• Tim Reid
• From: Times Online
• January 29, 2010 9:04AM

He travelled to Florida to announce $US8 billion for a new nationwide network of high-speed railways - a project the White House claimed would create tens of thousands of new jobs - after scolding Republicans for thwarting his agenda and imploring Democrats to stiffen their resolve.

The State of the Union address came as Mr Obama seeks to relaunch his stalled presidency. Yet rather than retreat from his ambitious agenda - one that has been soundly rejected by voters - he vowed to pursue it, leaving some Democrats worried that it was a speech of political folly rather than one of Churchillian defiance. (Emphasis added)

The 71-minute address was consumed by the themes of jobs and the economy, after election defeats in New Jersey, Virginia and Massachusetts demonstrated voter anger at Mr Obama's focus in the past year on health reform. He vowed to put millions back to work, and struck a far more populist tone, casting himself as a fighter for suffering Americans.

"Jobs must be our number one focus in 2010," he said. "People are out of work. They are hurting. They need our help."

Snap polls showed that a majority of voters approved of the speech, but Democratic strategists conceded that only if unemployment drops significantly from its current level of 10 per cent will Mr Obama's problems ease.

Having expended an enormous amount of time and political goodwill on his still fruitless drive to provide universal healthcare, Mr Obama conceded that there had been setbacks in the past 12 months.

When he first addressed a joint session of Congress after taking office, Mr Obama's approval rating was 70 per cent and his aides believed that within a year he would have passed historic health reform, financial regulation and energy legislation, shut Guantanamo Bay and reduced unemployment to below 8 per cent.

None of that has occurred and after losing the late Edward Kennedy's Massachusetts Senate seat last week, Mr Obama faced a Congress and American public far more hostile to his policies and sceptical about his ability to govern effectively. Acknowledging that new reality, Mr Obama laid down the gauntlet to both parties.

He first chided his fellow Democrats, who are bracing themselves for big losses in this November's midterm congressional elections, and who, because of the Massachusetts defeat, lost their filibuster-proof majority in the Senate, which threatens to thwart his entire domestic agenda.

"I would remind you that we still have the largest majority in decades, and the people expect us to solve problems, not run for the hills," Mr Obama said, looking down on his own party.

Then to stony-faced Republicans, who have run a remarkably successful obstructionist agenda and spent much of the night sitting on their hands, he declared: "Just saying no to everything may be good short-term politics but it's not leadership." Trying to recapture some of the anti-Washington sentiment and populist anger that propelled him into office, he laced the speech with criticism of the city's political culture and Wall Street greed.

He said that he hated the Government's bailout of Wall Street banks - although he insisted that it had been necessary. He also conceded: "I campaigned on the promise of change, and I know there are many Americans who aren't sure if they still believe we can change or that I can deliver it."

[SNIP]

Mr Obama offered little in the way of new policies. He proposed plans to provide small businesses with tax breaks and better access to bank loans. He called for construction of new nuclear power plants and new offshore oil drilling, policies welcomed by Republicans and which could help the President to pass legislation designed to limit carbon emissions.