President Barack Obama’s first address to Congress struck a hopeful tone as he outlined his economic plan.

Although Barack’s 52-minute speech Tuesday night painted a bleak picture of the nation’s current state, he said he’s confident that the country can make an economic turnaround.

“The weight of this crisis will not determine the destiny of this nation,” Barack said.  “Tonight I want every American to know this: We will rebuild, we will recover and the United States of America will emerge stronger than before.”

The president told Congress that he will lead an economic renewal comprised of his bank bailout, stimulus plan, health care reform and housing programs.

"Now is the time to jump-start job creation, restart lending, and invest in areas like energy, health care and education that will grow our economy,” said Barack, “even as we make hard choices to bring our deficit down."

Barack made sure to keep expectations realistic when he acknowledged that he couldn’t solve all of America’s problems.  However, he did promise to present a budget on Thursday that would serve as “a blueprint to the future.”

The president told Congress that much of the power for change lies with the people.  He said that if citizens would go to college or vocational school for a year, then the government would ensure that they could pay for it.

Barack’s speech didn’t say much about foreign policy, as he avoided any detailed discussion on his Iraq policies. He indicated that he would "announce a way forward in Iraq that leaves Iraq to its people and responsibly ends [the] war."

-- Sonya Eskridge