First President Obama State Of The Union Address Uniting The United States Of America
Posted: Monday, January 25, 2010
by Michael Gaffley
flatlinetochange
On Wednesday every American has the opportunity to attend, watch and or listen to the most powerful man on earth, speaking. The occasion will be his first state of the union address. I am concerned that many view this as a crucial time for him to redefine his presidency. I humbly submit that instead of celebrating the shortcomings of his speech and or his presidency that Americans see this as a clarion call to support the president of the country. Many see the victories of the Republicans at Virginia, New Jersey and Massachusetts as Obama defeats. Hats off to the republicans they won and that should be great for America. Republicans are part of America. Republicans are part of the presidency. Obama is president of Americans in the Republican Party as well. Republicans were smart to capitalize on the weaknesses of the Democrats. The bottom line can however never be to defeat the president. That time will come in three years time. Now is the time to support and build the nation.
Americans should realize that tearing the president apart in the name of politics is no longer a good nation building principle. Let us take pride in our President. He is the Commander in Chief. He deserves some respect. My late father taught me that even if you do not like the person in public office you have to respect the office. Obama has given no evidence that he is not worthy of holding the office of president of the United States of America.
President Obama, Republicans, and Democrats I urge you all to go in search of the soul of America. What does America stand for? What are Americans willing to die for? It is only what we are willing to die for that is worth living for. What will be left for our children once the Democrats and the Republicans have successfully neutralized and check- mated each other? You need not fear WMD because you are doing a great job of destroying yourself. America has to find a more expedient way of doing its political business. Again I am willing to say that there is too much bigotry in the system. What is there in America to protect if we have destroyed Americans, the soul of the Unites States of America?
Come on fellow Americans ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country as a beloved president said. Once, long ago the world looked up to the president of the United States. It was an honor to watch the parades, the fanfare and the spirit engineered by the president's presence. With so many Americans selling out on this one year old Obama presidency Al Qaeda no longer has to sweat to produce those people who are willing to sacrifice their own lives in pursuit of the destruction of America. Americans are doing them a favor.
Vigilance is a village effort. Reach beyond our differences. Connect with fellow Americans whether from European, Caribbean, African, Asian or native decent. Let ancestry not be the guiding principle; envision a future where we are all Americans on American soil, irrespective of where we came from. God bless the president, God bless America. Stop the bigotry. We have to stop running this country into the ground. Stop playing political games. Start embracing each other in spite of differences. We are one nation, indivisible.
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Top-level comments on this article: (6 total)Great article and a great rallying call - I hope the suggestions you make are taken up!thanks, your comments are well received.
"We are leaving a president without the protective clothing of our support."You speak truly, Michael. With that, every President needs critics. It is in the nature of American citizens to criticize their government. Criticism is different from hostile antagonism, though. It is sad that we are seeing so much hostility, where some are legitimizing their hostility on such feeble, hollow grounds as "socialism" or "communism".As a voter and Obama supporter, I have some real (or "more real") criticisms of our President. One is Afghanistan. I get the feeling he is caving to certain military interests. I don't know if we can afford nation building or a war that might lead us into a decades-long Vietnam stratagem.Another criticism is that for all the fake accusations of communism, Obama is anything but communist. In fact, he is almost solidly upper-middle class, bourgeois politics, and protects the interests as such. I laugh at people who call him "communist." Obama is a wealthy, savvy Chicago-style lawyer. But he has hardly uttered a word about the under-privileged, lower class. He has a large voter base of poor, homeless and jobless, and minority's concerns, and he should get back to his roots, in my opinion.I appreciate your objective asessment. Yes we need to support this presidentthank you for your response
Hi Michael, great article appealing to the spiritual side of America. As the people of America transform their values from material to spiritual, which has begun, the material minded will protest vigorously. But nevertheless, America will change. The credit crutch is all but over, and reality must be faced that the continued pursuit of pleasure will involve taking away from others, and this is never spiritual. This is justifying greed and hatred while waving the false flag of religion. Christ was poor.
