President Barack Obama dedicated the majority of the State of the Union address outlining goals for innovation and sending a request to congress for shared responsibility to achieve these goals.

Don Stone, president of EIU Republicans, and Ryan Plunkett, president of the EIU Democrats, agreed with Obama’s request for shared responsibility between the Republicans and Democrats.

Stone, a history and pre-law major said that Obama seems to be concentrating more on being bipartisan.

“He has realized that he has to work with the Republicans,” Stone said.

Plunkett, a sophomore political science major, said Obama compromised with Republicans in every talking point.

“Obama has been bipartisan ever since the Tucson tragedy,” Plunkett said.

Stone believes that Obama is moving more to the middle because of political reasons.

“He is moving toward the middle, which is exactly what Clinton did in 1995,” Stone said.

Though Stone and Plunkett agree that Obama is moving toward the middle, they disagree on Obama’s plan for innovation such as clean energy.

Plunkett said that clean energy is important to American success in the future.

“Obama is not focusing on the jobs we lost but Obama is focusing on creating new jobs in new fields such as clean energy,” Plunkett said.

Stone disagreed with Obama’s assertion that clean energy is key.

“We still have to use oil, you can’t use clean energy tomorrow,” Stone said.

Stone did say money should be invested in clean energy, but he believes oil drilling in Alaska should be the focus.

Also, Plunkett and Stone mentioned Obama’s addition to medical malpractice protections to the health care reform.

Plunkett said Obama included the malpractice protections as a compromise for Republicans.

“Obama wants to include the medical malpractice protections to appease republicans from repealing the health care reform,” Plunkett said.

In contrast, Stone said that he is happy with the addition to the health reform, but wished that Obama had included medical malpractice protections during the original health care debate.

While Stone and Plunkett mainly talked about clean energy and health care reform, Teshome Abebe, professor of economics, focused on the financial aspect of Obama’s address.

Abebe talked about Obama’s last stimulus expenditures and his plan for financial stability.

“The trouble with this is the last stimulus expenditures were not strong enough, not robust enough,” Abebe said. “I think the government was timid last time around so I think they may be trying to make up for this.”

Abebe, also, addressed Obama’s assertion that he wants to focus more on exports.

“I’m not sure if more exports would reduce the deficit. For us to have more exports we would have to buy more from other countries,” Abebe said. “Competition is not our problem, the problems are due to irregularity and a vast concentration of wealth.”

Elizabeth Edwards and Kayleigh Zyskowski can be reached at 581-2812 or eaedwards@eiu.edu and kzyskowski@eiu.edu.

Chelsea Ranck, a sophomore art education major, prepares clay for sculpting practice in the Doudna Fine Arts Center (Kim Foster

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