Ever since 1934, when the modern version of State of the Union Address became an annual feature of Washington politics, every president has used it in an election year to frame the issues and rally support for his presidency. Yet to listen to Republicans carp, you’d think President Obama is the first one to do so.
What they feared, of course, is that the occasion last night would give Obama the opportunity to expose — before an audience of tens of millions — their doom-and-gloom claims about his presidency as nothing more than a resentful and racially tinged pack of lies. And, sure enough, Obama did just that.
Here are just a few excerpts (from a transcript at whitehouse.gov) of what he said.
On his vision for America:
A country that leads the world in educating its people. An America that attracts a new generation of high-tech manufacturing and high-paying jobs. A future where we’re in control of our own energy, and our security and prosperity aren’t so tied to unstable parts of the world. An economy built to last, where hard work pays off, and responsibility is rewarded.
On the contrast between the economy Bush left behind and the one he has built in the last three years:
Long before the recession, jobs and manufacturing began leaving our shores… Folks at the top saw their incomes rise like never before, but most hardworking Americans struggled with costs that were growing, paychecks that weren’t, and personal debt that kept piling up.
In 2008, the house of cards collapsed. We learned that mortgages had been sold to people who couldn’t afford or understand them. Banks had made huge bets and bonuses with other people’s money… In the six months before I took office, we lost nearly four million jobs. And we lost another four million before our policies were in full effect.
Those are the facts. But so are these. In the last 22 months, businesses have created more than three million jobs. Last year, they created the most jobs since 2005. American manufacturers are hiring again, creating jobs for the first time since the late 1990s. Together, we’ve agreed to cut the deficit by more than $2 trillion. And we’ve put in place new rules to hold Wall Street accountable, so a crisis like that never happens again….
On their hypocritical and absurd claim that he’s promoting a socialist agenda based on envy and class warfare just because he does not think rich Americans like Mitt Romney should get away with paying less than 15 percent in taxes while working class people like secretaries are stuck paying over 30:
Let’s never forget: Millions of Americans who work hard and play by the rules every day deserve a government and a financial system that does the same. It’s time to apply the same rules from top to bottom: No bailouts, no handouts, and no cop-outs. An America built to last insists on responsibility from everybody.
On discontinuing America’s involvement in costly and unwinnable wars:
For the first time in nine years, there are no Americans fighting in Iraq. For the first time in two decades, Osama bin Laden is not a threat to this country. Most of al Qaeda’s top lieutenants have been defeated. The Taliban’s momentum has been broken, and some troops in Afghanistan have begun to come home.
On their regressive ideas about how to grow the economy:
I intend to fight obstruction with action, and I will oppose any effort to return to the very same policies that brought on this economic crisis in the first place.
On the stark choice voters will have in November:
[T]he basic American promise that if you worked hard, you could do well enough to raise a family, own a home, send your kids to college, and put a little away for retirement. The defining issue of our time is how to keep that promise alive. No challenge is more urgent. No debate is more important.
We can either settle for a country where a shrinking number of people do really well, while a growing number of Americans barely get by. Or we can restore an economy where everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same set of rules. What’s at stake are not Democratic values or Republican values, but American values. We have to reclaim them…
A return to the American values of fair play and shared responsibility will help us protect our people and our economy. But it should also guide us as we look to pay down our debt and invest in our future…
Do we want to keep these tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans? Or do we want to keep our investments in everything else – like education and medical research; a strong military and care for our veterans? Because if we’re serious about paying down our debt, we can’t do both.
On their claim that America is in decline:
The renewal of American leadership can be felt across the globe. Our oldest alliances in Europe and Asia are stronger than ever. Our ties to the Americas are deeper. Our iron-clad commitment to Israel’s security has meant the closest military cooperation between our two countries in history… From the coalitions we’ve built to secure nuclear materials, to the missions we’ve led against hunger and disease; from the blows we’ve dealt to our enemies; to the enduring power of our moral example, America is back.
Anyone who tells you otherwise, anyone who tells you that America is in decline or that our influence has waned, doesn’t know what they’re talking about.
Game on!
NOTE: A few congressmen issued press releases about their intent to “boycott” Obama’s address. Of course the only reason they did so is that they knew media saps like Chris Mathews of MSNBC would give them the publicity they coveted. Therefore, the next time you see anyone on TV interviewing some otherwise-obscure congressman (and it’s invariably a man) about why he dissed the president, please change the channel and tweet about what a fool that media person is for giving that idiot the time of day. Trust me, you’d be performing a very worthy public service.