WASHINGTON (AP) – Continuing the break with State of the Union tradition, President Barack Obama will spend most of next week previewing more of the proposals he will outline in the upcoming address, including on identity theft, electronic privacy and other cyberspace issues, the White House announced Saturday.
Traditionally, the White House closely guards plans to be offered in the State of the Union until just before the president delivers the nationally televised address.
But in a bid to generate excitement as he begins the next-to-last year of his presidency, Obama began previewing new initiatives during the week, including programs to boost homeownership by reducing mortgage insurance premiums and increase access to higher education by paying for the first two years of community college for Americans who meet certain criteria.
“I didn’t want to wait for the State of the Union to talk about all the things that make this country great and how we can make it better, so I thought I’d get started this week,” Obama said Wednesday in Michigan, where he discussed a rebounding U.S. auto industry. “I figured, why wait? It’s like opening your Christmas presents a little early.”
All of the proposals include steps Obama can put in place on his own, a practice he used frequently last year that irritated Republicans. Other proposals will require collaboration with Congress, which Republicans now control. They reacted coolly to Obama’s announcements this week.