State of the Union: Latinos Hope President Obama Prioritizes Their Top Interests

WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 24: U.S. President Barack Obama, flanked by Vice President Joe Biden (L) and Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH)delivers his State of the Union address on January 24, 2012 in Washington, DC. Obama said the focal point his speech is the central mission of our country, and his central focus as president, including "rebuilding an economy where hard work pays off and responsibility is rewarded." (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images) (2012 Getty Images)

Latinos will tune in to TV sets tonight to pay close attention to how high President Barack Obama ranks their top issues of concern -- such as immigration and border security.

The bulk of President Barack Obama's State of the Union address Tuesday is expected concentrate on the economy, in an address given in front of a crowd that will include dozens personally affected by gun violence and undocumented immigrants.

The American public will get a competing mix of rhetoric and imagery Obama's speech.

He's got to strike now. Next year he won't have the ear of the public in the same way he has this time.

— presidential historian Allan Lichtman of American University

With the economy still trying to find its footing and with millions still out of work, Obama will make a case for measures and proposals that he says will boost job creation and put the economy on a more upward trajectory. Obama's emphasis underscores a White House recognition that while the president seeks to expand his agenda and build a second-term legacy, the economy remains a major public preoccupation.

But in the galleries above the rostrum of the House of Representatives where Obama will speak, many of the faces looking down on him will be those of Americans thrust into the politics of gun violence.

First lady Michelle Obama will sit with the parents of a Chicago teenager shot and killed just days after she performed at the president's inauguration. Twenty-two House members have invited people affected by gun violence, according to Rep. Jim Langevin, D-R.I., who pushed the effort. And Republican Rep. Steve Stockman of Texas says he's invited rocker Ted Nugent, a long-time gun control opponent who last year said he would end up "dead or in jail" if Obama won re-election.

That confluence of message and symbolism illustrates where Obama is in his presidency following his re-election.

The economic blueprint he will discuss will have many of the elements Americans have heard before, with its embrace of manufacturing, energy development and education. And in that sense it is a reminder of what was unfulfilled at the end of Obama's first term. But the tragic murders of 26 people at a Newtown, Conn., elementary school in December altered the president's agenda, pushing guns onto a to-do list that already included a new push for an overhaul of immigration law.

As the president addresses gun violence, the cameras are sure to pan the faces in the crowd inside the House chamber, each with a story meant to influence the debate. Obama has proposed a ban on certain weapons and on high-capacity ammunition magazines. He has also called for broader, universal background checks on gun purchasers, a proposal that stands a better chance politically.

But White House aides say the economy is still Obama's central theme.

"You've seen the president act aggressively on comprehensive immigration reform. You've seen the president put forward a series of comprehensive proposals to reduce gun violence in this country in the recent weeks," White House press secretary Jay Carney said Monday. "These are important priorities of the president and of the nation. But what remains his No. 1 priority is what it has been since he took office, which is to get this economy growing, get it creating jobs, strengthening the middle class and expanding the middle class."

At least three undocumented immigrants will also sit with the first lady as the president delivers the State of the Union address. Alan Aleman, 20, of Las Vegas, who was one of the first to receive a temporary work visa under Obama's deferred action program, Gabino Sanchez of South Carolina, invited by Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) and described as a husband, father and an undocumented immigrant fighting deportation, and Ambar Pinto, 19, a sophomore in college studying international business.

The White House and Obama's allies are launching simultaneous social media, public outreach and fundraising campaigns tied to his State of the Union address. Those efforts were successful in his re-election campaign and Obama aides believe they could be as effective in pushing policies as they were in pushing his candidacy.

"He's got to strike now," said presidential historian Allan Lichtman of American University, who believes the economy, the environment and long-term changes in federal entitlements are key to Obama's legacy. "Next year he won't have the ear of the public in the same way he has this time."

Based on reporting by the Associated Press.

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