State of the Union
Obama’s State of the Union speech while delivered well was a triumph of symbolism and platitudes over substance, which was mirrored in the seating arrangements of the members of Congress. It may have been all nice, warm and fuzzy, but ultimately it was meaningless. The seating arrangements were supposed to reflect the new civility and willingness to work together. Yet there is a reason that members of both parties don’t just “work together to solve the nation’s problems.” It has nothing to do with them not getting along.
The simple fact is that, except of a few hyper-partisan members, they all get along pretty well. The problem is not that they don’t get along, or even that they don’t work together, but that they don’t agree on what should be done. These are not just partisan disagreements, but are in fact honest difference of opinion on what should be done.
Most liberals really do think that a larger federal government will be able to make people’s lives better; that the solution to the problems with schools is to be found in more federal spending on education; that the solution to the problems with health care is to be found in more federal control over health care, and for many this means a single payer system; that the solution to virtually every problem be it energy, the environment, failing inner cities, or unemployment, is to be found in more federal control and spending. To pay for this they believe that taxes on the rich are too low, and that the rich should pay more.
Most conservatives, on the other hand, really do think that the federal government is already too large and that it is either causing or exacerbating these very same problems; that the solution to the problem with schools is to be found in less government control and more choice for parents; that the solution to the problems with health care is to be found in more choice and competition that would allow for innovation; the solution to virtually every problem be it energy, the environment, failing inner cities, or unemployment, is to be found in less federal control and spending, and more freedom and competition. They believe the taxes are already too high and that, along with burdensome regulation are stifling the economy.
When one side believes that government must increase to solve these problems and the other believes that government is already too big and must decrease to solve these problems what is the middle ground? There is none. The closest is perhaps Obama’s call in his speech for a budget freeze, for government to remain the same. But that is akin to no action rather than a solution. In addition just what does he mean by a budget freeze, when at the same time he is calling for increased “investment” in a whole range of areas i.e., expanding federal spending? Does he really want to freeze, or to invest?
This was the real problem with Obama’s speech. While delivered well and each section for the most part sounded ok, as a whole it was a little incoherent, which was best summarized by his somewhat confusing reference to a sputnik moment, a single event that drastically changes everyone’s perceptions. But just what single event does he see as his sputnik moment? His reference seemed to invoke a sputnik moment without a sputnik!
In short his speech strove for great heights, but somewhat fell flat. He clearly intended this speech to be central to his attempt to redefine is presidency and gain control of the debate. But ultimately he failed. It was not a bad speech. In fact it was a pretty normal State of the Union speech, but it was not the speech he had hoped for. If the speech is remembered at all, it will likely be remembered more for the seating arrangements of Congress than for anything he said, with the possible exception of that confusing sputnik reference.
