Is Obama All Talk, No Action?

When Al Melquist voted for Barack Obama in 2008, the unemployed software engineer was drawn to the politician's charisma and promise of solutions for the nation's economic woes and wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

In the time since, Melquist has given up looking for work. The house in Las Vegas where he lived sits empty and bank-owned after his landlord didn't make mortgage payments for 13 months. He is burning through his savings and doing Web site work to make ends meet for his family of five, while working on his own startup.

Millions of Americans like Melquist tuned in to the president's State of the Union address Wednesday night, aching for solutions but wary - aware that in too many places voters are no better off today than when they lifted Obama into the White House.

Many have become so disillusioned with their economic situations that they are tired of all the politics and promises and want action.

"He just says so many things," the 41-year-old Melquist said of Obama. "I just don't trust what he says is actually going to happen."

Obama acknowledged in his speech that economic devastation remains - in joblessness, shuttered businesses and declining home values - and the change he wanted everyone to believe in "has not come fast enough." He also declared that it's time to "seize this moment" and "get serious about fixing the problems that are hampering our growth."