Best.............e"the continued pursuit of pleasure will involve taking away from others," so true. I'm finding people don't want to hear this. Of course, it could be my presentation style.- GThe nice thing about loving kindness and comapassion is that you can pursue them all you want and it never takes away from others, or yourself. Actually, its like a real chain letter - it all comes back tenfold!But you are correct. many are so caught up with the idea that pleasure will help them escape from thier constant disgruntlement, that they cannot see the displeasure that the pursuit fo pleasure causes. Perhaps their religions or beliefs don't address these basics of human confusion.great point made compassion is an additiveThey may not want to hear this but they will experience this.I really appreciate your feedback and to know your thoughts as well.Thank you for your commentsThank you for your responseThank you for your valued comments
Somehow I don't think that we are recognizing the real issue at stake here and why the speech last night was indicitive of some serious problems with the leadership philosophies of this president.First of all, the Republicans don't have the power to stop anything. The Democrats have been bribing democrats to vote on passage of these controversial bills Obama is pursuing.Second, did anybody catch what he said that should be a warning sign that could threaten our Republic? He said two things. First, he ridiculed the judicial branch in the State of the Union address. It is okay to disagree with their position, but this tactic is an attempt to intimidate them. Second, he said if congress doesn't pass the bills he wants passed he'll just bypass them and issue executive orders.Friends, this is the position of a dictator. He has elevated the Executive branch above accountability of the other two. Are you not concerned?Thank you for reading my article and for sharing your perspectiveJim Anderson is blowing the same tired powder up our noses, once again. Hollow, empty of any meaning, simply his over compensation for what we were saying about the Bush Autocracy. Jim, you've been snorting too much Clear Channel. Come up for some fresh air, man!
Obama gave a great speech. Obama's leadership qualities are high, but could be better. For one thing, it is not his duty to be the Great Reconciler. His constituents elected him with a clear purpose, not to repeat the mistakes of the previous Administration. What would make me happy as one of his voters is, indeed, to effect his campaign vision, with or without the help of the obstructionist Republicans.
The Republicans are selling us monkey vine when they whine, "He keeps blaming Bush!" Putting the present in the perspective of the past, and how we got here is important to our understanding of what NOT to do. Are you guys serious, you want us to ignore the hard lessons of the past? Do you really feel so guilty and self-conscious when the President puts joblessness and bailouts and deficit into context? "Let's sweep it under the rug, let bygones be bygones!"
No. Let's bring it out in the open, and put some sunshine on that bad boy.
Like Obama said, governing 300 million people is noisy. Stepping in to 2 wars and the biggest deficit in history is not an overnight job. The Republicans are either stupid if they are serious about their complaints, or they are playing partisan talking points. I HOPE it is only the latter, but I'm not so sure...
When Obama said, "Always saying 'no' does not show good leadership," he was right!The only support Republicans have shown this Administration is, so predictably stone age, their eagerness to commit to war in Afghanistan. As for health care and jobs, they remain shackled to the special interests of corporate profit margin.
If I could convince Mr. President of one thing, that would be to take your 59% majority and work it, baby, work it! We didn't elect you to play softball with the wrong agenda. You are a Democrat and a Liberal, so please step up to the plate and get the job done.Thank you for sharing your convitions, once again, appreciatedGreg,Does it make you feel good to ridicule other people? (by doing this you are proving my point about how people are following Saul Alinsky's playbook)My point in my post was that the president simply showed his disrespect for our form of government by ridiculing the Judicial branch and Congress in his SOTU speech, and therefore the U.S. Constitution he has sworn to defend.His comments on leadership fall flat because he hasn't been a shining example of a good leader himself. Good leaders don't ridicule their opponents in public or belittle opposing points of view. Good leaders have a growing constituency of followers, while Obama's support is falling. Good leaders have integrity between their actions and their words. Obama keeps saying he will listen to Republican's ideas, but he doesn't respond to the ideas sent to him. He governs very differently from his campaign positions. His first meeting with republicans today demonstrated his arrogance in his responses to questions. The list goes on. Obama is in no position to lecture on leadership. Obama is an excellent orator and sounds very convincing when he talks, but his actions have not lined up to his promises. If he would actually do what he says he is going to do as well as listen to the ideas he hasn't considered, then maybe congress would be more cooperative. Personally I would prefer he stay the course, because I believe what he is doing now will prevent his sweeping changes from becoming law.I believe you mean well, but you are misinformed and midirected. Either that, or you are a progressive yourself. In that case, we simply disagree on the kind of country America is supposed to be.Jim, the appellation of ridicule seems to be yours. This persistent anti-Obama diatribe has really risen to the level of the absurd. "Threatens our Republic" and "position of dictator" are just over-the-top silliness. I'm sorry if you don't care for rebuttals, but false and undeserved accusations and persistent whining because your people lost the presidency should not go unquestioned. I know you talk a good game