Mr. Obama's Vision

In the days leading up to the State of the Union Address my first thoughts was, does President Obama see the same broken, country that I do, and my second thought was if yes, will his articulation of that vision will bring about comparisons to the Jimmy Carter “malaise” speech from the summer of 1979. A speech that helped doom his one term Presidency. Last night I got my answer. Yes Mr. Obama sees the same America that I see, but from his – and America’s perspective a “woe is me “speech was not what the doctor ordered. Instead Mr. Obama laid out his vision for America in a way that mirrored his campaign themes, but from a perspective of a man two years into governing this country as opposed to spending two years trying to be elected to govern. The distinction is critical and important. What is said on the campaign trail is often ethereal and often gives way to the bump and grind of inside the beltway politics. Progressives have hammered at President Obama since he was President Elect Obama for moving to the center, or in the words of former MSNBC host Keith Olberman, at times, capitulating to the right. Yet I have often wondered if many of those on the left simply don’t get the distinction between campaigning and governing. To be fair to his critics, Barack Obama has made some mistakes along the way, but then again who among us has been error free since January 20th 2009? Yet this address is coming from a man chastened by mistakes, and challenged by the political ramifications of his mistakes – and the political ramifications of a nation filled with fear. In November 2008 I wrote in my final support of Barack Obama’s candidacy for President that the 2008 election was about “big things” and that in my opinion Barack Obama – not John McCain would be able to deliver on an agenda that required bigness. Looking back, I have no doubt that I was correct in my assessment – Obama stumbles notwithstanding.

What was said in the State of the Union was an important and blueprint for the way forward. Let me be clear on one thing – those who want to fact check this speech on the details of policy initiatives can go to hell, because they are misdirecting the message. A few years ago I read American Theocracy by former GOP strategist Kevin Phillips who saw the combination of American dependence on foreign oil, American debt, and Christian conservatism as a clear and present threat to American democracy. I agreed with that assessment, and wondered if President Obama had the same perspective. I have never met Barack Obama so I can not say with clarity if he read Mr. Phillip’s neither book, nor have I engaged him in a conversation on the most salient points of that book, but it is clear listening to his speech that President Obama is aware of the consequences that Mr. Phillips laid out. In his address, President Obama evoked some of the key “talking points” of the book – speaking on energy reliance, debt, social liberalism and war.

Elections have consequences, and the 2008 election of Barack Obama brought with it , changes in health care, the finance industry, don’t ask don’t tell in the military, and an alterative to “no child left behind”. Likewise the 2010 midterm elections had consequences – one of the best lines in Mr. Obama’s speech was when he reminded both parties that the mandate of the 2010 election was for both parties to work together to solve serious problems. Sitting to behind him to his left was the man the US Constitution puts third in the line of succession to be President – Speaker of the House Congressman John Boehner. Congressman Boehner wanted to lead; now Speaker Boehner has that responsibility. Republicans can ill afford to misread their fall midterm victory, and behind the strategy of being the party of no, because now they are governing partners. Which means if President Obama is on his game, it will be the Republicans who pay a political price in 2012 for obstructionism. And that is the heart of the Obama challenge. Barack Obama won the White House on the wave of progressive initiatives, but his two years have shown that issues that are dear to conservative’s especially fiscal responsibility need to be addressed, secondly while Wall Street seems to have rebounded from the near collapse in 2008, Main Street – especially the middle class main street still struggles. Why? Jobs. Budgets reflect a nation’s priority, and the priority of a nation in debt, and a nation that is underperforming has to reflect seriousness in resolving both problems. Therein lays the heart of the Obama challenge – and the Obama opportunity. The State of the Union is one of a President’s biggest stage, where he can be both politician, and statesman. President Obama laid out a Statesman like vision for America – a vision for big things, while issuing a political challenge. But he must do more.

Yes we need to tighten our bootstraps, our national debt is unsustainable. Yet resolving our debt requires choices, and President Obama in his address was clear and concise in where his budgetary battle lines were drawn: education, clean energy, infrastructure, consumer regulations and social security. Moreover, Mr. Obama clearly articulated why each of those areas should be provided the needed funds in order to secure America’s future. This is critical. In 2008 candidate Obama laid out a rationale for health reform – a rationale that melted under the hot glare of Washington politics. President Obama simply can not afford to lose control of the budget narrative - his own presidential reelection hopes and more importantly, the future of this country depends on his ability to manage the debate on debt, jobs and energy. The same can be said for our international agenda especially in Afghanistan, where it is clear our partners are shaky at best, and duplicitous at worse – and where history cruel to invaders. President Obama reiterated his July 2011 timeframe for drawing down in Afghanistan, and he must not allow any pressures to change his mind.

Finally, President Obama talked about the hundreds of thousands of children of immigrants who are in America because of the choices made by their parents, and alluded to their plight as an opening salvo for a cogent and meaningful immigration policy. These are all part an ambitious agenda and will require bigness on the part of all of us. We can ill afford to waste energy micromanaging President Obama’s speech on the details, but rather we should embrace it as a challenge to America to live up to its ideas, its history, and its potential. The challenge for President Obama is to not allow his vision to be a one night “State of the Union” stand, but a predicate for change that he is willing to make the centerpiece of his second term. I listened and was impressed; as this was not malaise “Part II” but a blueprint for the restoration of American greatness. Well done, and well said!