Center Stage.

words. 

"...Mr. Obama did not deliver a laundry list of new proposals. Most of what he advocated has been on his list for years: A major investment in rebuilding roads and power grids and school buildings. High-quality preschool for every four-year-old. A reduction in college costs — a huge barrier between lower-income students and professional success. Better incentives for retirement savings.

These ideas were good when he first proposed them as part of the American Jobs Act, and they remain essential ingredients of long-term economic growth. They are not “stale” and “tired,” as Republicans charged; they are familiar only because they remain unfulfilled. The hard-right that controls the G.O.P. never really cared about the content of his proposals, anyway; it reflexively opposes whatever he supports.

...so far, Republicans have clung to an agenda of less: cutting taxes, cutting spending, cutting regulations and any program that benefits those on the lowest rungs.

“Repealing Obamacare and cutting spending is not an economic plan,” he said. “But if we’re willing to take a few bold steps, if Washington will just shake off its complacency and set aside the kind of slash-and-burn partisanship that we’ve just seen for way too long, if we just make some common-sense decisions, our economy will be stronger a year from now.” If the president himself doesn’t get distracted or lose heart in making that case, there is still a chance to put the government — and millions of people — back to work."

THE NEW YORK TIMES: The Middle Class at Center Stage