about Christian values, so let's see you make some meaningful and constructive criticism for once instead of tearing down YOUR President, and mine. You mean to say we can look forward to the next three years of obstruction and mean spirited anger? Oy vey!You see. That is what I'm talking about. It isn't enough for you to disagree, it is necessary for you to ridicule the person who disagrees and dodge the issues completely. You haven't heard what I'm saying because if you have read what I've written in my articles as you have suggested, you would know that I don't vote for republicans. What does that say about your comments? They appear uninformed.Listen. Christians don't have to be doormats. That's a myth. Love isn't always being nice. Love defends the weak and opposes wrong. Christians can be angry, it isn't a sin, especially when that anger is in defense of what is good. I have given my position and backed it with facts. No one has shown how I am wrong on any of my assertions, they have only attacked me and ridiculed my assertions. They have given no defense for the opposing view. Anyone paying attention can see what is really going on. If there is to be intelligent discussion, there must be mutual respect. You are allowed to have your position and I am allowed to have mine. I read rebuttals and consider them, but I don't take kindly to being belittled. Not once have I attacked you or belittled you. I have discussed policies and disagreed with them. People are not the policies and policies are not the people. I don't just make accusations like "undeserved accusations" and "over-the-top-silliness" to state why I disagree. I give cogent thought out reasoning. If you are unable to discuss things that way, you are just going to make a lot of enemies. In America it is okay to disagree, at least it used to be.Jim, I respect THAT you have a right to protest. It is your duty and privilege. And I realize it is more about the hurt feelings of a Democratic Presidency than it is about right policy or wrong."if you have read what I've written in my articles..."I've read about 3,000 of your 5,000 word soap opera. I get the basic plot, which I gather is that you have allowed yourself to be convinced that Obama is devil spawn."I give cogent thought out reasoning."Yes, well thought out disagreement for the sake of being disagreeable: "My point in my post was that the president simply showed his disrespect for our form of government by ridiculing the Judicial branch and Congress in his SOTU speech, and therefore the U.S. Constitution he has sworn to defend."Ah, I see you will defend any Conservative decision, like the one that gives multi-billion dollar corporations and the under-100,000 a year middle American "equal" campaigning privileges. If that's not a perversion of justice, I don't know what is. So, it's ok with you that when competing for ad space, Joe the Plumber's agenda is going to take a back seat to Exxon. To you that represents the intent of the Bill of Rights and the Constitution.
I'm sorry Jim, but the five Justices are not protecting the Constitution, they are distorting it. The President could not have been stronger on this man-handling of the Constitution, he's the President. And a democratically elected one, at that. ;-)Jim, you've lodged a thinly veiled contempt, but having brought nothing constructive to the table you choose to remain part of the problem, and none of the solution. I think three years from now you will kick yourself for having forsaken this window of opportunity for compromise, a window the Republican party is slowly closing on themselves.You are entitled to your opinion. I don't see anything constructive in your comments either. You are putting words into my mouth that aren't there. Hearing about my articles second hand are not reading them and considering what is written in them. Instead you are making over-generalizations. I have gotten very specific and I challenge you to give me specifics on where I got the facts wrong. It is entirely possible that there are a few mistakes. Based on this discussion so far, I don't believe you will be able to rebuttal anything of substance without making sweeping generalizations and negative comments and conclusions about my intelligence and character and motives, which BTW have nothing to do with the facts mentioned.I am tired of the strong arm tactics used to beat anyone down who disagrees with this president, while avoiding any discussion of real substance with civility. I have never seen such level of uncivil discourse. This tactic has been working so far for this administration and its supporters because most Americans try to be civil. They have difficulty dealing with bullying tactics in the public arena without getting nasty. If we are going to solve any problems we need to start having a dialog and stop the insults.If you read other articles I have written, you will see I have many constructive ideas about solutions. You may disagree. Fine. Present why you disagree without making disparaging comments. Talk about the issue, not the messenger."Hearing about my articles second hand are not reading them"Jim, I've learned long ago that I don't have to read and digest every last word someone has written to know where they're coming from. I'm sure you've got your fan base, but don't mistake me for one of them. If you don't approve of my comments, I can understand that to. We both question authority, and that's a good thing. You question Obama's authority, and I question yours. That's just the way it is. I definitely don't want to infringe on your free speech, and you're certainly not going to infringe on mine.peace and love,- GNo problem, however, it isn't about you or me it is about the issues.News you won't hear on FOX:
Retiring Senator George Voinovich (R-OH) speaks to NPR's Guy Raz, telling him exactly what I've been saying, that the Republicans are losing their window of opportunity, that they have wasted their opportunity to have a say in the democratic process. The Democrats, having patiently waited for reconciliation, but getting no help from the Republicans, will commence without help from the Republicans.
