asian challenge. The problem, Obama suggested, was the country's school system, which needed to be reformed.
There were two references to India in the address, one in the context of Indian (and Chinese) investment in education and research and the other referring to recent agreements with the two countries that would create jobs in the US. But while the Chinese economic challenge included citations about specific Chinese advances references to India was largely generic.
In a feisty 65-minute speech that was nationalistic in spirit and challenging in tone, Obama gave not a call to arms, as many past presidents have done, but a rallying cry to preserve and extend American economic, scientific and technological primacy through greater investment in education and technology.
There was nary a mention of terrorism and he barely touched on issues such as climate change. Instead, it was a rage against US decline couched in language challenging Americans to rediscover their drive in the face of the Asian challenge. The problem, Obama suggested, was the country's school system, which needed to be reformed.
There were two references to India in the address, one in the context of Indian (and Chinese) investment in education and research and the other referring to recent agreements with the two countries that would create jobs in the US. But while the Chinese economic challenge included citations about specific Chinese advances references to India was largely generic.
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