Tag Archives: State of the Union

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Battle of the Bases looms in 2014

It’s looking like President Obama is going to toss aside any pretense of bipartisanship when he stands before the Congress on Tuesday night for his State of the Union speech.

Let’s call it the next shot in the Battle of the Political Bases.

Obama’s big speech: Banging base drum

The president is going to call for wage equality, which will please his liberal base and displease the conservative base.

The liberals comprise the bedrock of the Democratic Party — to which Obama belongs. The conservatives make up the foundation of the Republican Party — to which most House members belong.

I was rather hoping the president would seek more of a middle-road approach to governing. Silly me. I guess he’s grown weary of the continuing battles he keeps waging with intransigent GOP lawmakers who keep insisting he give more, more, and more still.

He’s ceded ground on tax policy. That hasn’t been enough. Spending policies have resulted in dramatic reductions in the budget deficit. That, too, is insufficient. Obama promised to close Guantanamo Bay’s terrorist holding camp. It remains open, which should please the other guys — but apparently it hasn’t.

So now he’s going to the mat on wage inequality. The plan apparently is for him to reveal it all in his State of the Union address.

Do not look for a hint of bipartisan agreement on that one, folks.

The bipartisan political warfare will go on.

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How should POTUS describe SOTU?

The state of our Union is … getting stronger.

There. I’m seeking to put words into President Obama’s mouth in advance of his State of the Union speech Tuesday night.

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/196416-obama-to-travel-to-four-states-after-state-of-the-union

It’s not back all the way just yet, but it’s surely getting there.

That’s how the president ought to frame his speech, in my ever-so-humble view. Yes, even out here in Flyover Country things are looking up — no matter how much gloom and doom the Republicans who run everything around here try to make it.

Joblessness is down, employment is up. The deficit is down. Americans are signing on daily with affordable health insurance. Energy production is up, as is development of alternative energy resources. The stock market is up — the recent huge selloff at the end of the week notwithstanding.

The outlook at home is getting better. I hope the president doesn’t seek to continue the blame game regarding what he inherited on Jan. 20, 2009. That’s history. He owns this economy now, but the progress we’ve seen in the past five years is unmistakable and it needs to be hailed.

No, we haven’t reached the state of perfection. It’s always a never-to-be-achieved goal.

Huge challenges remain overseas. We’re still fighting that war against terrorists. I’m guessing that conflict never will end completely. As long as terrorists plot against nations such as ours, we’ll need to remain vigilant and ready to strike. My sense is that we’re remaining on high alert.

Yes, trouble spots remain: Syria, Egypt, North Korea and Iran come to mind. When have those places not given presidents heartburn for the past three or four decades? I’d say, well, never. Is there work to be done? Certainly. We need an Israeli-Palestinian peace accord; we need progress on ending Iran’s potential nuclear weapons development program; we need to find paths to peace all over the globe. It never ends. It won’t end when Barack Obama leaves office, nor will it end when his successor leaves at the end of his — or her — time in the White House.

I was one of those who felt a sense of unease about the future of our country. I’m feeling better about it today than I was, say, a half-dozen years ago.

Does the 44th president deserve all the credit for our recovery? No. He can claim some of it, pass around some kudos to others in government who’ve worked with him, while extending an olive branch to the folks on the other side.

Our Union is regaining its health, Mr. President. Say it like you mean it.