The president promised during the 2008 campaign to end Bush-era tax policies that benefit the wealthiest at the expense of the "least of these" in America.  But the compromise President Obama reached with the GOP today largely extends those policies through the president's term in office.  The deficit is exploding, unemployment remains high, and more Americans are living in poverty and hunger than any recent time. 

We can be glad that unemployment benefits will be extended and that tax cuts that benefit middle class and low-income families will be extended.  But the price is for that is high.  The tax policies enacted by President Bush that drove the economy off a cliff will largely remain in place.  In fact, it is safe to say that George W. Bush is the driving force in Washington, D.C. today and not Barack Obama when it comes to the economy.   

The president also promised in 2008 to move forward with a plan for reducing poverty by 50% over the next ten years.  Two years into the administration no strategic plan to achieve that goal has been offered - though we all agree the stimulus package helped many more Americans from falling into poverty.  Will the president announce at the State of the Union an aggressive plan for fighting poverty, as called on by many religious leaders, or has that goal been abandoned along with his pledge to end the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans?