Q2

Article two section three of the American Constitution says that the President of the United States “shall from time to time give to the Congress information of the state of the union.” On 2010-January-27, President Obama—a man who I voted for—delivered his first.

It has been a rough year for the American people; for the Democratic party; and for me — to say nothing of the President. He came to office one year ago on a tide of good will. We thought—! I thought that he would be able to fulfil the vision of the late Senator Robert Kennedy. I quote from the Senator’s victory speech upon winning the California primary on 1968-June-04. These words were spoken mere minutes before his assassination:

I think we can end the divisions within the United States. What  I think is quite clear is that we can work together in the last analysis. And that what has been going on with the United States over the period of the last three years, the divisions the violence and the disenchantment with our society, the divisions—whether it’s between blacks and whites, between the poor and the more affluent, or between age groups, or in the war in [Iraq]—that we can work together. We are a great country, an unselfish country and a compassionate country. And I intend to make that my basis for running.

I wish that Robert were still alive — that is a man I’d have loved to meet.

The President has bent over backwards and gone out of his way to be bipartisan, to attempt to heal the divisions within the current political and social structures; and its fairly obvious to anyone with a pulse that the opposition—the GOP, the teabaggers and the minority “leadership”—has no interest in being bipartisan. They wanted him to fail. They still want him to fail. We all remember the words that were spoken a few days after the POTUS took office:

Political cartoon from 2009-01-27...

Still. Its hard to “move forward as one nation, as one people” when twenty percent of the country thinks that he is a “Kenyan usurper” and/or a Muslim communist-fascist-Nazi-socialist (A note to the teabaggers: pick one!) … A year into this Presidency and we’ve had some victories. A compromised stimulus bill was passed. We had a fairly smooth Supreme Court confirmation — although I frankly would have preferred Pam Karlan as the nominee. We got the Matthew Shepard Act passed. We are probably on the verge of somewhat meaningful health care reform. A little less than three years remain of this Presidency: I’d like to see a lot more.

At this point I’d like to talk about certain elements of the speech.

So we face big and difficult challenges. And what the American people hope —what they deserve—is for all of us, Democrats and Republicans, to work through our differences; to overcome the numbing weight of our politics. For while the people who sent us here have different backgrounds, different stories, different beliefs, the anxieties they face are the same. The aspirations they hold are shared: a job that pays the bills; a chance to get ahead; most of all, the ability to give their children a better life.

That’s a lovely thought and it would have been a perfect opportunity to shake things up, to change the system. He could have brought everyone else in — he could have brought the rest of us in from the cold! He could have mentioned all of us—he could have mentioned the Constitutionalists, the Communists, the Greens, the Libertarians, the Pirates, the Socialists, the Whigs and all the others—and appeal the the entire political spectrum (not just the center-right and the right) but instead he chose the status-quo, to maintain the false-binary of Democratic or Republican politics. If he wants to be a great President, then its time to roll up the sleeves and start moving the country away from the two-party winner-takes-all system.

…we can put Americans to work today building the infrastructure of tomorrow. From the first railroads to the Interstate Highway System, our nation has always been built to compete. There’s no reason Europe or China should have the fastest trains, or the new factories that manufacture clean energy products. Tomorrow, I’ll visit Tampa, Florida, where workers will soon break ground on a new high-speed railroad funded by the Recovery Act. There are projects like that all across this country that will create jobs and help move our nation’s goods, services, and information.

This has always been one of my biggest issues in American politics: until now no politician has been willing to invest in high-speed domestic passenger rail. I hope and pray that Mr Obama will change that — give me a high speed train that lets me leave Chicago, spend the day in New York and be back in Chicago within a single day and you’ll make me the happiest boy in the world. For fuck sake, the current system takes twenty six hours—!—to move me from Chicago to New York on a one way trip!

And let’s tell another one million students that when they graduate, they will be required to pay only 10 percent of their income on student loans, and all of their debt will be forgiven after 20 years –- and forgiven after 10 years if they choose a career in public service, because in the United States of America, no one should go broke because they chose to go to college.

This was the single greatest thing I heard all day long. For four classes / one semester at Elmhurst College—for one semester!—I am now 17000$ in debt. Seventeen thousand! What the frak!? If the Congressional Leadership can get a bill like this passed and if the President signs it, I will probably run—maybe even try to be elected!—for the Illinois State House or the American House of Representatives, that is how much I approve of what the President said.

So, as temperatures cool, I want everyone to take another look at the plan we’ve proposed. There’s a reason why many doctors, nurses, and health care experts who know our system best consider this approach a vast improvement over the status quo. But if anyone from either party has a better approach that will bring down premiums, bring down the deficit, cover the uninsured, strengthen Medicare for seniors, and stop insurance company abuses, let me know. Let me know. Let me know. I’m eager to see it.

(raises hand) Oh, oh oh! Pick me! Pick me! Single payer. Medicare for all. Nobody is excluded, everyone is in if they want to be. That’s a better approach!

Starting in 2011, we are prepared to freeze government spending for three years. Spending related to our national security, Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security will not be affected. But all other discretionary government programs will. Like any cash-strapped family, we will work within a budget to invest in what we need and sacrifice what we don’t.

I’m already a political pariah, so let’s talk about it: why is it taboo to even think about cutting defence spending? Really. For the fiscal year of 2010 (2009-October-01 through 2010-September-31) the United States of America will spend seven hundred and fifty five billion dollars on defence.

Seven hundred fifty five billion.

Seven hundred fifty five billion.

In the fiscal year 2008 the People’s Republic of China spent sixty four billion. Russian Federation? Thirty eight billion. Republic of India? Twenty four billion. Brazil? Fifteen billion. DPRK? Seven billion. Islāmic Republic of Iran? Seven billion. United States 2008? Six hundred sixty four billion. United States 2010? Seven hundred fifty five billion.

Really, what or who threatens us? Terrorism? The war on terrorism is a misnomer: terrorism is a tactic. You can’t wage or win war against a tactic. The DOD’s budget can be cut by two-thirds and we would still be spending four times what the Chinese spend! Take that five hundred billion dollars we just saved and give one fifth of it to the Department of Education; one fifth to NASA; one fifth for development of domestic JR–Maglev lines; one fifth for development of geothermal/solar/wind technologies; and use the rest to start paying down the national debt…. Why should we freeze domestic spending but maintain or even increase security spending? Let me commit political sepuku: the United States can and should slash military spending.

The confirmation of well-qualified public servants shouldn’t be held hostage to the pet projects or grudges of a few individual senators.

(stares at the junior Senator from South Carolina)

This year, I will work with Congress and our military to finally repeal the law that denies gay Americans the right to serve the country they love because of who they are. It’s the right thing to do.

Why stop with DADT? Why not instruct the Justice Department to stop defending the past and instead focus on making sure that Section One of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution applies to me and every other gay American?

Okay. Time for me to get off my soapbox and go back to the business of being a student. My faith in President Obama has been shaken many times this past year—most notably by his failure to fight for the public option—but he still has enough credibility with me that I can say, with all honesty and respect, that the speech gave me hope. We had a rough year — but the President, the executive branch of the government can still be an effective instrument for real change in American politics. Hope is still alive.

See you in the world.