Politics & Government

POLL: The State of the Union

Taxes, the economy and energy among President Obama's talking points.

President Barack Obama will make what some expect will be a campaign stump speech at 9 p.m. on Tuesday as he delivers his final State of the Union address before he stands for re-election in November.

Among those expected in attendance will be Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett (D) and Gov. Martin O’Malley (D).

Previews of the speech show that Obama will deliver a message with populist appeal that includes “sweeping initiatives to bolster the U.S. manufacturing sector and the labor and housing markets, and seek broad reform of the tax code,” Fox Business reported.

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The speech also will call for “additional domestic renewable energy sources as a way to wean the U.S. from its dependency on foreign oil,” Fox reported.

Reuters reported that Obama will call for reforming the U.S. tax code. Debbie Bosanek, the secretary for billionaire investor Warren Buffett, is expected to sit with First Lady Michelle Obama during the speech, Reuters reported. Buffett has famously held up Bosanek as an example of the need for tax reform, saying that she pays a higher tax rate than he does.

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Obama is expected to contrast the tax rate for middle-class Americans to the rate paid by the rich, including Republican candidate Mitt Romney, who released his tax records on Tuesday, Reuters reported.

The Huffington Post has Obama’s talking points.

What issue are you most interested in hearing the president discuss? Weigh in below in our latest Patch poll.


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