"They can only wait so long, before it's obvious they won't get help from the Republicans," Voinovich.
Hear today's show, "All Things Considered" (January 30, 2010).Thank you for thsi update. Democracy is aliveThat's interesting. In Obama's visit to the Republican's retreat they presented to him a bound version of the proposals they have sent to the Whitehouse over this last year. They have received no response on them, and are still asking for a response or even a discussion. I don't necessarily agree with much of what the Republicans are proposing but still they became irrelevant in the process the day of the last election and have been largely ignored except to be ridiculed. This Republican is likely one of the conservative Progressives. So in light of that this piece of news just underscores how the media is participating in the marginalization of opposition to the administration's progressive agenda.News that FOX is Afraid To Air
Interesting that you would call Voinovich a progressive Republican, based only on his ability to be candid and not share a lock-step mentality. You immediately jumped to the conclusion that Voinovich must be a progressive. A very curious statement, based on your previous complaints about civility and name calling. I guess thoughtful consideration of the issues and not the personalities only works in one direction.
If you're a Republican and you deviate from the standard, authorized platitudes, you get ostracized. In the past whenever a Republican Senator has shown bipartisan tendencies, FOX would "accidentally" label the Senator "Democrat" in their little title cards. They have actually done this with McCain more than once. Moderate Republicans have been the subject of many an "accident" in FOX reporting. Yep. Must be media agenda!I didn't label him, I don't really know, I simply stated he is likely to be based on what I've seen. Do you know what a progressive is? It isn't name calling, it is identifying political philosophies much like Democrat and Republican, conservative or liberal. It isn't an insult. Did you know there used to be a Progressive party? It has morphed into a stealth movement, primarily among Democrats, though there are some Republicans that follow the Progressive philosophies. So no, this isn't about "name calling". Why does everything have to be taken to a personal attack?I'm not sure why you are singling out Fox News. Is it necessary to attack them? Are they a threat? I thought the Obama administration has made it clear they don't consider them a news organization and shouldn't be treated as one.Yes, i know what a progressive is. And its connotation? Negative in this case?The reasons for singling out Fox News should be obvious, but maybe not. They are biased, agenda-engaged media, just like you said. I could tell that even before I knew the difference between Republican and Democrat.It is negative (Progressivism) to me because I disagree with the political philosophy, but for someone who subscribes to it, it isn't negative.I agree. Fox News does have a conservative slant. All the other news stations have a slant too, toward a liberal bias. They are a bit outnumbered. It is interesting, however, that Fox's ratings are incredibly high. That seems to be how news is reported today. Objective reporting seemed to have died with Tim Russert.I think we've come to a meeting of the minds. Sorry to have come off as such a hard ass.- GWow! Finally. Great perserveranceYes indeed only in America is the civility of disagreement allowed, no promotedThank you for trying to come to grips with an alternative viewpoint.
"It is striking that the people who most dislike the whole idea of healthcare reform - the ones who think it is socialist, godless, a step on the road to a police state - are often the ones it seems designed to help.In Texas, where barely two-thirds of the population have full health insurance and over a fifth of all children have no cover at all, opposition to the legislation is currently running at 87%." - Political scientist Dr David Runciman
Psychologist Drew Westen, author of The Political Brain argues that stories rather than facts convince voters.
"It might be tempting to put the whole thing down to what the historian Richard Hofstadter back in the 1960s called 'the paranoid style' of American politics, in which God, guns and race get mixed into a toxic stew of resentment at anything coming out of Washington." - BBC
Gore: "Under the governor's plan, if you kept the same fee for service that you have now under Medicare, your premiums would go up by between 18% and 47%, and that is the study of the Congressional plan that he's modelled his proposal on by the Medicare actuaries."Bush: "Look, this is a man who has great numbers. He talks about numbers."
Excellent dialogue. Keep at it an reality will prevail.
Great dialogue. Appreciated
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