WASHINGTON: The hope that propelled Barack Obama to the presidency was back. That was absolutely clear from President Obama's well-received address to Congress last night.
At the top of his remarks, Obama declared, "We will rebuild, we will recover, and the United States of America will emerge stronger than before."
And then after a stern talk about the US economy — how we got here, and how we possibly fix it — he ended his speech this way:
"If we come together and lift this nation from the depths of this crisis; if we put our people back to work ... then someday years from now our children can tell their children that this was the time when we performed, in the words that are carved into this very chamber, 'something worthy to be remembered.'"
Obama received a standing ovation when he vowed that corporate chief executives would no longer travel on private jets at the same time they laid off thousands of workers. "Those days are over," he said. Lawmakers leapt to their feet again when he declared that "health care reform cannot wait, it must not wait, and it will not wait another year."
Obama walked a narrow line between straight-talking wise man and cheerleader:
"While our economy may be weakened and our confidence shaken; though we are living through difficult and uncertain times, tonight I want every American to know this: We will rebuild, we will recover, and the United States of America will emerge stronger than before," he declared. "The weight of this crisis will not determine the destiny of this nation."
While he largely avoided partisan rhetoric and did not directly point the finger of blame at his predecessor, George W. Bush, Obama did describe an "era" of greed and short-term profit that he said the nation is now leaving behind, and he stressed that he had not created but rather "inherited" the $1 trillion deficit, along with what he called "a financial crisis and a costly recession."
The "day of reckoning has arrived," he declared, warning members of both parties in Congress that they will be forced to sacrifice "worthy priorities" as the crisis continues.
While he did not break new ground of the policies he proposes, he framed his argument with fresh urgency.
In a litany of proposals, Obama called for stricter regulatory reforms of the nation's financial institutions. He also mentioned creating tax-free universal savings accounts for all Americans, a nod to the Republican desire to create some kind of investment vehicles as they consider overhauling the Social Security program.
"My budget does not attempt to solve every problem or address every issue," he said. "It reflects the start reality of what we've inherited - a trillion-dollar budget deficit, a financial crisis and costly recession. Given those realities, everyone in this chamber - Democrats and Republicans - will have to sacrifice some worthy priorities for which there are no dollars. And that includes me."
Like his predecessors, Obama cited the stories of guests invited to the speech by the White House to reflect "the spirit of the people who sent us here." One of those, a South Carolina high school student named Ty'Sheoma Bethea, sought help for her crumbling school by writing a letter to members of Congress, Obama said. "We are not quitters," he said, quoting her letter. "That's what she said. We are not quitters."
Delivering the official GOP response to Obama from the governor's mansion in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Bobby Jindal defended the virtues of small government that he said even his own party had abandoned in recent years.
But Jindal's rising star in the Republican Party appears to have lost some of its luster after his performance.
The high-profile televised gig has helped launch some lesser-known politicians into national prominence, while sidelining others who were deemed not ready for prime time. The Louisiana governor's uneven appearance might put him in the latter category.
While some Republicans saw the 37-year-old Jindal as perhaps their best presidential hope in 2012, his speech emphasized his youth while not reflecting his charisma. And his high-pitched, chirpy Bayou accent didn't help.
The reviews have been mixed, to say the least. National Public Radio's Juan Williams said that Jindal's presentation was "sing-songy" and that Jindal looked "childish" compared to Obama. "I think he had a really poor performance tonight, I'm sorry to say," Williams said on Fox News Channel.
