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Defense and Security

The World Next Week: Obama’s State of the Union

<p>President Obama speaks during last year&#8217;s State of the Union address in January, 2011 (Jim Young/courtesy Reuters).</p>
President Obama speaks during last year’s State of the Union address in January, 2011 (Jim Young/courtesy Reuters).

By experts and staff

Published
  • James M. LindsayCFR Expert
    Mary and David Boies Distinguished Senior Fellow in U.S. Foreign Policy

The World Next Week podcast is up. Bob McMahon and I discussed President Obama’s State of the Union address next Tuesday; the growing debate over cuts to U.S. defense spending; the GOP primary in South Carolina on Saturday; and the upcoming World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

[audio: https://www.cfr.org/content/publications/media/podcast/2012/20120119_TWN…]

The highlights:

The Washington Post writes that Obama faces a sharply divided electorate as he prepares his State of the Union address, and the San Francisco Chronicle reports on Obama’s plans for a five-city tour after the speech. Politico says the defense budget may soon face its first real cuts since the early 1990s, and the New York Times investigates the impact of defense cuts on scientific innovation. CBS News asks what South Carolina voters really want, and Reuters discusses the ramifications of the split military vote in the state. CNN describes the daunting agenda for the upcoming World Economic Forum, and Reuters reports on how Occupy protesters are getting ready for the event.