Tomorrow, President Obama will travel 1.2 miles from the White House to the U.S. Capitol to deliver his State of the Union address to Congress and the American people.

If I could give the President one piece of advice in advance, it would be to read New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman’s recent op-ed, “More (Steve) Jobs, Jobs, Jobs, Jobs.” And since I’m a PC, I would’ve suggested the title, “More (Bill) Gateways for Jobs, Jobs, Jobs”: the economic ecosystem generated by Microsoft over the last 30 years now includes more than 640,000 partner companies, supporting millions of jobs, and transforming the lives of billions of people. (For more information about the economic role of IT and Microsoft, see the VFI blog post, “New Study Charts Role of IT in Global Economic Recovery.”)

Friedman argues that the President should make 2010 the “year of innovation,” and he should begin by adopting policies that support start-up businesses. (For example, VFI members might be particularly interested in Microsoft’s BizSpark program.)

With Friedman’s concerns echoing my own, I will be listening to the President to touch on the following topics during his State of the Union address:

• The Ongoing Credit Crunch—I continue to hear Microsoft Partners talk about the challenges their businesses have getting credit. What will the President propose to free up credit for small and medium-sized businesses?
• Jobs—U.S. unemployment remains high. A recent U.S. Department of Labor report showed an uptick in jobs offered by IT services firms, and public policies should support this trend. What will the President propose that will promote IT investment, education, and training?
• Open Government—Although the data.gov effort represents an interesting start, mountains of data alone are not enough. Citizens are already buried in data. Government CIOs and CTOs have a fiduciary responsibility to organize the data and provide meaningful information. Applauding the number of data feeds is the digital equivalent of measuring success by the pounds of paper printed. Will the President talk about how government will actually use technology to organize data, make informed decisions, and create transparency that citizens can understand?
• Healthcare Reform—Healthcare reform is in jeopardy, but IT will clearly play a role in improving healthcare, whether legislation is passed or not. Will the President look to the private sector, including the IT industry, in place of a policy initiative?
• Internet Freedom—Last week, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made a stirring speech about the importance of Internet freedom. Will President Obama reinforce this position during his State of the Union address?

President Obama may not directly discuss the technology sector or IT policy, but technology will have some role to play in virtually every issue he raises.  And I’ll be listening.  I encourage VFI members to tune in as well.

Please return to Voices for Innovation for follow-up commentary in the days following the State of the Union address.