OUR VIEW State of the Union special: Laudable goals that need our support (with poll)
It was a good speech, sans a few uncomfortable moments spent on global warming fixes and health care reform. Let’s hope President Barack Obama is able to help accomplish much of what he outlined.
President Obama promised us this: “The war (in Iraq) is ending and our troops are coming home.”
He said American troops would be out of Iraq by the end of August this year. Please, Mr. President, keep this promise and end this burdensome war, which is killing our young adults and helping to hold our economy down.
The president also said we need to develop “safe, clean nuclear power plants.” It’s a great idea, and one the market will deliver if given reasonable freedom to do so. If you want more nuclear power plants, President Obama, then make the approval process thorough but efficient.
President Obama said we need to find new sources of offshore oil and gas, while continuing to invest in biofuels and clean technologies.
He said we need to export more goods. He set a goal for Americans to double exports over the next five years, creating 2 million jobs.
President Obama spoke of a country that improves education by rewarding success, not failure.
He spoke of tax cuts, tax cuts and more tax cuts — the kind that would reward investment in production, prosperity and education.
The president spoke of a spending freeze, not today but next year.
He criticized those who harbor the poverty mentality that says “if you lose, I win.”
He spoke of America holding freedom as the highest value.
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For those who love freedom and prosperity, it could have been much worse. Most of the goals the president described would be good for all Americans. Achieving them is the devil in the details, and more talk of free market solutions would have been great.
Congress and the rest of America should support the president in most these aspirations, but they should do so with a keen understanding that all this will come only by allowing individuals and private businesses to thrive. Only people, not governments, create wealth and meaningful jobs. None of Obama's outstanding vision for this country will come from government alone, and hopefully President Obama knows as much.
The president's speech was passionate, compassionate, and his masterful delivery was back. It will probably work in his favor. It was weak on national security, however, dealt only lightly with Guantanamo Bay, and seemed a bit awkward when he spoke of freezing spending — a year from now. It was a solid B+ performance, and that's not bad for a president in a second-year slump. — Wayne Laugesen, editorial page editor, for the editorial board
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