In January, the White House Office of Digital Strategy reached out to Patch to obtain questions from its users. In return, Cranberry Patch put out the call for questions from Cranberry and neighboring communities.

One of the responses chosen was directed to John Luff, a television technology consultant who opened his home Jan. 24 in Sewickley for a local gathering to view the president's State of the Union address. His question to the White House:

"I ran a small business for 20 years but am concerned about the long-term prospects for American innovation and manufacturing. What can we do to change the downward trajectory that could leave the USA as a second-class consumer economy?"

In the video above, you can see the response from National Economic Council Deputy Director Brian Deese, who notes that small businesses create new jobs but face major challenges. Watch the video for the full response.

Patch reached out to representatives from the Republican party with similar questions but did not receive a response.