President Obama was elected to office on a platform of addressing key issues of concern to the vast majority of Americans – restoring economic and retirement security, reforming our inequitable and costly health care system, creating a new energy economy and expanding educational opportunity.

To be sure, there has been progress on these fronts during his term in office and, at the same time, new challenges have emerged.

The President, in his first State of the Union address, clearly expressed his determination to see through the key elements of his agenda and the reforms that most Americans – and certainly the majority of people of color in this country – know are necessary to put our nation on the right track toward greater security, prosperity and equality of opportunity.

In particular, the President pledged to advocate for more and better jobs, and that is something that resonates with so many people who are struggling to cope in the current recession. It is time for our political parties to unite for the common good and put America back to work. This should be job number one for our leaders.

We believe most Americans are heartened by the President’s resolve. As we have done before with Presidents of both political parties, the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies offers our best effort to assist the administration and Congress in meeting our nation’s present challenges, restoring the strength and vitality of the state of our union, and bringing about a new birth of hope for all Americans.