U.S./ The State of the Union

I had hoped the President would use the fact and form of the State of the Union speech itself to contrast his approach to governance with Washington’s dysfunctional traditions. I was hoping the President would give a brief, maybe 15 minute speech and avoid the hour-plus laundry list approach that he followed. Among other things, it is impossible to keep the focus on one central thing when you are reading a laundry list. For example, ending "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" in the military is a fine idea, an instance of simple justice that is long overdue. But, it has nothing to do with job creation and the economy and, just so, should have been left out. Instead, the reference sounded like typical interest-group politics.

The State of the Union also showed, vividly, the one thing President Obama does not have to worry about: his base. The Democrats in the focus group on CNN kept him at the top of their meters from the moment he walked in the door. The noisy, inside-the-Beltway lobby groups, and the still noisier blogosphere of the left, may give him trouble but rank and file Democrats still love the guy.

President Obama is uniquely gifted as an orator and the relaxed demeanor he exhibits in such situations shows a self-confidence that is as breath-taking as it is needed to tackle such an enormous set of challenges. He has not only a surplus of confidence, but a surplus of intelligence, and he must remember that the rest of us don’t. He can speak about the stimulus money helping, but the rest of us need to see it. We need to see the high-speed rail lines being built, the wind farm being constructed, the bridges being replaced. In the days and weeks ahead, the President should find himself outside Washington, visiting businesses and schools and police stations where government is making a difference. The state of the Union is better because of the actions this president has taken. He just has to make sure the rest of us see that fact more clearly and last night was a good first step.

First published in America