It is no secret that President Obama can come off as feisty and matter-of-fact but this attitude is precisely what seems to strike a chord in the hearts of Americans. His candor is clearly not without opposition yet his ideals are genuine enough to inspire hope in millions. Obama’s State of the Union address may have frustrated some viewers but it also may have brought back into the spotlight some ideas that seem to have been lost in modern American politics.
Obama’s sometimes harsh-sounding words are generally geared toward getting things done. Most of what he said in the State of the Union took the form of announcing the issue stating what to do about it then identifying the obstacles we must overcome to see a change. One of the most startling moments of the night involved Obama’s bold statements about an issue that continues to plague Washington— party politics.
Obama called Congress to action when he blatantly identified the separation of parties as an obstacle to progress. He spoke for the people when he alleged that Americans are feeling distrust in our government as a result of the political game-playing that is so common among our elected officials in both parties.
But even the president knows that complete reform of the political system is far from a realistic goal. He joked “I never thought that the mere fact of my election would usher in peace and harmony— and some post-partisan era… There are simply philosophical differences that will always cause us to part ways.” Yet the President continued by saying Americans are tired of seeing their candidates slandered on television for the benefit of their opponents. “Washington may think that saying anything about the other side … is just part of the game Obama said. It shouldn’t be so.
The president came off sounding a bit like a football coach when he addressed the individual parties. At times, he spoke to the Democrats and the Republicans as if they were two siblings fighting over the television. To Democrats … we still have the largest majority in decades and the people expect us to solve problems not run for the hills. Republican leadership … the responsibility to govern is now yours as well.”
The main sticking point of Obama’s speech came when he identified a key problem in the federal legislative system. Aptly worded Obama said to the Republicans “Just saying no to everything may be good short-term politics but it’s not leadership. We were sent here to serve our citizens not our ambitions.” This quote rings true regardless of party affiliations and personal sentiments. We do not have to agree that Obama’s ideas are practical or necessary but we do have to agree that our system does not work when the balance of power is manipulated in a way that prevents any progress whatsoever. Our political system was designed so the people can choose which leaders are in place to pass the laws and we expect these leaders not to buckle under political pressures when they feel that a piece of legislation will benefit their constituents. Evidently though this has not been the case in recent months.
Clearly the task of bringing the two parties together is overwhelming and the president does not have time to make this task his lone priority. But achieving the monumental changes that Obama has proposed will require the cooperation of the entire legislative branch and that kind of unity is sadly unrealistic in the current political system. It is unclear what it will take for the two parties to worry less about self-preservation and focus more on the preservation of our economy job market education system national security and the myriad of other issues now facing our nation. Not only will the president have to deal with the task of uniting the two parties but the two parties themselves will have to agree to work together if either side wants to see true progress.