Louisiana (US), Feb. 25 : Responding to President Barack Obama''s prime-time speech to Congress on the economy, Louisiana''s Indian-origin Governor Piyush `Bobby'' Jindal called for smaller government, tax cuts, and help for small business-decades-old mainstays of the Republican platform that he said his party has lost sight of in recent years.

"The strength of America is not found in our government. It is found in the compassionate hearts and enterprising spirit of our citizens," said Jindal, telling a story about a Louisiana bureaucrat thwarting citizens'' rescue efforts after Hurricane Katrina.

Washington, Feb. 25 : President Barack Obama, it seems, requires a refresher course as far the history of the American automobile industry is concerned.

During the course of his address to the joint session of the US Congress, Obama erroneously said that America had invented the automobile industry.

Obama said his administration won''t protect automobile makers from their own bad practices but is committed to a retooled auto industry, saying, "I believe the nation that invented the automobile cannot walk away from it."

Louisiana (US), Feb. 25 : Following President Obama''s address to Congress on Tuesday night, an MSNBC host or producer was caught muttering "Oh God" on the air as Louisiana's Indian orgin Govenor Bobby Jindal walked toward the camera to deliver the GOP response.

The remark came after "Countdown" host Keith Olbermann interrupted the network''s political panel to introduce the Republican governor, reports Fox News.

Washington, Feb. 25: Even as President Barack Obama delivered his first address to a joint session of the US Congress, a debate has surfaced over his speaking skills.

While some admire Obama''s ex-tempore speaking skills, there are others who mock and say that he is only comfortable with teleprompters.

From the 2004 Democratic convention speech that launched him onto the national stage to his acceptance of his party''s nomination four years later, Obama''s public speaking skills have been considered one of his strongest assets.

Washington, Feb. 25: Barack Obama once again created history on Tuesday by becoming the first African American President to address a joint session of the U. S. Congress, and he used the opportunity to call on all Americans to act boldy in dealing with the current economic crisis.

Pushing forward his broad agenda for economic recovery, Obama said that for a recession-scarred American people, the "day of reckoning has arrived."

He said that the country must now act "boldly and wisely" to take charge of its future.

Washington  - US President Barack Obama said Tuesday that his administration is ushering in a "new era" of diplomacy, vowing to strive for Middle East peace and assuring the nation that he will not back down in the war on terrorism.

In his first major address before Congress, Obama said he will strengthen alliances and seek new ones throughout the world while emphasizing the importance of negotiations to resolve differences.