Dear Stan,

As I listened to President Obama's first State of the Union speech last night, I was not surprised to see his political makeover - no doubt in response to the deflating defeat Democrats suffered in the Massachusetts senate race.

Even though he campaigned against the idea, the president talked about a spending "freeze." What he failed to mention is that, according to a recent Heritage Foundation report, the president's spending "freeze" will only last three years, will not start until 2011, will only apply to a $447 billion slice of the federal government's $3.5 trillion budget, and will not apply to any of the unspent $862 billion stimulus plan, his health care plan or the House of Representatives' additional $156 billion stimulus plan.

It's clear President Obama and his liberal allies in Congress don't get it. Americans are fed up with the liberal, big-government agenda. They want Congress to spend less in all areas of the budget. They don't want the government to keep spending money like a drunken sailor, further adding to our $12 trillion national debt. That's why I'll continue fighting the president's proposal for government-run health care, or any attempts to put forward a second stimulus bill.

Right now, Americans are concerned about the economy. But they aren't looking to the government to solve their problems, as President Obama would have you believe. Rather, Americans want our government to get out of the way. They want small business owners and entrepreneurs freed up from bureaucratic red tape to lead us out of this recession. They want to keep more of their hard-earned money, and they don't want their health care costs increased through proposals like "ObamaCare."

As governor, my top priority will be getting our economy moving forward again. I will ensure our state continues the progress made by conservative policies enacted in recent years. And I'll work to free Oklahoma small business owners, the backbone of our economy, from high taxes and overregulation so they can get to work creating more and better jobs for Oklahoma.

God bless,

Mary Fallin