What struck me about President Barack Obama's State of the Union speech this year, were not his initiatives so much, but the fact that his idealistic message of hope and desire for change--the same message that had, over a year ago, compelled me to temporarily switch from an independent to a Democrat just so I could vote for him in the primary--had become boring.
His message during the campaign season energized me and so many other people because we really thought change was going to come. Much like President George W. Bush's promise during the 2000 campaign to listen to the American people and follow their lead (He actually did the exact opposite. While Al Gore seemed like the one who wanted only his way, Bush turned out to be the true autocrat.), Obama's promise seemed realistic.
Optimism is a great characteristic to have, but it only takes you so far. It has to be backed up with action. For much of this first year, Obama has taken the time to complain about Bush's missteps, and there were a lot of them, but blaming does nothing. When you have to clean a horse's stable, you don't complain about the horse that left the pile of sh*t in the straw; you put on your boots and start shoveling. The American people needed the change, not the reasons it was required. We already knew why it was required and we were on board with it, because we elected Obama based on his message of change.
But change has not come. Yes, it has only been a year, but that's a quarter of Obama's term. What happened? Are we to believe the president? That a quarreling Congress is the reason things have been bogged down? The president took time during his speech to scold both Democrat and Republican legislators over letting their differences get in the way of legislation. But it was Obama who promised a year ago to "reach across the aisle" and meet Republications halfway. Instead, he has met mostly with Democrats when crafting the health-care bill. Since he's the chief executive, it would be great if he could broker a peace between the parties. Even if a compromise leads to a softer health-care bill, or stimulus bill, or what have you, it still would likely be better than nothing at all.
So, the message of change and hope was exciting a year ago, when everything seemed possible, but now that nothing has happened, that same message, delivered during the State of the Union, seems stale and old. Ho-hum, we've heard it all before. It's just rhetoric now.
Please, Mr. President, give us some real change this year. Some in the media are saying that the goals you laid out were too lofty. Prove them, and me, wrong. Put the rhetoric to bed. The State of the Union speech is your platform. But now the saying is done, and it's time for doing. Let's get something done.
But that's just my opinion. What does everyone else think?
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