Local Dems Tout Obama's Personal Approach to State of the Union

Kingston resident David Currie traveled quite a distance to watch President Barack Obama's State of the Union address amongst fellow Democrats in Salem, and he wasn't disappointed.

Currie, 62, spent a lot of the time leading up to Obama's speech discussing the issue of gun violence with Salem resident Tim Hands. The two were at a watch party hosted at the home of Rod and Cindy Goult.

When it finally came time for Obama to tackle the gun issue toward the end of his address to the nation, Currie was happy that the President took the unique approach of bringing people who had been impacted by gun violence.

"I think (Obama) made it possible for us to have a discussion about this," Currie said of the issue.

Hands said that the problem can't be made about the second amendment, but rather the types of guns being used.

Obama referenced specific American tragedies such as the Sandy Hook massacre, Sikh temple shooting in Wisconsin, the Colorado movie theater slaying and the recent shooting of 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton, who was killed in Chicago just weeks after performing during the inauguration festivities.

Currie said that a number of other issues addressed by Obama were also important to him.

At one moment, he stood up and cheered when Obama discussed the necessity for global warming solutions.

"That to me is extremely important," Currie said.

Also coming as a surprise to Currie were the amount of issues that saw Republicans standing, including some that got New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte out of her chair.

"I was astounded to see how much Republican applause (Obama) got," Currie said. "It might make it so that some people realize that their political future might be tied to action rather than destruction."

Rod Goult disagreed, believing that the GOP has been no better in the last three months than it had been in the previous three years.

Goult said that the Republicans "didn't even get on their feet for education initiatives."

"Nothing has changed since the election," he said.

Salem resident Jane Lang was specifically interested in what Obama had to say about Medicare.

She didn't have to wait long, as he tackled the issue very early with the following message in his speech:

Yes, the biggest driver of our long-term debt is the rising cost of health care for an aging population. And those of us who care deeply about programs like Medicare must embrace the need for modest reforms – otherwise, our retirement programs will crowd out the investments we need for our children, and jeopardize the promise of a secure retirement for future generations.

Obama later added that he is prepared to enact reforms to Medicare that will create the same health care savings by the beginning of the next decade as proposed in the Simpson-Bowles commission.

For Currie, the takeaway from Obama's first State of the Union address in his new term was the need for teamwork.

"The most important thing will always be (that) it is our responsibility to work together," he said.