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Commentators react to US President Barack Obama's speech to a joint session of Congress urging lawmakers to back his proposals to create more jobs and cut taxes.

that the president walked a fine line:

"His strong rhetoric and explicit challenge to Republicans, as well as the size and specifics of the package, were designed to appeal to his restive base. His call for the two parties to set aside politics long enough to enact some job-creating measures was aimed at swing voters disgusted by the debt-ceiling spectacle and the sense that Washington is badly broken."

the speech was "fundamentally mediocre" because there were not many surprises:

"In short, we knew in advance that the president wanted to spend nearly another half a trillion dollars and not move the dial on unemployment. We didn't know that it would be spend and promise to tax, but the shock value is small."

that the president practically got down on one knee at his speech:

"The striking thing about President Obama's speech to Congress on Thursday night wasn't that he called for a jobs plan that included measures he'd pushed before, or that he sucked the attention away from a valuable pregame programming slot in the hour before the first game of the NFL season, a vehicle for working-class Americans to forget the very troubles he wants to alleviate.
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"It was that Obama practically begged Congress to pass his plan, which includes, among other things, a payroll tax cut, extended unemployment insurance, construction spending, education funds, and trade deals with Panama, Colombia, and South Korea that were initiated by president George W Bush."

The problem, , is that the public have tuned out of Obama's oratory:

"Thursday's address may not have much impact, and not just because it began at 4pm on the West Coast since Obama was maneuvered into starting early before the NFL season kickoff. Many people are tired of this president's speechifying, and with zero job growth last month, they want action, not words.
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"But the speech did what Obama has so often failed to do: lay down a marker against the opposition."

Although largely supportive, the about the savings Mr Obama suggested:

"Though the plan would be paid for by more deficit reduction, he left those vital details until later. It was gratifying to hear him call for higher taxes on corporations and the wealthy, but his warning of cuts to Medicare and Medicaid - lifelines to the most vulnerable - raised concerns about trading one important program for another.
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"We hope Mr Obama keeps his promise to take his proposals all over the country. The need to act is urgent."