Under pressure to deliver a powerful State of the Union address on Wednesday, Jan 27, US President Barack Obama, amidst falling popularity, came out determined to tackle the troubling issues of unemployment, economy, health care reforms, and foreign policy.

A pre-and-post speech survey organised by CBS News and Knowledge Networks showed positive signs for Obama's administration: Before the speech, 57% of those sampled said they believed that the president had the same concerns about policies as they did – after the speech, that figure shot up to 74%. Also, the survey found that 83% of those sampled said they supported the proposals Obama outlined.

Confident, but superficial

The reactions from political pundits, however, was one of uncertainty, especially where Obama's policies and plans are concerned. Mike Flynn from Big Government found that the president's speech lacked the reassurance that "scared" American voters needed.

“Obama announced not a single change in his agenda or his priorities. Okay, well maybe one; his call for a three-year spending freeze. But, it is clear he isn’t really serious about this, since he also announced a huge swath of new spending initiatives,” Flynn wrote.

“He still wants to enact sweeping changes to health care, even though it is political kryptonite. He wants another bloated, pork-filled 'jobs bill', even though his 'stimulus program' was a joke, and a failure,” Flynn added.

Townhall blogger Jillian Bandes wrote that Obama didn't show enough proof of progress to the American public. She wrote: “The State of the Union was supposed to be a victory speech for health care. It was supposed to showcase lower unemployment numbers, and a stronger national defense effort, buttressed by his recent shift of troops to Afghanistan. Instead, the speech was an omnibus apology by President Obama on his failure to accomplish anything.”

Joshua Green from The Atlantic found that while Obama's speech may be popular among Americans, it sorely lacked depth. “I don't see this being any kind of pivot point, catalyzing event, or even a speech that will have a lasting impact,” Green wrote.

“I think it's main effect will be to boost Obama's personal popularity, temporarily. But I don't think it does much to help his party, move his health care plan forward, or--quite--fix the big problem of his having an agenda that's been stopped flat by Republicans.”

NPR's Ken Rudin wrote that while the call for job creation and better health care was what Americans wanted to hear, Obama failed to outline how he was going to go about it. “ If the president had ideas of how to make it happen, it escaped my ears. 'Let's get it done' and 'take another look' don't exactly sound like a game plan to me,” Rudin wrote.

“I don't have in front of me Obama's speech to Congress from last September -- the memorable Joe Wilson 'You lie' outburst speech -- but sure sounds pretty much like what I heard last night. People are hurting. Families are suffering. Passing health care legislation is crucial.”

Ezra Klein from The Washington Post called the speech “good”, but wants to see more action. “I expect Obama's poll numbers will be up for a few days, but if he wants them to remain there, he needs events to bear out his narrative. And that starts with passing the health-care reform bill,” Klein wrote.

Attempt to bridge the divide

Another writer from The Atlantic, Marc Ambinder, wrote that while Obama's speech lacked policy, it was a “very effective” speech about the democratic process. “It was a speech that challenged his own party as much as it challenged the Republicans,” Ambinder wrote.

Ambinder however is unsure about how Obama's message would be accepted amongst his own party members. “Democrats might not like all the language Obama used, and they're certainly going to find fault with his emphasis on this issue rather than that issue, but they ought to love the tone, and they ought to be satisfied with the way he challenged Republicans,” he wrote.

The Guardian's Michael Tomasky wrote that Obama's address may have done him “some good”, but wondered if it was enough to persuade independents to follow his plan, and not the Republicans'. “I don't think he closed that argument at all, but he made a start,” Tomasky wrote.

“In the end the finest words in this long speech were three short ones that came right at the end: 'I don't quit.' That blunt talk is unusual for him. His supporters and those who basically like him but are waffling on him needed to hear that. So he's back in the fight. But what he needs now a legislative victory to follow up,” Tomasky added.