Supporters hope Obama toughens up in State of the Union

Marsha Scutvick embraced the presidential candidacy of Barack Obama long before most in Snohomish County made up their minds.

A newcomer to politics, she couldn’t have been happier a year ago when the nation inaugurated its first black president.

Tonight, at home in Mill Creek, she’ll be watching President Obama deliver his first State of the Union address. And she’ll be looking for him to relight the fire of hope and change he campaigned upon that is burning less intensely following a challenging first year in office.

“I still have hope. I am frustrated that the pace and path to change has been as difficult as it’s been,” she said.

“My frustration is far more with Congress than the president. I think that some of President’s Obama’s vision has been watered down by folks who haven’t been willing to embrace that change,” she said, noting that unwillingness among Democrats and Republicans. “I think it’s a frustration that I have to live with.”

She’s not alone. Several Obama supporters from the area who attended last year’s inauguration also expressed disappointment with what has not occurred this past year, such as reforming health care or closing Guantanamo Bay.

“The performance has been considerably less than the potential,” said Mark Olson, a former Everett City Councilman. “He has a much greater capacity to lead than he’s been able to demonstrate thus far.”

They’re not forsaking Obama and they want him to be less timid this next year with the Democratic leaders controlling majorities in the House and Senate.

“I wanted to see him succeed but when he got there he got slammed into a brick wall,” said Susan Peterson of Snohomish. “I guess he wasn’t assertive enough and aggressive enough.”

Tonight supporters anticipate a forceful speech to reset the tone and reassert his agenda.

“He can reconnect back to his message of hope and change,” said Josh Ogden, a 17-year-old Everett High School student who was part of the Presidential Youth Inaugural Conference in 2009.

Ogden is a fan, piling up memorabilia including a T-shirt, poster and Obama bobblehead doll. He’s critical too, giving Obama a B-minus because of what did not get done as well as gaffes like the party crashers.

“He has improved the mood of the nation,” Ogden said. “Tonight, perhaps he’ll give that reassurance that we, as a nation, are going to do good things with his administration.”

Gigi Burke of Everett, a Republican businesswoman, didn’t vote for Obama but did go to the inauguration and came home in high spirits.

“As a conservative businessperson, I, too, got caught up with the whole theme of hope and the positive energy. I thought maybe this will be a great change,” she said. “Then the reality set in.”

Obama has allowed too much government spending to occur and pushed social policies to the left of the nation’s mainstream, she said. Tonight, she wants to hear plans for curbing government spending and getting the economy moving.

“Until we get fiscally responsible, things aren’t going to change,” she said.

Paul Stoot, pastor of Greater Trinity Missionary Baptist Church in Everett, said it’s easy to find something to criticize about a president. With Obama, it’s no surprise people of all political persuasions feel a bit let down by the past year. The reality is Obama is captaining a ship that cannot change direction quickly, he said.

“You cannot turn a ship real fast or you will crack the entire foundation. The world has not turned fast enough for some people but it has turned,” he said.

Obama’s message tonight, he said, should be, “America, don’t give up hope.”

Peter Jackson is not feeling any sense of disappointment. The son of Sen. Henry M. “Scoop” Jackson gave Obama an A-minus in his first year, praising the president for acting “quickly and effectively” with federal stimulus package, the banking crisis and wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“I’m still smitten. I’m still wearing my ‘Yes We Can’ goggles,” he said.

Reporter Jerry Cornfield: 360-352-8623; jcornfield@heraldnet.com.