DNC Chairman Tim Kaine Calls President Obama's State of the Union Address 'A Home Run for the Middle Class', Says Democratic National Committee

Kaine Says President's Plans for Restoring the Middle Class, Creating Jobs, Turning the Country Around and Fixing the Ways of Washington are the Right Prescription for The Challenges we Face

WASHINGTON, Jan. 28 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Tonight, DNC Chairman Tim Kaine issued the following statement regarding President Obama's State of the Union Address:

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080519/DNCLOGO )

"Tonight America was looking to President Obama to lay out a vision to restore the middle class, get the economy back on track, create jobs and to change the hyper-partisan way Washington works and in every respect, he hit the ball out of the park. This speech - and the vision and plans for the country laid out by the President - was a home run for the middle class.

"President Obama laid out a road map to recovery, offering concrete plans to make our middle class strong again, get our fiscal house in order and create opportunities for every American who wants a job to have one.

"President Obama talked about the challenges we face and the frustrations Americans feel about the pace of change they've seen so far. The President also reminded Americans that upon taking office just over one year ago, he inherited the worst economy since the Great Depression, two wars, and a highly partisan opposition in Washington.

"And, as the President said tonight, while we still have much work to do, we have made substantial progress in the last year. The Recovery Act rescued the economy from certain collapse and has resulted in nearly two million jobs that would not exist if not for that legislation. We passed 25 tax cuts that have helped families and small businesses in tough economic times and has helped the economy turn from recession to growth. And we've come farther than ever before in passing meaningful health insurance reform - a cause we will see to fruition.

"President Obama gave us a clear and concise plan tonight for getting our economy back on track, creating new jobs, restoring the middle class, making education, health care and energy more affordable, and changing the way Washington works. He offered a hand of bipartisanship to Congressional Republicans who, we hope after a year of obstruction and hyper partisanship, will accept it and work with us to turn this country around.

"Tonight we saw President Obama at his strongest – making the case for families and small business owners over bankers and the special interests, for cooperation over rancor, and honestly addressing the frustrations and concerns of Americans, and calling on us all to unite to tackle the challenges at hand."

SOURCE Democratic National Committee