"Jobs must be our number one focus in 2010," President Barack Obama said in his State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress last night.
In a 70-minute speech that was interrupted some 65 times by applause from Democratic ranks, including many standing ovations, Mr Obama described plans to foster employment and help the middle classes, but spent little time on foreign policy issues.
Military commanders, seated in full dress uniform, looked solemn when Mr Obama announced to loud cheering that he will end the "don't ask, don't tell" policy on homosexuals serving in the US military this year.
Mr Obama began his speech by evoking America's past trials, from the 19th century War of Secession to the Great Depression, the second World War and the civil rights movement. "America prevailed because we chose to move forward as one nation, and one people," he said.
The president said he stood for office to help Americans in their struggles to find work, educate their children and retire. He repeatedly expressed understanding for public digust with the bailout of Wall Street, provoking laughter when he said: "We all hated the bank bailout. I hated it. You hated it. It was about as popular as a root canal."
He had bailed out the banks because it was necessary to avoid a meltdown of the financial system. "The markets are now stabilised, and we have recovered most of the money we spent on the banks." Mr Obama said he will impose a fee on the biggest banks to recover the rest of the bailout money.
"I'm proposing that we take $30 billion of the money Wall Street banks have repaid and use it to help community banks give small businesses the credit they need to stay afloat," the US leader said. He also promised a small business tax credit for businesses who hire new workers or raise wages, and an end to capital gains tax on investments by small businesses.
Mr Obama said the Recovery Act or Stimulus Bill, which he admitted added $1 trillion to the US deficit, has saved two million US jobs and could add another 1.5 million by the end of this year. "The economy is growing again. Retirement funds have started to gain back some of their value. Businesses are beginning to invest again," he said.
In a move that could have repercussions for Ireland, Mr Obama said it was "time to finally slash the tax breaks for companies that ship our jobs overseas."
The President attempted to tap into popular animosity towards Washington. He'd been reproached for being too ambitious, been told to "just put things on hold for awhile". Washington "has been telling us to wait for decades," he said.
Mr Obama promised "a new generation of safe, clean nuclear power plants" and "tough decisions about opening new offshore areas for oil and gas development" -- measures that are popular with the right. And he vowed that the US will lead the clean energy economy. He said he would work to increase exports, and to reach agreement in the Doha trade negotiations in the hope of opening up global markets.
Mr Obama again provoked laughter when he said "By now it should be fairly obvious that I didn't take on health care because it was good politics." He accepted responsibility for the floundering reform, saying "I take my share of the blame for not explaining it more clearly to the American people."
Noting that more Americans were losing their health insurance even as he spoke, Mr Obama said he could not "walk away" from them. He appealed to Congress to rescue the embattled draft laws. "Do not walk away from reform. Not now. Not when we are so close. Let us find a way to come together and finish the job for the American people. Let's get it done. Let's get it done," he said.
Mr Obama also proposed a three-year freeze on government spending, but said funding related to national security or the Medicare, Medicaid or Social Seucrity programmes would not be affected. He said he would issue an executive order to establish a bipartisan fiscal commission to examine ways of reducing the deficit.
Returning to his anti-Washington rhetoric, Mr Obama promised to place new restrictions on the work of corporate lobbyists, and criticised both political parties for delaying and obstructing legislation for partisan reasons. Alluding to the Republicans, he said, "Just saying no to everything may be good short-term politics, but it's not leadership."
Turning briefly to foreign and defence policy, Mr Obama said "hundreds of al-Qaeda's fighters and affiliates, including many senior leaders, have been captured or killed" over the past year. He reiterated his intention to end the war in Iraq, and said his administration has substantially increased credits for US war veterans.
At a Nuclear Security Summit in April, 44 nations will commit to securing nuclear materials around the world, to keep them out of terrorist hands, Mr Obama said.
Alluding to the fact that "Iran's leaders continue to ignore their obligations", Mr Obama promised that they "will face growing consequences." But he did not say what those consequences might be.
"There are many Americans who aren't sure if they still believe we can change - or that I can deliver it... Democracy in a nation of three hundred million people can be noisy and messy and complicated," he said.
The president repeatedly praised the US relief effort in Haiti.
He ended on an upbeat note, saying "a new year has come. A new decade stretches before us. We don't quit. I don't quit."