Whoever said that there is no “I” in team clearly had nothing to do with crafting President Obama’s State of the Union Address. His remarks underscored the man’s flawed hubris and served as a metaphor that echoed the housing crisis mindset of buying a house that he couldn’t really afford.
At some point, you have to own what you bought. Obama spent a lot of campaign money to become president and live in the White House. He knew that the plumbing was bad and the foundation was cracked when he asked voters to send him to fix it. As he duly noted when he spoke of the deficit and bank crisis throughout his speech, “All that was there before I walked through the door.”
Yet, instead of taking ownership, he chose to focus his remarks on the leaking roof and how it wasn’t his fault that it leaked.
Most Americans who have been trying to weather the banking and housing crises are sopping wet due to loss of jobs and homes, and they are all too aware of the problems. They want solutions.
Over the past year, over three million Americans have lost their jobs. And according to the Depart of Labor, during the third week of January 2010 there were over 4.6 million Americans who are drawing from unemployment as the U.S. unemployment rate hovers at 10%.
These people are sinking and they need a lifeline. Americans are tired of all of the excuses for why the roof still leaks and why they can’t find work. Who cares who created the problem at this point? “Get ‘er done” is the message Americans want the President to hear. They want the President and Congress to fix the financial cracks so average Americans can provide for their families. And those who are fortunate to be gainfully employed want to stop living from paycheck to paycheck and start planning for their future.
And despite Obama’s attempt to sound like everyman, he failed to call a duck a duck when he spoke of cap and trade and instead spoke in veiled language that when translated for the layman said Obama will seek to impose cap and trade energy taxes that will ultimately kill jobs and hinder energy production.
Moreover, while the President has called for greater transparency in the government process, he continued to push a healthcare bill that many Americans still have no idea what provisions are contained in the bill; what reforms it will make to the healthcare system, if any; and at what cost.
Whatever President Obama inherited, it’s his and he needs to realize his presidency could face the same foreclosure in 2012 that Americans across the nation have felt since the financial crisis began. President Obama needs to stop looking back and pointing fingers, but rather looking forward and creating a realistic blueprint to help Americans build that future.
Karen Hart worked for President Ronald Reagan during his post-White House years and is a freelance speechwriter in Washington, D.C.
