Back in 1960, then-senator and future President John Kennedy gave a speech about the presidency at the National Press Club. He said:
“Nor can we afford a chief executive who is praised primarily for what he did not do, the disasters he prevented, the bills he vetoed ”“ a president wishing his subordinates would produce more missiles or build more schools. We will need instead what the Constitution envisioned: a chief executive who is the vital center of action in our whole scheme of government.”
I think a good case can be made that what President Obama has discovered ”“ achingly late ”“ is how ready, hungry or eager the public was for him to do what he could to make the government work. Not everything could be, or needed to be, the result of action by the hyper-partisan Congress. Since the dreadful midterm election where his party lost control of not just the U.S. Senate, but state and local races across the board, the president made a decision to act ”“ on climate change, immigration and Cuba ”“ and the public has responded, at times overwhelmingly, to steps he took acting alone.
President Obama can and should do more.
The most remarkable thing about the president’s sixth State of the Union address was Obama himself. He was jovial, confident and upbeat even as some still consider the state of affairs to be in disarray or in a permanent crisis mode. Some commentators even expressed surprise that the president came before the nation acting as if nothing had changed. And a few of my colleagues were surprised that he didn’t appear “humbled.”
Bob Schieffer of CBS News grinned while saying that Obama was “more relaxed and at ease than I can recall in a long time.” Schieffer called it “the best speech he’s made in a while,” noting it was “uplifting at the end.”
Obama came into the congressional chamber determined to spend the next two years focused squarely on rebuilding America’s middle class. Instead of “slow(ing) down businesses or put(ting) our economy at risk with government shutdowns or fiscal showdowns,” the president said the focus of our politics should be on “middle-class economics,” which “means helping working families feel more secure in a world of constant change,” and “building the most competitive economy anywhere, the place where businesses want to locate and hire.”
His popularity ratings have reached a high not seen in many months, hitting 50 percent in one recent Washington Post-ABC poll. The economy is so undeniably recovering that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., even found a way to claim credit for it (the fact-checkers disagreed with him).
“The shadow of crisis has passed, and the state of the union is strong,” Obama declared in his opening remarks, which were met with exuberant applause. Gas prices are down. The Affordable Care Act is working well enough that the insurance companies have climbed on board and are soliciting members with TV ads.
“At this moment ”“ with a growing economy, shrinking deficits, bustling industry and booming energy production ”“ we have risen from (this) recession freer to write our own future than any other nation on Earth. It’s now up to us to choose who we want to be over the next 15 years, and for decades to come,” Obama said.
We all know that the Republican-led Congress will not share his vision, nor embrace all the president’s plans or policies.
Fundamentally, the two major parties are still at odds, gridlocked and seemingly unable to look past their differences on the role of the federal government in our lives. And there is no question that Democrats lost the battle at the ballot box, but there is no reason for the president to simply abandon his values or principles just because those who bothered to vote in 2014 rejected his party’s candidates.
Obama deserves credit for rescuing the country from the Great Recession. He intends ”“ with the Congress when he can, and by himself when necessary ”“ to see that American middle-class and working-poor families can make ends meet, beginning now. That entails a reform of the tax structure and correcting the lopsided tax-exempt favors given to the 1 percent, who have become wealthier and wealthier with a huge assist from the government.
Surely we can afford raising the minimum wage for workers, supporting equal wages for women, providing affordable child care so couples can work, and allowing employees to earn paid sick leave ”“ for fewer tax breaks in the Cayman Islands. Economic policies rooted in the middle class are designed so that all citizens, rich and poor, are capable of getting back on their feet.
Like other two-term presidents, Mr. Obama is now ready to make deals. The question is, will anyone else step up to the plate to help lead the United States in this crucial hour? Or will we continue to get more of the same congressional gridlock and hyper-partisan politics we’ve seen in the past?
For now, he’s the president. And Obama will use the powers granted to the executive in the Constitution to lead.
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