A move toward the center

Ryan McConaghy, deputy director of the economic program at Third Way,a Washington-based think tank, said that by avoiding specifics, Obama opened up more room for cooperation with Republicans so that both sides can bring proposals to the table.

The speech was intended to find middle ground between two parties that have squabbled over virtually every bill introduced to Congress in the last two years, he said.

"He set goals but I think he's going to let Congress work on the specifics," McConaghy said.

Some analysts said the speech represented not only a move to the middle, but a shift toward a long-term, growth-driven agenda.

"To get that agenda done, he's going to have to incorporate ideas from both sides of the aisle, since Republicans control part of Congress," McConaghy said.

"So I think it was a smart strategy for him to reach across the aisle and seem reasonable, so that if there's not progress he's not seen as the one who caused things to fall through," he said.

Ryan Prucker, president and CEO of Imagelight, a Washington public relations firm, said Obama reassured Americans that Congress can work together without looking like he was pushing one particular agenda too hard.

"He has figured out a decent plan to move forward," said Darrell M. West, vice president and director of governance studies at the Brookings Institution. "The president has moved to the center and laid down the gauntlet for 2012."

Skeptics, however, maintain that aside from extending the Bush-era tax cuts in December and appointing a few business executives to positions in the White House, the president's centrist move thus far has been mostly a verbal one.