Last night President Obama delivered his ‘State of the Union’ speech. As this is his last term in office he could say whatever he really felt needed to be said, without having to keep half an eye on re-election. We were therefore looking forward to hearing what he would say. While some analysts had predicted Obama would take a more partisan approach — the nuts-and-bolts version of the more liberal vision for the country he outlined in his inaugural speech — the president adopted a centrist stance, captured in the line, "It's not a bigger government we need, but a smarter government." The speech showed that this was not a president who was out of ideas or lacking in ambition; but it was a speech without much of a coherent direction.
To us it seemed to us that there were six main points to his speech:
1. The need for a balanced approach to deficit reduction - Obama started off with the most pressing issue facing Congress: The looming spectre of $1.2 trillion in across-the-board spending cuts — known as ‘the sequester’ — that are set to take effect in a matter of weeks. "These sudden, harsh, arbitrary cuts would jeopardize our military readiness," Obama said. "They'd devastate priorities like education, energy, and medical research. They would certainly slow our recovery, and cost us hundreds of thousands of jobs." Obama rejected the Republican Party's demand that the sequester be replaced solely with cuts to entitlement programs and other government spending, saying, "That idea is even worse." Instead, Obama called for a "balanced approach" that included reforming the tax code, closing tax loopholes, and making Medicare reforms.
2. More support for the economic recovery - "Let's be clear," Obama said. "Deficit reduction alone is not an economic plan." Obama called on Congress to pass the remaining portions of his American Jobs Act, which he said would add 1 million jobs to the economy. Obama also laid out modest plans to boost manufacturing in America, and called for greater investments in housing, infrastructure, alternative energy, scientific research, and technology.
3. Comprehensive immigration reform - "Our economy is stronger when we harness the talents and ingenuity of striving, hopeful immigrants," Obama said. "And right now, leaders from the business, labor, law enforcement, and faith communities all agree that the time has come to pass comprehensive immigration reform." Obama reiterated his proposals for immigration reform — which include tightening border security and offering undocumented immigrants a path to citizenship — and praised bipartisan groups in both chambers working on the issue. "Send me a comprehensive immigration reform bill in the next few months," he said, "and I will sign it right away."
4. A higher minimum wage - In one of the more unexpected episodes of the night, Obama called on Congress to raise the minimum wage to $9 an hour, arguing that it would be one of the most effective ways to reduce the stubborn problem of income inequality. "Tonight, let's declare that in the wealthiest nation on Earth, no one who works full-time should have to live in poverty, and raise the federal minimum wage to $9 an hour," Obama said. "This single step would raise the incomes of millions of working families. It could mean the difference between groceries or the food bank; rent or eviction; scraping by or finally getting ahead."
5. An end to the Afghan war - "By the end of next year, our war in Afghanistan will be over," Obama said, announcing that 34,000 U.S. troops will draw down from Afghanistan by the end of 2013, leaving roughly an equivalent amount in the country to maintain security and train Afghan army and police forces. Obama also addressed a renewed controversy over his administration's heavy reliance on drones to target suspected terrorists, saying he would "continue to engage with Congress to ensure that our targeting, detention, and prosecution of terrorists remain consistent with our laws and system of checks and balances."
6. A passionate call for gun control - The most dramatic portion of Obama's speech came toward the end, as he called on Congress to pass the really very modest package of measures that his Administration (led by Vice-President Biden) has put forward in an effort to reduce gun violence in America. This package involves such simple things as a restriction on the sale of ‘assault weapons’, a limitation on the number of rounds that can be stored in a gun clip and the introduction of compulsory universal background checks on potential purchasers of firearms. Not much you might think, given the massive scale of the problem of gun violence in this country. Yet the legislation is being stalled at every turn by its opponents in Congress.
Listening on in the public gallery as the President made his plea for the Congress to stop delaying and put the legislation to a vote were Nate and Cleo Pendleton, whose 15-year-old daughter, Hadiya, was shot dead in Chicago just days after performing at Obama's inauguration. "Hadiya's parents, Nate and Cleo, are in this chamber tonight," Obama said, as members of both parties rose in a standing ovation, "along with more than two dozen Americans whose lives have been torn apart by gun violence. They deserve a vote. Gabby Giffords deserves a vote. The families of Newtown deserve a vote. The families of Aurora deserve a vote. The families of Oak Creek, and Tucson, and Blacksburg, and the countless other communities ripped open by gun violence – they deserve a simple vote."
His voice rising with the name of each tragedy, this was as audacious an appeal to tackle what was once a taboo in American politics as you're ever likely to see.
But to us it seemed that the President had saved his most rousing comment until the end, for it was only then, just as he was about to finish, that we learned that the speech we had been listening to was supposed to have had a unifying theme all along: active and engaged citizenship: "We are citizens. It's a word that doesn't just describe our nationality or legal status. It describes the way we're made. It describes what we believe. It captures the enduring idea that this country only works when we accept certain obligations to one another and to future generations; that our rights are wrapped up in the rights of others."
That last quote is what really struck home for us. But it has been very instructive to note how, since the speech was delivered, most commentators have completely ignored that quote and its message of cooperation, fairness between competing groups and mutual regard for and respect of the rights of others. Obama’s critics have focused on his refusal to attack the deficit issue solely through spending cuts. They say his tax proposals are misconceived and are designed to punish successful people for succeeding. They say that President is only interested in ‘the politics of envy’ and that ‘Liberty’ (the most abused word in the American political lexicon) depends on individuals being free … free to succeed … and free to fail! They say that every American must be left free to make his or her own way in the world and that, therefore, there is no room for a ‘social safety net’ in a truly free society! OMG … what world do they live in? And the really weird thing is that most of the critics who talk this way profess to be strongly Christian. But wasn’t it the carpenter from Nazareth who said that we must love our neighbours as much we love ourselves? As Pete Seeger once famously said: ‘When will they ever learn?’
1. Cultural literacy tip for today – for those of you travelling to NYC be careful with your words when you place your order. Did you know that chicken salad and salad with chicken are two totally different dishes? Salad with chicken – no trouble there – salad with some chicken on top, but chicken salad was something else again! Chicken and shredded carrot drowned in mayo and then spread on bread! Don’t say I didn’t warn you!!
2. Something wrong in the State of the Union. - who picked the winner of the Westminster Dog Show? Call that a dog - I'm never watching this show again.....
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