State of the Union Address

Having started to read descriptions of President Obama's upcoming State of the Union address on Tuesday, I got to say I'm pretty impressed... pretty impressed by both its political ramifications and as document about the battered, weathered, yet still strongly held American Dream.  From what I've heard, the central theme of the address will be "fairness," which includes the stereotypically liberal stance of giving everyone a fair chance but also the stereotypically conservative stance of everyone doing their fair share of working toward the American Dream.  One of the biggest reasons I've supported President Obama from the beginning is that his positions have been based on practicality, rather than ideology.  He's gone against his liberal base a variety of times in regards to Afghanistan, Libya, budget cuts and even in going against single payer healthcare (something I continue to support).  This idea of doing what is practical and perhaps most effective stands in stark contrast to folks like Pennsylvania's Governor Tom Corbett, who is currently waging a mean spirited, ideologically based attack against our state's seniors by instituting an asset test for food stamps.  While President Obama of course takes liberal positions more often than not, it is his ability to make decisions from a practical, rather than ideological basis that has in fact changed the way Washington works.  Has his old campaign promise to bring liberals and conservatives together worked?  Nope.  That promise has however morphed into President Obama being one of our first post-ideological candidates... especially after President Bush's clearly ideologically based administrations.

Also, check out the following clip from David Plouffe, senior adviser to the President:



Put quite frankly, this is pretty cool.  It's been amazing how the Obama campaign has been so creative in tapping into the increasingly politically powerful online community, and this feedback opportunity is another example of that creativity.  I encourage all folks, liberal or conservative, to follow up and offer our president some constructive criticism.  Thanks so much folks, and have a great rest of your weekend!

God's peace,
Dustin