“When President Obama claims that the state of our union is anything but grave, he must know in his heart that this is not true,” Daniels said. “The president’s grand experiment in trickle-down government has held back rather than sped economic recovery. He seems to sincerely believe we can build a middle class out of government jobs paid for with borrowed dollars.

During his campaign-style State of the Union address Tuesday night, President Barack Obama attacked economic inequality by mentioning the word “fair” nine times.

“We can either settle for a country where a shrinking number of people do really well while a growing number barely get by,” said Obama, providing a glimpse of his main 2012 reelection motif. “Or we can restore an economy where everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same set of rules.”

It was a speech light on the debt and deficit (two topics that dominated Congress last year). It was a speech that contained just a single mention of entitlement reform (and that came with zero specifics). Instead, Obama, arguing that the American dream is in danger, presented an economic agenda that included empowering government to do more to ensure fairness for all.

The president also renewed his call for a new minimum tax rate on the wealthy.

“Tax reform should follow the Buffett rule: If you make more than $1 million a year, you should not pay less than 30 percent in taxes,” said Obama, referring to billionaire Warren Buffett, who has said his secretary pays a higher tax rate than he does because his income from investments is taxed at a lower rate. “In fact, if you’re earning a million dollars a year, you shouldn’t get special tax subsidies or deductions. On the other hand, if you make under $250,000 a year, like 98 percent of American families, your taxes
shouldn’t go up.”

Obama’s vision provides a stark contrast to conservatives, who argue that a government-directed push for fairness only pits Americans against one another.

“No feature of the Obama presidency has been sadder than its constant efforts to divide us, to curry favor with some Americans by castigating others,” said Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, who offered the formal Republican response Tuesday night. “As in previous moments of national danger, we Americans are all in the same boat. If we drift, quarreling and paralyzed over a Niagara of debt, we will all suffer, regardless of income, race, gender, or other category.”

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