Obama sees long road ahead, says “we are not quitters”
In his first speech to a joint session of Congress, the president makes an argument for his plans to fix what's ailing the U.S.
Topics: Barack Obama, War Room, Politics News
You only get one chance at your first address of a joint session of Congress. Fortunately for President Obama, he didn’t waste his opportunity, and performed well, delivering what was a pretty good speech on the page with his usual prowess.
The speech wasn’t really a barnburner, but then, these things usually aren’t; Obama’s not on the trail anymore, he’s president now, and his speeches reflect that difference. This was about laying out his agenda for the next year and beyond, and — perhaps more importantly — about drawing first blood in the battle over that agenda. Obama had the national stage tonight, and he used it to anticipate the arguments Republicans will make over the coming weeks and months and to preempt them.
We may see the effect of that strategy of preemption as early as tonight. The Republican response to Obama’s speech, to be delivered by Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, emphasizes the character of the American people in order to say that the GOP trusts Americans to know how to fix the country’s woes, while Democrats fall back on spending and increasing government power. Jindal’s prepared remarks also call Obama a pessimist, implying he doesn’t believe Americans can succeed.
In his speech, though, the president hit many of the same notes, while at the same time emphasizing his belief that government has a role to play in recovery.
“I reject the view that says our problems will simply take care of themselves; that says government has no role in laying the foundation for our common prosperity,” Obama said, continuing:
For history tells a different story. History reminds us that at every moment of economic upheaval and transformation, this nation has responded with bold action and big ideas. In the midst of civil war, we laid railroad tracks from one coast to another that spurred commerce and industry. From the turmoil of the Industrial Revolution came a system of public high schools that prepared our citizens for a new age. In the wake of war and depression, the GI Bill sent a generation to college and created the largest middle-class in history. And a twilight struggle for freedom led to a nation of highways, an American on the moon, and an explosion of technology that still shapes our world.
In each case, government didn’t supplant private enterprise; it catalyzed private enterprise. It created the conditions for thousands of entrepreneurs and new businesses to adapt and to thrive.
We are a nation that has seen promise amid peril, and claimed opportunity from ordeal. Now we must be that nation again. That is why, even as it cuts back on the programs we don’t need, the budget I submit will invest in the three areas that are absolutely critical to our economic future: energy, health care, and education.
Alex Koppelman is a staff writer for Salon. More Alex Koppelman.





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