Obama adds more to his growing list of challenges

As President Obama's third year in office begins, our country is in recovery mode.

For the first time in history, our senators and Congressmen sat together randomly, instead of according to party affiliation at the State of the Union Address. This was a brilliant example of the bipartisanship which should be seen in our country.

President Obama certainly made some good points during his speech: developing our infrastructure as a country, tackling our out of control spending and encouraging good citizens to become teachers.

 Aside from all of the bickering which normally plagues our political system, it appears that unity among our legislature might actually begin in the coming year.

 Hopefully, this will mean that bipartisan bills, such as reformed healthcare which both sides agree on, can finally be passed for all Americans' benefit.

The real test for Obama will be whether he delivers on the promises he has made during his State of the Union Address.

To me, Obama making promises feels much like his moderate-leaning campaign in 2008. There were a lot of commitments he said would be at the top of his priority list— some of which he did not deliver on.

To some though, Obama was not being serious enough with his responses to problems.

One senator on the floor called the mood "flat." This can be attributed to certain elements of Obamas "plans" for the future. He seemed to be steering away from specific solutions and gave vague answers such as,"renewable energy" or "information technology."

In order for Obama to be taken seriously, he needs to focus on specific answers to problems such as, "Building solar facilities in Florida and Arizona which could power nearly half the country," or, "Cutting spending in the areas of our budget which contribute directly to our debt."

I am beginning to see the reelection bug start to rear its ugly head again. It is very easy to have mushy, opaque opinions when 2012 is only one year away.

If President Obama truly wants to be a leader, he should remember that he is still the president of the United States, and not a candidate yet.