Obama Stakes His Presidency on Job Growth

In his first State of the Union address, President Barack Obama pledged to forge ahead with his ambitious domestic agenda despite his decreasing popularity and increasingly dicey political waters heading into the key 2010 congressional races. During a lively speech before Congress, Obama declared that job growth would be "the number one focus" of his second year in office, and he defended his government's $787 billion stimulus package.

In a speech designed to reset his political agenda -- and indeed recalibrate expectations for his success -- Obama told the country that "despite our hardships, our union is strong."