For myself, I have to admit I was a bit disappointed. The only firm things in the speech were the two above promises. Everything else was pretty vague. He said everything was on the table to be cut, including the military budget. But he didn't offer any specifics about how much would be cut and where it would be cut from. He also said cuts of some kind would have to be made to Medicare and Social Security, but again was vague on just how this was to be done.
I was left with the impression that he thought he could just toss out some broad goals and just let Congress fill in the details. I hope I'm wrong and he'll send a much more detailed plan to Congress. Frankly, anyone can talk about cuts and sound good. The devil is in the details, and yesterday he didn't give us any of the details.
I also hope the president doesn't think he can remain hidden in the White House and be the "great compromiser" like he did with the budget deal just passed. If he does, he'll find himself looking at a budget written by Republicans that even compromise can't fix. He needs to get out in the country and use his "bully pulpit". He hasn't shown a propensity or ability to do that so far, but he needs to learn fast to be a fighter or watch his proposals disappear down the drain. (Maybe watching some old film of Harry Truman would help.)
Yesterday the president gave a nice speech. It's something he's good at doing. Now we have to see if there's any substance behind the words.
Obama's decision not to extend a tax cut which benefited ONLY the GOP, ONLY the upper classes, is a wise decision which required great political courage. The record shows that EVERY Democratic regime since WWII has presided over more egalitarian societies than ANY GOP regime. The tax policies are the heart of it. For the GOP, the tax cuts --benefiting ONLY the upper classes and, of late, enriching ONLY the upper 1 percent --were a PAYOFF to the 'base' for its support. The fact is the GOP is the party of the 'elite' and, as a result of GOP policy, this elite is now just ONE percent of the total population. Hit the economics books. I am confident that you will find that the most productive societies are the most egalitarian. Makes sense. More people have jobs and industry is more inclined to create jobs as opposed to merely squirreling away the 'windfalls' offshore where they represent a CONTRACTION of U.S. wealth. The official stats support my every point.
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