Fell Asleep during Obama's State of the Union??

State of the Union Address 2012: Summary of Obama's Speech

By IBTIMES STAFF REPORTER January 25, 2012

President Obama delivered his 2012 State of the Union Address on Tuesday night. The speech was essential because it was a way to help Obama ensure reelection. The hour +  long speech was very thorough and informal. Many of you probably could not withstand the extensive speech and probably fell asleep. Luckily, I have summarized Obama's speech and I am going to list some of the major topics that he mentioned.

* Obama started off his speech on the military. He reminds America that the war in Iraq has succesfully ended, with the defeat of Osama bin Laden and other top al Qaeda members.

*We need to keep the promise of the American Dream alive - that is you worked hard, you could do well enough to raise a family, own a home, send your kids to college and have money left over for retirement.

* A proposed economic blueprint consisting of an economy build on American manufacturing, American energy, skills for American workers and a renewal of American values.

*GM is back on top, Chrysler is blossoming and Ford has invested billions in U.S. plants and factories.

*Emphasized that we should focus on American products and manufacturing:
-manufacturing must be brought to American stores. This would start eliminating tax breaks for going overseas and give tax breaks to companies that keep jobs in the U.S.
-The Trade Enforcement Unit will investigate unfair trading practices in China to ensure that no foreign companies will have an advantage over American companies
-inform Americans in trade

*The essence of education -reward the nation's best teachers and extend the tuition tax credit for college students.

*Tackle illegal immigration

*Extend tax breaks to help small businesses grow

*Natural Resources - spur energy innovation with incentives like clean energy standards and elimination of energy waste

*pump money into local infrastructure

*Financial Crime Units will crack down on large-scale fraud and protect investments so 2008 will never happen again

*everyone must pay their fair share in taxes, no loop holes

*prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear power

*create jobs for veterans

*work together in bipartisan effort