After waiting patiently through the pomp and circumstance required for the entry of various Supreme Court officials, cabinet members and finally, the President of the United States into the Capitol building, I waited to hear how President Obama would begin his fifth State of the Union address. He began, “A teacher… an entrepreneur… an autoworker… a farmer… a doctor… a man coming home after working the late graveyard shift…” I sighed. When will politicians and their speechwriters stop feeding us the same corny lines laced with American exceptionalism?
Our 44th president continued to give a loaded speech for the next hour. After taking the political, over-Americanized fluff as an unfortunate given, I was generally impressed by Obama’s candor. He looked out at an audience packed with Congresspersons and Senators and asked if they would help or hinder the progress we’ve made as of late. Without mincing words, he declared, “We are not doing right by the American people when we shut down government.” He continued to say that government officials must rebuild the trust of the people who elected them.
After citing the recent budget compromise as an example of successful bi-partisanship, he targeted Congress: “Wherever I can take steps without legislation to expand opportunity for American families, that is what I’m going to do.” He referenced bypassing Congress and bureaucracy multiple times later in the speech, declaring that there are too many Americans outside of Washington that are sick and tired of stale political commentary. Five years in and without the prospect of re-election, it looks as though our President is letting us know how he really feels. “Get those bills to my desk,” he challenged his friends in the legislative branch.
In my opinion, the topics Obama touched on most poignantly, starting with the environment and alternative energy sources. He outlined his administration’s commitment to American energy and our progress in terms of natural gas and solar energy, declaring the need to invest in “fuels of the future.” He wasn’t messing around, delivering the next line forcefully: “…the debate is settled: climate change is a fact. And when our children’s children look us in the eye and ask if we did all we could to leave them a safer, more stable world, with new sources of energy, I want us to be able to say yes, we did.”
His talk of education reform was paradoxical, leaving me just as skeptical as I had been when he spoke on the issue in last year’s State of the Union. He praised the work of his administration’s Race to the Top program, which is based off of standardized testing. However, he continued, “We need to figure out ways we can measure progress, not how well [students] can fill out bubbles on a test.”
While it is embarrassing that in our society the President of the United States still needs to dedicate a few minutes to declaring that women deserve equal pay for equal work, his proclamation on the matter was nevertheless important: “Give every woman the opportunity they deserve, because I believe that when women succeed, America succeeds.”
On the topic of fair wages, the President asked business owners to do what they can to raise their employees’ wages. He then announced: “In the coming weeks, I will issue an Executive Order requiring federal contractors to pay their federally-funded employees a fair wage of at least $10.10 an hour.” His determination to bypass Congress appeared to be no joke. At this point in the speech, I was definitely starting to regain the original sense of pride I had when I voted for him in 2012.
But just because our president left me feeling more fulfilled on some counts during this speech than I’ve felt for the vast majority of his tenure in the Oval Office, it does not mean I was left without qualms. In addition to his contradiction regarding education, I challenge the president on three issues with whcih he closed his address: firstly, Mr. President, expand on these “prudent limits on drones” you’ve imposed, because I’m not sure I believe you.
Next, you’re right – surveillance programs do depend on the confidence of the public here and abroad, so these reforms you speak of are going to have to be extremely persuasive. And it wouldn’t hurt to listen to the New York Times editorial board and grant Edward Snowden clemency.
Lastly, when you first took office, you promised to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay within your first year in the White House. Five years later in this State of the Union address you’ve renewed your vow to close this prison “because we counter terrorism not just through intelligence and military action, but by remaining true to our Constitutional ideals.” So do it. •
