Thursday evening President Obama is addressing a joint session of Congress, detailing his new plans to jumpstart the American economy. Today's headlines are full of different accounts of what his plans might be, including hundreds of billions said to be allocated for additional economic stimulus.

Thursday's economic address might be one of the most important speeches of Obama's presidency, and may define where the nation heads economically and politically for the forseeable future. 

First, the economy is still struggling. Despite all of the economic stimulus efforts from the federal government, unemployment is too high, houses are not selling, prices seem to be rising, and the economy seems to be stagnant. The president needs to outline a plan to get the economy growing again, to get people back to work --- stewardship of the nation's economic well-being is one of the primary jobs of our president.

Second, the political situation requires that Obama take action. As I wrote recently in another blog post, Americans are in a bad mood. Much of that is likely due to concerns about the direction of the nation's economy, and to people's own recent economic experiences. Only serious action can pump up the nation's economy, and that is what it will take to convince Americans that the nation is again moving in the right direction.