Obama fails to inspire with his non-bipartisan speech. The president ran down a list of his niche coalition members; those in need, the GLBT community, immigrants, gender pay equality, women’s health and continued his support for their needs and the solution was bigger government. He stressed a collective effort as opposed to self reliance, individualism and entrepreneurism. Collectivism a euphemism for European Democratic Socialism. I’m less hopeful at the start of this term then I was at the start of his first term because now his intentions are clear about transforming this country into something I won’t recognize. He’s trying to co-opt and redefine the American Dream into a redistribution of wealth through a fairness in taxation strategy in order to grow government into the provider as opposed to providing for yourself.
If he’d just focus on the economy prosperity would once again allow the traditional American Dream to inspire our citizens to excel.
From today’s Globe:
“Now, more than ever, we must do these things together, as one nation, and one people,” Obama told an estimated one million revelers gathered on the National Mall on a sunny, brisk morning to hear him repeat the oath of office.
The dichotomy of Obama’s speech, with its calls for cooperation between the parties and its tilt toward traditional Democratic priorities, marked the entry point for his second term. The president repeatedly made clear he will fight for a strong role for the federal government in the face of opposition from Republicans who want to reduce its role in addressing the nation’s ills.
Speaking on the federal holiday commemorating civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., the nation’s first black president returned several times to the theme that the country from its founding has embarked on “a never-ending journey” to advance the rights and opportunities of the less fortunate and disenfranchised.
Obama Inauguration speech 2013
President Barack Obama delivered his second inaugural address Monday to a packed crowd on the National Mall. Here’s POLITICO’s list of the 10 most memorable quotes from the 18-minute speech:
1. “We recall that what binds this nation together is not the colors of our skin or the tenets of our faith or the origins of our names. What makes us exceptional — what makes us American — is our allegiance to an idea, articulated in a declaration made more than two centuries ago.”
2. “For now decisions are upon us, and we cannot afford delay. We cannot mistake absolutism for principle, or substitute spectacle for politics, or treat name-calling as reasoned debate.”
3. “We do not believe that in this country, freedom is reserved for the lucky, or happiness for the few.”
4. “My fellow Americans, we are made for this moment, and we will seize it — so long as we seize it together.”
5. “But we have always understood that when times change, so must we; that fidelity to our founding principles requires new responses to new challenges; that preserving our individual freedoms ultimately requires collective action.”
6. We will support democracy from Asia to Africa; from the Americas to the Middle East, because our interests and our conscience compel us to act on behalf of those who long for freedom.
7. “But while the means will change, our purpose endures: a nation that rewards the effort and determination of every single American. That is what this moment requires. That is what will give real meaning to our creed.”
8. “Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law — for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well.”
9. “We will respond to the threat of climate change, knowing that the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations.”
10. “You and I, as citizens, have the obligation to shape the debates of our time — not only with the votes we cast, but with the voices we lift in defense of our most ancient values and enduring ideals.”
I felt most concerned about the Obama’s collective action “central government” but heartened by the last one that speaks to me as the value of individual responsibility and self reliance.
