With the State of the Union speech over, I started to think about all the memorable moments from that address. It did not take long to realize that there were no memorable moments. Indeed, it is hard to remember any State of the Union speech that had much in it that was memorable. The problem, I think, is that presidents try in the State of the Union to say everything and end up saying nothing. We get these long winded discussions filled with platitudes and not much else. Fewer and fewer people listen. After all, watching the Congress give standing ovations to nothing much is demeaning to our government and a waste of time for those who listen. These speeches have become so formulaic that we have now discovered that last night president Obama actually copied many sections of a the 2007 State of the Union speech given by George Bush (and we all know how closely aligned those two are.)
The meaningless nature of the speech got me to thinking about what Obama could have and should have said. You know, it's the State of the Union speech we all wanted to hear but never do. Imagine that you turn on your television and you hear this:
Friends,
Our Constitution requires that the president report to Congress each year on the state of the union. For too long these state of the union speeches have moved away from the original purpose and instead become political circuses. The president gets to come in front of Congress and give a speech filled with applause lines and little else. I know this because I have done it five times already. But tonight is going to be different. Tonight I am here to tell you that while America is strong and free, we are facing many problems, difficulties that must be overcome if we are to progress as a nation. Tonight, I want to discuss the two most important problems and to present an agenda for dealing with them. I know that many of you will not agree with my proposal. That is fine. It is the American way of handling problems that the chief executive should propose solutions and then Congress and the people should consider and discuss those plans. We should look for ways to improve upon the proposals. In the end, however, we should act together to try to get the best possible results for the nation. It is a process which has for too long been absent from Washington but which must return now for the good of all Americans. We must act for the benefit of everyone, not just the wealthy corporations with their legions of lobbyists, not just for the unions with their own political people fighting for advantage, not just for the wealthy or the poor or the middle income groups, not for those of one religions, ethnic group or race. We must act for the benefit of everyone.
The problems we face are many. I think you all know that. The advantages which God has given to this nation are also many, something else that I believe you know as well. Right now, however, there are two problems which come to the forefront, two problems that overshadow all the rest. I speak of our slow growing economy and of the problem of healthcare. Clearly the two are related, but I want to address them separately.
First we must consider the American economy. It has been for at least a century the wonder of the economic world. It is an engine which has propelled this land to the highest pinnacle of wealth that the world has ever seen. But for the last decade, our miracle economy has been anything but miraculous. We have endured a terrible recession. We had slow growth both before and after that recession. We have watched as the average American family has seen its income decline over the last ten years, something which had not happened since the Great Depression. More and more of our countrymen have been struggling each day just to keep food on the table. Young people are graduating from high school and college only to find that there are no jobs for them to fill. No one but the wealthy is doing well.
For some time, I have been talking about the need to restore economic equality. The real truth is that there is only one way to do this. We need to get jobs for all those who are unemployed. These have to be good jobs, not part time minimum wage jobs, but jobs that can be the platform from which to support a family. For too long we have tried to deal with the effects of this problem. We have increase food stamps and unemployment benefits because not to do so would consign millions of Americans into hopeless poverty and crisis. These were good measures to take, but they are far from enough. Instead of dealing with the symptoms of the problem, we must now deal with the actual cause of this national curse. We need to get the economy growing again. We need to create millions of jobs and then create millions more. We need to make America a magnet for international investment so that our land is once again humming with economic activity. In short, we need to unleash the creative genius of the American people so that it can once more leap forward into economic growth.
My plan to do this is not difficult. It consists of .................................
I am not going to finish the speech. What would come next is an actual plan with concrete proposals to re-energize economic growth. That would be followed by a recognition by Obama that Obamacare has not worked as expected, a realization that changes are needed and actual proposals how to correct the monstrosity that he stuck us with in Obamacare.
My guess is that the pundits would say that Obama was too detailed for the State of the Union. My guess is also that the people would be thrilled to hear this speech. Imagine! The president would be telling us the truth and asking everyone to help solve the problems. Americans would rise to the occasion.
Of course, we will never hear this speech from Obama. Still, it's nice to dream.
The meaningless nature of the speech got me to thinking about what Obama could have and should have said. You know, it's the State of the Union speech we all wanted to hear but never do. Imagine that you turn on your television and you hear this:
Friends,
Our Constitution requires that the president report to Congress each year on the state of the union. For too long these state of the union speeches have moved away from the original purpose and instead become political circuses. The president gets to come in front of Congress and give a speech filled with applause lines and little else. I know this because I have done it five times already. But tonight is going to be different. Tonight I am here to tell you that while America is strong and free, we are facing many problems, difficulties that must be overcome if we are to progress as a nation. Tonight, I want to discuss the two most important problems and to present an agenda for dealing with them. I know that many of you will not agree with my proposal. That is fine. It is the American way of handling problems that the chief executive should propose solutions and then Congress and the people should consider and discuss those plans. We should look for ways to improve upon the proposals. In the end, however, we should act together to try to get the best possible results for the nation. It is a process which has for too long been absent from Washington but which must return now for the good of all Americans. We must act for the benefit of everyone, not just the wealthy corporations with their legions of lobbyists, not just for the unions with their own political people fighting for advantage, not just for the wealthy or the poor or the middle income groups, not for those of one religions, ethnic group or race. We must act for the benefit of everyone.
The problems we face are many. I think you all know that. The advantages which God has given to this nation are also many, something else that I believe you know as well. Right now, however, there are two problems which come to the forefront, two problems that overshadow all the rest. I speak of our slow growing economy and of the problem of healthcare. Clearly the two are related, but I want to address them separately.
First we must consider the American economy. It has been for at least a century the wonder of the economic world. It is an engine which has propelled this land to the highest pinnacle of wealth that the world has ever seen. But for the last decade, our miracle economy has been anything but miraculous. We have endured a terrible recession. We had slow growth both before and after that recession. We have watched as the average American family has seen its income decline over the last ten years, something which had not happened since the Great Depression. More and more of our countrymen have been struggling each day just to keep food on the table. Young people are graduating from high school and college only to find that there are no jobs for them to fill. No one but the wealthy is doing well.
For some time, I have been talking about the need to restore economic equality. The real truth is that there is only one way to do this. We need to get jobs for all those who are unemployed. These have to be good jobs, not part time minimum wage jobs, but jobs that can be the platform from which to support a family. For too long we have tried to deal with the effects of this problem. We have increase food stamps and unemployment benefits because not to do so would consign millions of Americans into hopeless poverty and crisis. These were good measures to take, but they are far from enough. Instead of dealing with the symptoms of the problem, we must now deal with the actual cause of this national curse. We need to get the economy growing again. We need to create millions of jobs and then create millions more. We need to make America a magnet for international investment so that our land is once again humming with economic activity. In short, we need to unleash the creative genius of the American people so that it can once more leap forward into economic growth.
My plan to do this is not difficult. It consists of .................................
I am not going to finish the speech. What would come next is an actual plan with concrete proposals to re-energize economic growth. That would be followed by a recognition by Obama that Obamacare has not worked as expected, a realization that changes are needed and actual proposals how to correct the monstrosity that he stuck us with in Obamacare.
My guess is that the pundits would say that Obama was too detailed for the State of the Union. My guess is also that the people would be thrilled to hear this speech. Imagine! The president would be telling us the truth and asking everyone to help solve the problems. Americans would rise to the occasion.
Of course, we will never hear this speech from Obama. Still, it's nice to dream.
No comments:
Post a Comment