The picture painted by President Barack Obama in Tuesday night’s State of the Union address was one of broad strokes.

The President’s address covered a multitude of topics, but offered few specifics on what was in plan for the future of America.

There certainly were ambitions, but the question remains: are there the tools?

Income inequality was a major topic on hand for discussion in Washington. The President talked about that despite the growths in the economy, there were still problems with income inequality, saying “Today, after four years of economic growth, corporate profits and stock prices have rarely been higher, and those at the top have never done better.

But average wages have barely budged. Inequality has deepened.”

Obama announced a raise in the minimum wage for federally contracted workers to $10.10 an hour, but it is tough to tell how he will achieve his goal of raising the national minimum wage as well.

“We should be able to get that done,” Obama said on raising the minimum wage.

Phrases like that were common throughout his speech, along with phrases like “that’s something we should be able to do,” or “We can get this done.” These are the lack of specifics that we should be worried and concerned about heading into 2014 and beyond.

There was a lot of optimism, which was good, but that only goes so far.

Complex issues like these are serious and require more than just optimism.

They require real strategy and leadership in order to accomplish them.

If we are in it for just giving people what they want to hear, such as to boost approval ratings, that’s one thing, but if we actually want to do something about it, that’s another issue.

There needs to be a plan of action heading towards the future, and if you listened to the president’s speech, you might be a tad skeptical with what you heard.

What the president wants to accomplish is certainly worthwhile of its cause, but it’s going to take a lot more than “should be able.”

It’s going to take a lot of hard work by Obama and his staff, something that we hope is already being planned for.

Hopefully, the future is as bright as Obama hopes, but it won’t be a reality without the plans in place.

If Obama really wants to make 2014 a “year of action,” it has to start with him.