State of the Union.
I will go ahead and do a post on this, I think, before I go to bed.
Obama said a lot of things in his speech tonight, good and bad, strong and weak. But I will try to focus this on the overall feel of the speech first. I think something that was readily appreciative was the fact that there was a lot of humor and sarcasm in that speech-- which I think is actually a good thing. Obama's personality has little to do with how he'll lead this country, but it has a lot to do with knowing that our president isn't a robot or maybe he does feel my frustration as an average citizen, even if his hands are effectively tied by Congress.
I think the best move was calling Republicans out on their bullshit. Blaming the deficit on him? Not fair. Being a party of "no" isn't helping this country at all, and they needed to be told somewhere that would have a reasonably large audience. The SOTU was the perfect place to do this because for how long Obama has the stage, the American audience doesn't get the Republican spin, whether or not they're watching Faux or CNN (which, by the by, CNN? There was booing. Stop trying to paint the Republicans as saints here). And it was equally right to call the Democrats out on their bullshit as well.
Obama's entire point, aside from the actual policy changes-- was bootstraps. I know everyone hates hearing that phrase, but bootstraps are what's made this country great. And I'm not talking about everyone has to support themselves by themselves, otherwise it's un-American. I'm talking about tying up your bootstraps and changing things. That's what the phrase has always meant to me, and that that particular characteristic has been changed into something negative and dis-empowering for the people who can't support themselves or get the care they need for various reasons... That's a crime to me.
And so I was really glad for the end of Obama's speech, saying he will not quit, and that we as Americans should not be afraid to enact change, to do what's right. That is what I think of, when I think of bootstraps. It's getting down and dirty to do the right thing.
With that said, I'll outline my thoughts on the policies he mentioned:
10,000 tax cut for college is something I approve of, even if it comes too late for me. This sort of thing will help the families like mine-- the ones who make too much to qualify for most financial assistance, but too little to realistically pay the amount that FAFSA thinks we should be able to pay. Debt forgiveness, and basing loan repayments at 10% of total income is also awesome, and I think that making it easier for those less fortunate to go to college and get degrees is a good idea.
I think more should be done on primary and secondary education, though. American colleges still have very few peers, so we need to bring our public schools up to that level.
Nuclear energy is a must have, imho. Most of the country's energy consumption doesn't come from cars, like most people think, but from electricity, among other things. Nuclear power would vastly reduce this cost, and put the American people less at the mercy of rising oil costs.
Offshore drilling and clean coal? Not so much.
I like that Obama has explicitly set a date for complete withdrawal from Iraq. I wish that the same could be done for Afghanistan, however. But this may be an issue for SOTU-11. I also like that he's decided to cut down on our nuclear stockpile.
Repealing of DADT is something I, and quite a few other military members, can get behind, so go fuck yourself, McCain. Your reasoning for opposing the repeal? "This successful policy has been in effect for over fifteen years, and it is well understood and predominantly supported by our military at all levels. We have the best trained, best equipped, and most professional force in the history of our country, and the men and women in uniform are performing heroically in two wars. At a time when our Armed Forces are fighting and sacrificing on the battlefield, now is not the time to abandon the policy." Hmmm. One of these things is not like the other.
If Obama sticks to his veto threats, I'll be pleased. But I also worry that this will mean nothing gets accomplished as Congress won't do the logical thing and retool these bills until they're what they should be. So, that threat... could be a double edged sword. We'll see what the future holds on that one.
Healthcare reform hasn't been forgotten-- and I hope that it gets stronger. I'm not pleased with the bill as it is now, because while it does guarantee coverage for those Americans, it doesn't actually fix the problem. It frustrates me how Congress blatantly ignores with wishes of 62% of the American population that wants a public option.
Helping veterans is ALWAYS A+. I agree with chicanery on this, and that is all I really have to say about it.
I know the spending freeze is going to be unpopular, but... I can see his reasoning for doing it, just like I could see the reasoning when McCain proposed it on his campaign. America has run itself into debt, though I also feel the debt has been slightly exaggerated as well. I hope Obama does follow through on higher taxes on the rich. I think it's been thoroughly proven that the Trickle Down theory DOES NOT WORK and these people not paying taxes doesn't somehow make that money transfer into the hands of the working class.
