“The President’s Speech and the Gentleman from Indiana”

Sydney M. Williams

Thought of the Day

“The President’s Speech and the Gentleman from Indiana”

January 26, 2012

Listening to the President speak on Tuesday evening, I felt like Geppetto watching Pinocchio’s nose grow longer. I half expected to see Representative Joe Wilson leap from his seat at any moment. His eloquence from the pulpit above the House chamber is unparalleled. His voice soars and then dips to whispers. His was a masterful performance. Over eighty times during the sixty-five minute speech he was interrupted by applause.

As President, Mr. Obama is the most powerful man on earth. He spoke to an audience representing the world’s most powerful nation. It was a heady moment, and Mr. Obama played the role to the hilt. It mattered not that that he ignored the big sweeping issues that propelled him to the White House, and which have been the cause of most of our debt and which have exacerbated our economic downturn. Mr. Obama has divided the nation, demonized Wall Street, consistently blamed his predecessor for all of his troubles and has layered on more debt and bureaucracy in Washington than anyone before. Yet, he sounded like George W. Bush, but referenced the more popular Abraham Lincoln when he said: “From our nation’s first days, we have put our faith in free markets and free enterprise as the engine of America’s wealth and prosperity.” Mr. Obama’s mentor, Saul Alinsky, must have rolled in his grave until realizing he meant none of it. Watch what a man does, not what he says.

In contrast, Governor Mitch Daniels, providing the loyal opposition’s response, spoke before a lone camera to an empty room; so no applause. Nevertheless, his few words resonated with fundamental truths, giving truth to that opening line from John of Gaunt in Act II of Shakespeare’s Richard II: “When words are scarce they are seldom spent in vain.”

Mr. Daniels acknowledged that the President did not cause the economic or fiscal crisis, “but he was elected on a promise to fix them, and he cannot claim that the last three years have made things anything but worse; the percentage of Americans with a job is the lowest in decades.” “You cannot,” he added, “build a middle class on borrowed dollars and reckless spending.”

While recognizing that his own popularity is low, Mr. Obama realizes that the poll numbers for Congress are even lower. He placed blame on “obstructionist” Republicans, conveniently ignoring that for two of the last three years Democrats controlled both Houses, and still do the Senate. In calling for regulatory reform, he made no mention of the 149 $100 million plus major rules he has implemented, or of the costs of complying with Obamacare, or the $830 billion Stimulus that did not stimulate, or of Dodd-Frank, which failed to incorporate the Volcker Rule. There was no mention of “cash-for-clunkers.” He chose to ignore the $6 trillion in debt he has added, and the subsequent downgrade in our nation’s debt. There was no mention of card-check, a failed attempt to void the process of a secret ballot. In short, he smartly chose not to highlight his own record.
The speech’s focus was on “fairness”, always a safe subject; for who wants to be accused of being unfair? But if fairness involves getting the economy moving, putting people back to work, addressing the inequities built into the tax code, confronting run-a-way deficits and future unaffordable obligations related to entitlements, the President would have been wise to listen to the less charismatic, but far more sensible Governor Daniels. Alas, we know that will not happen.

There was no mention by the President of individual liberty and freedom, the basis of our country and our government. His is a vision that sees government as the answer; it ignores personal responsibility, and both the punishment and rewards that ensue. His “fairness” is one of outcomes, not opportunity. He wants to lower the costs of student loans, with no mention of eliminating or reducing the bureaucracies responsible for rising college costs; nor did he acknowledge that lower rates for borrowers imply lower returns to lenders – a problem that helped perpetuate the recent housing crisis. When government dictates lending practices and interest rates there are consequences. The President, wisely, would like to restore manufacturing to our shores, but failed to address the role unions, taxes and regulation played in our losing those manufacturing jobs in the first place. He highlighted the bi-partisan free trade agreements, though washed over the fact they sat unsigned on his desk for two years.

However, I do like his recommendation that community colleges become community re-employment centers, and I admire him for taking on the teacher’s unions, rewarding the best and replacing the worst. I agree with him about immigration reform, and his call for offering citizenship to college graduates mimics my own. On the other hand, I winced when he took credit for our growing oil and gas production, based on a technology that industry developed despite his policies. His call for clean energy, a laudable goal, never mentioned the cronyism that cost Americans half a billion dollars and hundreds of jobs at Solyndra, nor was there any mention of the ill-fated Keystone XL Pipeline.

All in all, it was a classic Barack Obama performance, with points awarded for form, but not for substance. There was no question it was more of a campaign speech than a statement on the union. Perhaps I am too cynical, but I find it hard to match his words of Tuesday night – “no bailouts, no handouts” – with his actions over the past three years.