Abbreviated pundit roundup: SOTU preview

John Nichols at The Nation hopes for an anti-austerity SOTU:

Tuesday's State of the Union address is the right moment for President Obama to make a clean break with the austerity lie in combination with a firm embrace of the growth agenda that is needed. [...] Ryan and the Republican proponents of austerity are for making deep cuts in order to balance budgets at any cost'except, of course, taxing their wealthy campaign donors. As such, they are more than ready to render cherished programs such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, as well as vital services such as the Post Office, so dysfunctional that Americans will start thinking the unthinkable: that these programs should be privatized. [...]

Simply opposing austerity is not enough. The president must present a specific growth agenda that has a goal of expanding job creation initiatives and strengthening families and communities.

Lawrence Summers at Reuters urges also hopes that the president will steer Congress away from it's deficit and debt obsession towards a pro-growth agenda:

There should be little disagreement across the political spectrum that growth and job creation remain America's most serious national problem. Ahead of President Obama's first State of the Union address of his second term, and further fiscal negotiations in Washington, America needs to rethink its priorities for economic policy. [...] We can do better. With strains from the financial crisis receding and huge investment possible in energy, housing and reshored manufacturing, the United States faces a moment of opportunity unlike any in a long time. The economy could soon enter a virtuous cycle of confidence, growth and deficit reduction, much like it did in the 1990s. But this will require moving the national economic debate beyond its near-total preoccupation with federal budget restraint.

Yes, fiscal restraint is necessary in the medium term to contain financial risks. But unlike in the 1990s, when reduced deficits stimulated investment by bringing down capital costs, fiscal restraint cannot be relied on to provide stimulus now when long-term Treasurys yield less than 2 percent. A broader growth-centered agenda is needed to propel the economy to its 'escape velocity.'

For more on why President Obama needs to refocus on growth over austerity in his SOTU, head below the fold.