Our Guy

President Obama did merge his speeches on innovation and new technology into a rousing call for winning the future and a challenge to the naysayers who kept saying the country is in decline. Taking off from his Tucson speech, he embraced in a more full-throated way, that American Exceptionalism which the Right had said he didn't believe in. It was a Reaganesque speech that embraced the creative role government can play in the further development of the country.

I was struck by how much he ignored the punditry in town and kept calling for better internet access across the country, the development of high-speed rail and setting clean energy goals. He surprised me in calling for the end to subsidies of the old energy--mainly oil--and government support for clean energy, which had gone by the wayside in the last Congress. He has also called for the re-writing of the corporate tax code and the simplfying of the individual tax code. He put forward his ideas of increased funding for education, infrastructure, and technology and research. The Geek in Chief was in residence tonight.

He didn't shy away from defending the health reform bill and was open to changing the medical malpractice laws and one of the tax provisions in it. But he was solid in affirming that government must protect citizens from pedatory businesses.

He didn't triangulate so much as create the language for the New Middle in American politics. How do you look forward and make a compelling argument for making the social investments necessary for getting there? I think he laid out that position in great detail tonight. While he called on moving forward together or not at all,many of the programs he outlined this year are likely to be delayed until and if he has a second term.

The real suprise item in the speech was his promise to develop a proposal to merge, consolidate,and reorganize federal government in a way that best serves the goal of a more competitive America. And he promised to bring that plan for a vote in Congress. Now that could be interesting.

Another sly bit was that the average citizen deserves to know when your congressman meets with a lobbyist. He urged Congress to adopt the White House's standrad of putting this information on line. He said that citizens needed to know that legislation wasn't being larded up with pet projects and that he vowed to veto bills with earmarks in them.

In foreign policy, he reiterated what the Administration is doing in Iraq, Afghanistan and in the fight against Al Qaeda. What people thought had been missing was a vocal commitment to democracy and human rights. Here he said,"America's moral example must always shine for all who yearn for freedom, justice and dignity. And because we have begun this work (building coalitions abroad), tonight we can say that American leadership has been renewed and America's standing has been restored."

he talked about revitalizing NATO on everything from counter-terrorism to missile defense, resetting the relationship with Russia,strengthening Asian alliances and building a new relationship with India. He also surprised by saying he was going to travel to Brazil, Chile and El Salvador to forge "new alliances of progress". He pointed to his administration's efforts to facilitate the birth of South Sudan and his support for the people of Tunisia and the support for the democratic aspirations of all people.

"We must never forget that the things we struggled for, and fought for, live in the hearts of people everywhere."

He closed his speech with his view of the American Dream,paying homage to Joe Biden, the working class kid from Scranton, and Speaker Boehner,who began as someone seeeping the floors of his father's Cincinnati bar.

"We may have differences in policy,but we all believe in the rights enshrined in our Constitution. We may have different opinions, but we believe in the same promise that says this is a place where you can make it if you try. We may have different backgrounds, but we believe in the same dream that says this is a country where anything's possible. No matter where you come from."

.."From the earliest days of our founding, America has been the story of ordinary people who are to dream. That's how we win the future.

We do big things.

"The idea of America endures. Our destiny remains our choice. And tonight, mre than two centuries later, it is because of our people that our future is hopeful, our journey goes forward, and the state of our union is strong."

Going back over the text, he frequently talked about things like our common creed and what sets us apart as a nation. We share common hopes and dreams and a common creed. The challenge --"It's whether we sustain the leadership that has made America not just a place on a map but a light to the world."

He warned that the rule had changed and that the way our economy is organized has been altered by technology and that we had to adapt to progress. He raised the issue of China and India and their investments in education and technology and research.

He quoted Robert kennedy that "The future is not a gift. It is an achievement." "Sustaining the American Dream has never been about standing pat. It has required each generation to sacrifice, and struggle and meet the demands of the new age."

He reminded Americans that despite the hits we've aken,"America still has the largest, most prosperous economy in the world." Then he list our firsts. I thought these parts were necessary given the mood of the country and the virtual cascade of bummer comments over the last few years.

"This is our generation's Sputnik moment." While I agree with what he said about biomedical research, information technology and clean energy,I'm sketpical that this Congress will act on these. He promised to fund the Apollo projects of the future in clean energy. He listed some of the ongoing projects in government labs. He claimed the United States would be the first country to have 1 million electric cars by 2015. He urged Congress to join him in setting a new goal that by 2035 80% of America's electricity would come from clean energy sources. In education he said he wanted to prepare 100,000 new teachers in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math. He wants to double exports by 2014, which is an obtainable goal.

And I was suprised that he urged immigration reform as one of the tools to remain competitive. And on infrastructure, he says that he wants to give 80% of Americans access to high-speed rail within 25 years, Within the next he wants 98% internet connectivity in America, which would bring it up to the levels of South Korea and Finland.

He outlined what he was doing to cut spending but I think he made a good point. "Cutting the deficit by gutting our investment in innovation and education is like lightening an overloaded airplane by removing its engine. It may feel like you're flying high at first, but it won't ake long before you'll feel the impact."

He raised the Catfood Commission and said while he didn't agree with everything he thought the areas addressed needed remedies. He also defended Social Security and ruled out putting Social Security at the whim of Wall Street.

Did he do the job? I thought he included what he needed to and placed it in a framework about the American Dream and the Future, which makes it forward-looking. Whether given the current climate this will come to fruition,I don't know. But contrast his speech with what I thought was a closed, crab-like view of the United States by Paul Ryan. He reflexively went back into campaign mode by talking of the "failed stimulus" program and that when Obama talks about investment he's really talking about increased government. The call to go back to a limited form of government rings hollow as well as his insistence that the primary role of government is national security, which for him means defense spending. I thought his answer was a mean view of America , certainly not as appetizing as Obama's future.