Obama calls for job-creating \'Sputnik moment\'

Obama calls for job creation, clean energy (ABC News) Related Story: Obama to address jobs, deficit in critical speech Related Story: Obama readies State of the Union address US president Barack Obama says his country is at a critical juncture after the worst recession most Americans have ever known.

Addressing both houses of Congress in the annual State of the Union address, he outlined his plan for a spending freeze to restore economic competitiveness.

Mr Obama extolled compromise and American exceptionalism, saying the United States had broken the back of its recession, but said the country risks falling behind if it does not innovate to create jobs and secure future growth.

The rules have changed. In a single generation, revolutions in technology have transformed the way we live, work and do business,\" he said, noting the rise of competitive economies in India and China.

The world has changed. The competition for jobs is real. But this shouldn\'t discourage us. It should challenge us.\"

Mr Obama said a five-year freeze on annual domestic spending would cut America\'s deficit by more than $400 billion and bring discretionary spending to the lowest share of the economy since Dwight Eisenhower was president.

But he said America must also invest heavily in research and education as it did in 1957 when the Soviets beat the US into space.

\"This is our generation\'s Sputnik moment,\" he said.

\"Two years ago I said that we needed to reach a level of research and development we haven\'t seen since the height of the space race.

Though the speech was sparse on policy nuts and bolts, Mr Obama announced plans to draw 80 per cent of US electricity from clean energy by 2035, give 98 per cent of Americans high-speed wireless internet and develop high-speed rail.

The State of the Union came just weeks after the Arizona shooting rampage that targeted congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.

First lady Michelle Obama sat next to the parents of the nine-year-old girl killed in the attack and an aide who helped save Ms Giffords.

Many Democrats and Republicans also wore black and white ribbons to honour Ms Giffords - who was shot in the head in the attack - and ditched the usual partisan seating plan to sit side by side.

Mr Obama called for greater bipartisanship between his Democrats and the Republicans who took control of the House of Representatives in last year\'s mid-term elections.

\"What comes of this moment will be determined not by whether we can sit together tonight but whether we can work together tomorrow,\" he said.

\"That\'s what the people who sent us here expect of us. With their votes they\'ve determined that governing will now be a shared responsibility between parties.\"

Mr Obama defended his healthcare reform program, which the Republicans have already voted to repeal in the House, but offered to work with his opponents to make it better.

Meanwhile, he renewed his vow to start withdrawing US troops from Afghanistan in July but warned of \"tough fighting ahead\".

He reiterated that America would defeat Al Qaeda and noted his vow to bring all troops out of Iraq would become a reality later this year.

Mr Obama also lauded tough sanctions against Iran\'s nuclear program and insisted North Korea keep its commitment to shelve its nuclear weapons


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