在定于當地時間25日發表的國情咨文講話中，美國總統奧巴馬將呼吁采取一場“負責任”的行動來削減赤字，但不會給出有關支出與稅收的詳盡方案。分析稱，這次講話將為2012年大選前的政治辯論定下基調。
In his address Tuesday，the president is expected to appeal for national unity and a bipartisan effort to grapple with festering problems，especially job creation and the deficit. The president will try to keep the deficit conversation in broad terms，fearing that detailed proposals would put Republicans，Democrats and Washington interest groups into a defensive crouch before real negotiations can take place，officials familiar with the speech say.
預計在周二講話時，奧巴馬將呼吁全國、兩黨團結一致，共同解決各種不斷惡化的問題，特別是就業和赤字問題。知悉演講內容的官員說，奧巴馬在談論赤字問題時將盡可能地泛泛而談，因為他擔心具體方案會使共和黨、民主黨和華盛頓各利益集團在進行實質性的談判之前就已經相互存在戒心。(《華爾街日報》)
While Obama told supporters in a video released Saturday that he will focus on economic issues，particularly jobs，he also spoke of investing in educating workers and in research and technology. That set off alarms among Republicans.“Any time they want to spend，they call it investment，so I think you will hear the president talk about investing a lot Tuesday night，”said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
在上周六公布的一份視頻資料中，奧巴馬告訴支持者們，他將聚焦經濟事宜，特別是就業問題。同時，他還提到將在工人的教育和研發科技方面增加投資。后者在共和黨當中引發擔憂。參議院少數黨領袖米奇·麥康奈爾說：“他們總是將財政支出稱作投資，所以我相信總統在周二晚上(的國情咨文講話中)將大談投資問題。”(美聯社)
Both the White House and House Republicans are making the budget deficit central to their economic programs. Republicans want immediate，dramatic cuts to domestic programs in Congress‘s annual spending bills. “We have to shrink government. We have to cut spending. And we need to really look to the private sector to grow jobs，”said House Majority Leader Eric Cantor(R.，Va.)Sunday on NBC’s“Meet the Press”.
白宮和眾議院共和黨人都把財政赤字列為它們經濟議程的中心課題。共和黨人希望立即大幅削減國會年度支出的國內項目。眾議院多數黨領袖、弗吉尼亞州議員埃里克·坎托周日在全美廣播公司“與媒體見面”節目中說，我們需要縮減政府規模；我們需要削減支出，而且我們需要真正依靠私營部門來增加就業。(《華爾街日報》)
Moody‘s outlook would only be dropped if Washington takes no action at all to trim spending or raise taxes over the long term，said Steven Hess，Moody’s lead analyst for the United States debt rating.
穆迪負責美國債務評級的高級分析師史蒂文·赫斯表示，如果美國長期不采取行動削減支出或增加稅收，穆迪將只能下調對美國主權債務的評級前景。(美聯社)