Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) AP Photo

(CNSNews.com) – Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) does not believe President Barack Obama will have to make the case to voters that they are better off now than before he became president.

Rather, Lautenberg said a message of shared burden, which Obama hit on in Tuesday’s State of the Union address, would be key. The phrase “fair share” was used four times in Obama’s speech. The word “fair” was used eight times.

CNSNews.com asked Lautenberg after the speech, “Will he be able to make the case this year to the American people that they are better off than before he became president?”

That is not a needed case to make, Lautenberg responded.

“I don’t think that’s the case he has to make,” Lautenberg told CNSNews.com. “I think the case he has to make is the one he did make and that is to say, put things on my desk. Let’s get on with it. Let’s spend the money we have to for the environment. Let’s share the burden.”

“He made reference to past wars,” Lautenberg continued. “In World War II, and I’m one of the veterans, in World War II we had an excess profits tax because companies making money were obliged to contribute to the national good. So I think the president did that very well. And I was pleased to see even some of the Republicans forced to stand up, though it didn’t look like they really wanted to do it.”

The unemployment rate was 7.8 percent when Obama took office. It generally remained above nine percent while he was in office and now stands at 8.5 percent, with a total of 1.6 million jobs lost from January 2009 to December 2011.

Long-term unemployment has gone from 2.7 million in January 2009 to 5.6 million in December 2011, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Obama used the term “fair share” in his speech four times, according to the text provided by the White House.

“We don’t begrudge financial success in this country. We admire it. When Americans talk about folks like me paying my fair share of taxes, it’s not because they envy the rich,” Obama said.

“It’s because they understand that when I get a tax break I don’t need and the country can’t afford, it either adds to the deficit, or somebody else has to make up the difference – like a senior on a fixed income, or a student trying to get through school, or a family trying to make ends meet. That’s not right. Americans know that’s not right,” he added.