I have opinions. You should read them and argue with me.
Obama said a lot of things in his speech tonight, good and bad, strong and weak. But I will try to focus this on the overall feel of the speech first. I think something that was readily appreciative was the fact that there was a lot of humor and sarcasm in that speech-- which I think is actually a good thing. Obama's personality has little to do with how he'll lead this country, but it has a lot to do with knowing that our president isn't a robot or maybe he does feel my frustration as an average citizen, even if his hands are effectively tied by Congress.
I think the best move was calling Republicans out on their bullshit. Blaming the deficit on him? Not fair. Being a party of "no" isn't helping this country at all, and they needed to be told somewhere that would have a reasonably large audience. The SOTU was the perfect place to do this because for how long Obama has the stage, the American audience doesn't get the Republican spin, whether or not they're watching Faux or CNN (which, by the by, CNN? There was booing. Stop trying to paint the Republicans as saints here). And it was equally right to call the Democrats out on their bullshit as well.
Obama's entire point, aside from the actual policy changes-- was bootstraps. I know everyone hates hearing that phrase, but bootstraps are what's made this country great. And I'm not talking about everyone has to support themselves by themselves, otherwise it's un-American. I'm talking about tying up your bootstraps and changing things. That's what the phrase has always meant to me, and that that particular characteristic has been changed into something negative and dis-empowering for the people who can't support themselves or get the care they need for various reasons... That's a crime to me.
And so I was really glad for the end of Obama's speech, saying he will not quit, and that we as Americans should not be afraid to enact change, to do what's right. That is what I think of, when I think of bootstraps. It's getting down and dirty to do the right thing.
With that said, I'll outline my thoughts on the policies he mentioned:
10,000 tax cut for college is something I approve of, even if it comes too late for me. This sort of thing will help the families like mine-- the ones who make too much to qualify for most financial assistance, but too little to realistically pay the amount that FAFSA thinks we should be able to pay. Debt forgiveness, and basing loan repayments at 10% of total income is also awesome, and I think that making it easier for those less fortunate to go to college and get degrees is a good idea.
I think more should be done on primary and secondary education, though. American colleges still have very few peers, so we need to bring our public schools up to that level.
Nuclear energy is a must have, imho. Most of the country's energy consumption doesn't come from cars, like most people think, but from electricity, among other things. Nuclear power would vastly reduce this cost, and put the American people less at the mercy of rising oil costs.
Offshore drilling and clean coal? Not so much.
I like that Obama has explicitly set a date for complete withdrawal from Iraq. I wish that the same could be done for Afghanistan, however. But this may be an issue for SOTU-11. I also like that he's decided to cut down on our nuclear stockpile.
Repealing of DADT is something I, and quite a few other military members, can get behind, so go fuck yourself, McCain. Your reasoning for opposing the repeal? "This successful policy has been in effect for over fifteen years, and it is well understood and predominantly supported by our military at all levels. We have the best trained, best equipped, and most professional force in the history of our country, and the men and women in uniform are performing heroically in two wars. At a time when our Armed Forces are fighting and sacrificing on the battlefield, now is not the time to abandon the policy." Hmmm. One of these things is not like the other.
If Obama sticks to his veto threats, I'll be pleased. But I also worry that this will mean nothing gets accomplished as Congress won't do the logical thing and retool these bills until they're what they should be. So, that threat... could be a double edged sword. We'll see what the future holds on that one.
Healthcare reform hasn't been forgotten-- and I hope that it gets stronger. I'm not pleased with the bill as it is now, because while it does guarantee coverage for those Americans, it doesn't actually fix the problem. It frustrates me how Congress blatantly ignores with wishes of 62% of the American population that wants a public option.
Helping veterans is ALWAYS A+. I agree with chicanery on this, and that is all I really have to say about it.
I know the spending freeze is going to be unpopular, but... I can see his reasoning for doing it, just like I could see the reasoning when McCain proposed it on his campaign. America has run itself into debt, though I also feel the debt has been slightly exaggerated as well. I hope Obama does follow through on higher taxes on the rich. I think it's been thoroughly proven that the Trickle Down theory DOES NOT WORK and these people not paying taxes doesn't somehow make that money transfer into the hands of the working class.
I have opinions. You should read them and argue with me.