The Fact of My Ignorance

I thought these seven minutes were some of the most important of Obama’s speech and they can serve here as a springboard for discussing two important topics.  The first is the issue of partisanship.  I have been thoroughly impressed with Obama’s calm demeanor and mature perspective in regards to bipartisanship.  He has reached out across the aisle in an unprecedented way and he has been repeatedly slapped in the face by congressional republicans.  Yet he doesn’t turn on them, he doesn’t denounce them and give up, he talks about how his efforts are a long-term investment.  And he says he’s going to continue reaching across the aisle because its going to take a long-term investment to change the culture of washington.  That demonstrates humility and maturity that we have long expected of our neighbors and friends but which we, for some reason, have not expected of our politicians for a long time.  

He could easily use recent events to score political points against republicans, blaming the lack of bipartisanship on them, especially in light of all the political points they’ve been scoring on him lately.  But I like to think that he has more confidence in the American people.  He knows we can look at an issue rationally and won’t be deceived by strategist commentaries and media blowhards.  He trusts that we can judge a situation based on facts and long-term results and not on quotes and smears.  In short, he’s taking the high road, the same high road he stuck to during his campaign and that goes a long way in my book.

The second issue he talks about is pork.  I think its hilarious how conservative pundits have been able to redefine the word pork so that they can label this stimulus bill as such.  Or it would be hilarious if… Continue reading

Well I might as well get started.  On this blog I’m planning on spending a fair amount of time covering principles rather than current events, but with all that’s happening now with the stimulus, and with us being at the beginning of one of the greatest economic crisis in American history, I thought it would be appropriate to talk about it a bit.  Just in case you missed it, these are the prepared remarks from President Obama’s news conference a few days ago.  Its via Hulu so you may have to watch a commercial before it starts.  If you haven’t watched it yet I suggest you do so.  In fact its probably a good idea to watch the rest of his remarks as well.  Which can also be found on Hulu.

I thought he did a good job explaining some of the rationale behind the plan and driving home some of the most important points.  Overall I just thought it was great to have a president who was willing to admit that the plan wasn’t perfect and that things may not turn out the way they hope.  His candor was really refreshing.  And he took the time to explain things to the American people.  He didn’t just say “trust me”, he didn’t just spew slogans and talking points, he tried to explain the plan the way a friend would try to explain it to you.  Once again, very refreshing.

Still the stimulus plan is complex, and he was only able to address a few of the issues surrounding the bill.  Hopefully I’ll be able to delve into some of them a little more deeply tomorrow.