Reflections on President Obama’s Address

My commentary on last night’s speech is neither needed nor relevant but that does not mean that the words spoken by the erudite … eloquent … Barack Obama should be forgotten. Here are some of my favorite quotes from last night's Remarks of President Barack Obama – As Prepared for Delivery Address to Joint Session of Congress.

“We will rebuild, we will recover, and the United States of America will emerge stronger than before."

The beauty of this statement is that … how could Republicans seriously entertain the idea of not standing up and clapping for such a goal. They would look like fools wanting to see the worst for America. The message of hope is quite evident in this statement and the paradigm that he shall be held accountable for has been established.

“We have lived through an era where too often, short-term gains were prized over long-term prosperity; where we failed to look beyond the next payment, the next quarter, or the next election. A surplus became an excuse to transfer wealth to the wealthy instead of an opportunity to invest in our future. Regulations were gutted for the sake of a quick profit at the expense of a healthy market. People bought homes they knew they couldn’t afford from banks and lenders who pushed those bad loans anyway. And all the while, critical debates and difficult decisions were put off for some other time on some other day."

Good lord! Did you wet your pants? If not … how about now? Obama nailed it with this statement. For a second I was reminded how much I despised the last eight years but more importantly George W. Bush.

“I understand that when the last administration asked this Congress to provide assistance for struggling banks, Democrats and Republicans alike were infuriated by the mismanagement and results that followed. So were the American taxpayers. So was I. So I know how unpopular it is to be seen as helping banks right now, especially when everyone is suffering in part from their bad decisions. I promise you – I get it."

There he goes again … reminding us of the blunders of W but how can you blame him? Bush set himself up when he was on hiatus after the General Election in November.

“In each case, government didn’t supplant private enterprise; it catalyzed private enterprise. It created the conditions for thousands of entrepreneurs and new businesses to adapt and to thrive."

This assertion was the icing on the cake because it shut down the Republican meme that America was headed down the Socialist/Communist path. Do you hear the crickets? That’s because idiots like Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity did not get the Right Wing talking point in time to dodge this rebuttal.

“I suffer no illusions that this will be an easy process. It will be hard. But I also know that nearly a century after Teddy Roosevelt first called for reform, the cost of our health care has weighed down our economy and the conscience of our nation long enough. So let there be no doubt: health care reform cannot wait, it must not wait, and it will not wait another year.”

This part of the speech brought tears of joy to me. I had supported Hillary Clinton during the Democratic Primary because Health Care was an important issue to me and Barack Obama did not seem to prioritize it at the time. It seems that I may have been wrong and he wants the American people to know that Change is coming to the American Health Care system.

“These education policies will open the doors of opportunity for our children. But it is up to us to ensure they walk through them. In the end, there is no program or policy that can substitute for a mother or father who will attend those parent/teacher conferences, or help with homework after dinner, or turn off the TV, put away the video games, and read to their child. I speak to you not just as a President, but as a father when I say that responsibility for our children's education must begin at home."

The social commentary on parenting in the Education portion of the Presidential Address was a surprise. I do not think I have ever heard a President lecture parents during a significant speech. Liberals are ecstatic that the Obama Administration is paving the road to success by reforming our Education policies. At the same time, Conservatives were glad that this President understood that one must abide by the rugged individualism mentality that has dominated American culture.

“As we stand at this crossroads of history, the eyes of all people in all nations are once again upon us – watching to see what we do with this moment; waiting for us to lead.”

This is a rallying call of sorts but it is the most inspirational. Will you sit around for the leader to show up and follow or will you seek your flock and show them the way?