(Written within an hour or so of the event.)
Very good speech, Mr. President, as one frequent public
speaker to another. The delivery was
great, and I liked the content too. It
was all Mom and Apple Pie and the American Flag. One could wonder who would object to any of
it, although many have already objected to much of it.
The tension remains the war between Wall Street and Main
Street. Between those who feel like
America is composed of its people, its society and its culture (not many of
them anymore, and almost no Republicans) and those who feel like America is
composed of its large corporations, Wall Street and the rich. Kudos or objections were raised exactly along
these lines.
What Did The
President Say?
Mr. Obama started off with a general pep-talk about the
current state of the economy. There are
many positives to point to. Better
growth rates have returned . . . “fasted growth since 1999!” A little dig there. And a hint about common purpose being better
than factionalized politics, a call-back to the big finish.
He specifically mentioned the energy situation (traditional
and non-traditional domestic production way up), education (more graduates at
all levels) and health care (many more people now insured) He mentioned that the deficit is way down,
which he can definitely take a lot of credit for, and that Wall Street is
riding high, which is probably more due to their self-directed goals and record
keeping.
In a real Main Street moment, Mr. Obama spoke of
middle-class economics, policies that are designed to strengthen the
middle-class. He praised historical
successes in this area, things that came about almost entirely because of the
efforts of Democratic administrations.
New Deal stuff, Social Security, workers’ rights, Civil Rights, Medicare
and yes, the ACA (the so-called Obamacare).
“Middle-class economics works . . . we need to restore the link between
hard work and opportunity.”
During this recitation, the Republican members of congress
sat quietly in a state of impending stroke.
They were breathless, struggling to maintain their composure. John “Boner” Boener slumped in his chair, his
growing anger showing in his deeply knit brow and chin.
The president next went through a list of ways that the
middle-class needs help right now:
1. Child care is a necessity, and families need help. This should be a “national priority.”
Families need more affordable child care slots, and tax credits could help a
lot;
2. Sick leave and maternity leave. We’re alone in the developed world in not
providing these things to all workers.
All workers should get seven paid sick days per year. (Amazingly, they currently do not);
3. Equal pay for women.
“It’s 2015, people!”
4. Raise the minimum wage;
5. Unions give workers a voice, and they should be
encouraged. Not just by government
action, employers need to get on board;
6. Free community college!
40% of college students start out in community college. Tennessee provides it, under Republican
leadership, so why not all agree and make it happen?
7. Student loan relief.
This was only a vague reference to this huge problem, and the only
suggestion was that we come up with “ways to reduce the size of payments;”
8. Help returning
veterans. “Hire a vet!”
9. Rebuilding infrastructure. This was a dream list in the form of a jobs
program;
10. Encourage innovation.
On the Internet, in the area of prosthetic limbs, in the energy and manufacturing
sectors. (He didn’t mention Wall Street,
I guess he feels like they’re innovating enough already.)
How are we to pay for all of this? According to the president, and I agree, the
tax code as currently constituted is “rigged by lobbyists” to favor the top
earners and large corporations. “We need
to stop up some of these unproductive loopholes.” Trade agreements designed to bring jobs back
to the U.S. would help too.
And the big enchilada:
a new tax on accumulated wealth!
I’m all for this, of course. The
wealth of the top 0.01% will sit unproductively and eventually suck all of the
air out of the room unless we do something about it. Believe me, they don’t need the little bit of
money that any possible legislation will deny them.
Diplomacy
Here came the first mention of terror. Mr. Obama’s emphasis was on the need to avoid
blustery, big ticket non-solutions like military action. “We stand with our allies around the world,
from Pakistan to Paris. ISIL? Bad.
Russian aggression? Bad. ISIL might even require the application of
non-specified force.
But Cuba? “Our policy
of sanctions against Cuba is long past its use-by date.” Makes a lot of sense. The point was, it’s been fifty years now,
maybe it’s time to try something new?
How about Iran?
Nobody wants a nuclear armed Iran, but sanctions are preferable to
military intervention. The sanctions now
in place may need to be reduced, and he’ll veto any new ones. And war, in general, must be only a last
resort.
The president quoted Pope Francis: Diplomacy is a process of small steps. Keep taking them and you’ll get there.
Some Miscellany
Hackers bad!!! We
need a coordinated protective effort.
With a nod to Main Street in the form of preventing identity theft.
Climate Change is real!!!
2014 was the hottest year on record, capping off the last fourteen years
as the hottest years on record. So the
president thinks that this is a real thing.
“Many say that the debate is ongoing, and that efforts to reduce global
climate change are not necessary at this time.
They say, ‘I’m not a scientist, so I don’t know.’ Well I’m not a scientist either, but I know a
lot of good scientists!” And they all
agree, you know that they do. He
mentioned that even the Pentagon agrees!
