Analysts say Americans want to see action, not promises.
MARQUETTE -- Restoring the faith of the people in our government. That should be the priority of Congress and his own office, according to President Obama, who gave his first State of the Union Address Wednesday night.
The speech was aimed at middle class America, with President Obama promising to help with jobs and tax cuts for the working class.
Analysts say the President may have some good ideas, but he hasn't demonstrated his ability to implement them yet. One says he'll need to act soon to win back the trust of the voters in America.
And jobs could help. President Obama said we need to get America back to work again as soon as possible, and we need to cut the national deficit.
He suggested a jobs bill and doubling exports in the U.S. in the next five years; a few ways to stimulate job creation.
"I think it's going to be difficult because there are so many different opinions about what type of jobs do you create, and who's best at creating jobs," said NMU Economic Professor Tawni Ferrarini. "Is it the government or the people in the private sector?"
Retired NMU Professor Robert Kulisheck said while President Obama did a good job of summarizing the past year, he hasn't proven he can get both parties to work together on the economy.
"He's at a critical point in his Presidency," said Kulisheck. "He can either regroup and make a strong effort to try and accomplish things or he might find himself losing credibility."
Kulisheck agreed with President's Obama's statement that the people are losing faith in their elected representatives.
"I think what he did well was sort of pick up the pieces," he said. "It's been a bad month or two for the President and for Democrats, and I think he reestablished that he has an agenda. He's ready to move forward on it and asked for people to reassert themselves, and face the issues confronting the country."
Both analysts agreed that reducing the nation's budget deficit is one way to get America's economy back on track.
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