Obama: Rhetoric and reality

Barack Obama’s first State of the Union address satisfied the Constitution’s requirement that the president recommend to Congress “such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient.” It also lived up (or down) to the modern expectation that such speeches will be extravagant exercises in high rhetoric and political theater. What it seems unlikely to do, however, is galvanize support in Congress and the country for what until very recently was the president’s most prized priority.

Obama’s speech was an amalgam of genuinely inspirational language, empathy (especially, and rightly, for the unemployed) and a legislative laundry list of programs he’d like to see enacted. Although we like most of his initiatives — we were pleased, for instance, that he called for an end to the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy — it’s obvious that all those promises cannot be met in a Washington that couldn’t even agree on his one big reform project this year.

Obama downplayed health-care reform, waiting until he was half an hour in before even mentioning it. Instead, he focused on the areas where his advisers apparently believe he has been losing traction. He emphasized jobs and the economy and the struggles of middle-class Americans. He acknowledged some political missteps during his first year, and he continued his eloquent call for bipartisan cooperation on Capitol Hill.

The Los Angeles Times endorsed Obama, and we’ve been generally happy with his performance to date. We don’t think it’s his fault (exactly) that he lost his 60th vote or that Republicans have been implacably partisan. We found his address moving and even inspirational at times. But now we’re waiting to see what can get done in that bitterly divided town. Good luck to him.

– Los Angeles Times


Obama can’t play rope-a-dope

President Barack Obama spent too much of his first year playing rope-a-dope with Republicans and delegating crucial legislation to Democrats.

To succeed in his second year, the president must aggressively stand up to friends and enemies. In Wednesday night’s State of the Union address, there were some signs — although not enough — that he is ready to do so.

A newly aggressive Obama means confronting Senate Democrats when they gum up legislation, such as the sweet deal granted to U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska on health care reform. It means countering Republicans when they block every piece of legislation and engage in fear mongering saying that health care reform will threaten people’s “liberty.”

Obama started on a note of conciliation with Congress in his speech, which was politically astute. The American public is more frustrated and angry with politicians than it’s been in decades. If Democrats and Republicans don’t make an attempt to work together on health care, clean energy, immigration policy and other neglected priorities, voters this year will vent their rage on all incumbents, regardless of party.

The president said that jobs are his No. 1 priority, but there were few specifics, suggesting he may again delegate this task to Congress. He can’t. He needs to take his agenda directly to disgruntled Americans, and make them partners in advancing it.

In his second year, the president’s challenge is to help the public separate fact from fiction. Fears of “socialism” and “government-run health care” are the creations of Obama’s enemies, and they are holding back this country from Change We Can Believe In. If the president doesn’t get serious about countering that campaign, his agenda may go nowhere, adding to frustration and anger building in the electorate.

– Sacramento (Calif.) Bee


Obama pushes a solid agenda

President Barack Obama, proclaiming that Americans “don’t quit; I don’t quit,” challenged Congress to put aside petty partisanship and seize this moment in time.

He was forceful. He was compassionate. He was poised.

And he was right. He was right not only in tone, but in content. A year into his presidency, he was true to the issues that led a majority of American voters to put him into office. And he added needed urgency to his calls for change.

Too often in the past year Obama has allowed others to tinker and tamper with the details of the plans he supports to move the country forward. During his State of the Union address Wednesday he was again a leader.

He cited the challenges met in the past year, admitted mistakes and outlined a path forward. The president noted that he had inherited massive problems — a financial system in tatters, an economy that had dropped over the cliff, and two wars, with one taking a nasty turn.

To imagine he’d have solved all of these issues and moved on by now was naive.

A presidency can’t be judged in a year’s time. But this speech should help Obama stay on course.

– Kansas City Star