We can all agree that the Pentagon is not a collection of science loving
Liberals. So international action is a
good idea, and we’re already cooperating with China on the issue, and the
smaller world economies are coming along.
Condemn discrimination!!!
We need to discourage anti-Semitism and anti-Muslim hysteria, and to
confront religious discrimination wherever we find it. Also anti-gay discrimination, etc.
Gitmo!!! Time to close it down. All it does is generate anti-American feelings
and more terrorists.
Too much surveillance!!! But only the briefest mention, and
a call for protecting privacy.
Big Finish
The president finished up with a very heartfelt call for
more dialog and cooperation in Washington politics. He acknowledged that cynicism might be
tempting at this point, after so many years of divisive politics, but he
condemned it as useless and counterproductive.
In a rare nod to the prevailing insanity, he pointed out
that “some say that it is ironic that a black president has somehow engendered
more division between the races.” He gave
a little dig to those “who profit from division.” No (well deserved) excoriation here, just the
occasional gentle nod.
He asked that people recall that there has been real progress
over the last seven years or so, giving gay rights as an example. Good example too, because that issue has been
coming along nicely, and the push has come from ordinary, good hearted people,
and churches, and the push has not come only from the affected community. So, he suggests, there’s a lot of good
brotherhood going on.
The suggestion being that Washington can learn a lot from
Main Street.
He generously allowed that there are good people “on both
sides of the aisle,” and suggested that we need to debate issues and facts like
reasonable people, “considering people’s daily lives.”
“We need to lift people up, not tear each other down.”
There’s plenty that we can agree on. Whichever side of the abortion debate you’re
on we can all agree that in terms of raw numbers abortions are way down and
that’s a good thing. There should be a
lot to agree on regarding immigration reform because we are a nation of
immigrants after all.
We should be agreeing on lots of things, we should be, but
we’re not. Can we not agree that the
right to vote is sacred, and should be protected? Lots of disagreement on that simple point
right now, and the right to vote is under attack in many states. (Ed. Comment, “from certain circles.”)
We need, the president says, a better politics.
And now the big laugh line.
Mr. Obama pointed out that there will be no more campaigns for him, and
he was thereupon interrupted by applause from the Republican side. Without missing a beat, he turned to them and
said, “I know, because I won both of them!” This was met by general laughter. At least no one called out, “you lie!” when
he was talking about the good things that have been happening.
And the end of the speech, “so, Republicans, let’s talk, let’s
work together to make the United States strong.
Let’s be the UNITED States of America.
(And the God bless, etc.)
Republican
Response
There were at least twenty Republican responses, with
everybody trying to get into the act.
The official Republican response was delivered by Joni Ernst, the new
senator from Iowa. Instead of
referencing the speech itself, she chose to give a stiff reading of Republican
talking points, enlivened only by a long description of just how awfully poor
she and all of her friends were back in small town Iowa, you know, in the 1970’s
or something, and just how hard all of their real American, white parents had
to work to get them new shoes or something, without ever asking for help from the
government.
It was a typical “Fuck Main Street” response.
The problem, it turns out, is Washington excess in the form
of big spending and regulation of business, with a special mention for the
hated “Obamacare.”
But now that the Republicans are in, things will be
different! She claims that Republicans
will create jobs for a change, like she hasn’t noticed that it’s happening
already, and she doesn’t recall that more jobs were created under Bill Clinton. How, pray tell, will Republicans create these
jobs.
You know already. The
Keystone Pipeline! She called it the
Keystone Job Creation Program or some new euphemism like that. Obama just wants to block it! He doesn’t want jobs!
They’ll break down trade barriers! (No specifics.)
They’ll simplify the tax code! She wants lower tax rates! We know what they mean by that too.
Lower echelons will pay more; higher ups will
pay less.
They’ll defend life!
(No specifics, but you can imagine the effect on women and families.)
They’ll repeal Obamacare!
Because it’s so terrible for everyone, with everyone being dropped from
their (useless and illusory) policies, and everybody’s rates going up.
Dream on, honey, in your wooden, clueless manner.
For a big finish, she swung into big mentions of our brave
veterans and soldiers and the great American people, because “America is the
greatest country in History!” And of
course, God Bless America!
Perhaps Mr. Obama was a tough act to follow. If this was the best that the Republicans
could do, it becomes even more amazing that so many people keep voting for
them.
Conclusion
So, to recap:
We have a Democratic president paying eloquent lip service
to Main Street while avoiding any real mention of Wall Street running amok, or
the Pentagon using up all of our treasure for the benefit of their friends, or
our precious Constitutional Rights continuing to be eroded, or a few other
terrible things that I’ll think of within ten minutes.
And we have a Republican response that just trots out the
same old tired bullshit about cutting taxes, deregulating business, supporting
religious values, and destroying the safety net. Trickle Down redux on the way to a poverty
stricken theocracy, and all hail Wall Street and the rich.
It’s sickening.
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