I really like and admire President Obama. I will certainly vote for him again.
Practically, however, one of his oft-repeated mistakes is to speak about a topic about 10x longer than he should. I’m sure part of his inclination is to leverage the bully pulpit (heck, he can say whatever he wants, whenever he wants) and to offer more nuanced views on topics so that he does not ruffle the feathers of his constituents, his opponents, or those who are in the middle. The result, however, has painted him as a leader who is simultaneously intelligent and rhetorically superior yet one who is also too thorough in communication to be truly heard.
Or, to put it more simply: He talks too much!
If I were helping write Obama’s SOTU speech tonight, I would frame these key issues in the most plain, assertive, clear language possible:
- Foreign Policy: “We have kept our promises to disengage from foreign entanglements that do not meet our strategic interests, though we will always reserve the right to protect our safety and freedoms, even if that means acting preemptively. Our Administration and armed forces have ended our engagement in Iraq, have begun disengagement from Afghanistan, and have dismantled Al Queda and killed its leader, while also keeping other rogue, potentially disruptive regimes at bay.”
- Domestic Policy: “We have passed — albeit with an epic struggle — legislation that provides healthcare coverage for millions of Americans who may not have had access to this level of care, or any care at all. This was a transparent objective of our campaign, and was rooted in the belief that these measures, though costly, will strengthen the country’s foundation and competitiveness for the next century.”
- Economic Policy: “We inherited an economy on the brink of collapse. One can argue that it cost too much; or, one can argue that we could have borrowed more. The depth of our wound was too severe to fix in three years. Instead, our recovery efforts have ended up staving off disaster. We needed this foundation back in order to lay bricks for the future in order to have sustainable growth.”
“Now, in the next election coming up in November, Americans again will have a stark choice. Will they want to be governed by a party that committed American men and women (plus trillions of dollars) to foreign conflicts? Will they want a government led by officials who seek to preserve the insurance industry, or the insured? And, will they want to be led by a party that will continue to advocate for tax breaks for the wealthy in order to stimulate the economy?
“On that last note, my position is clear: America’s growing income inequality — the rate at which the majority of citizens are separated by wealth from the rich — is not only a national security issue, but also a defining social and moral issue of our time.”
