The night before last, President Barack Obama stood at the podium in the Chamber of the House of Representatives and addressed Congress and all of the American people. Not officially a "State of the Union" address because this speech taking place just one month following his oath of office is not a reflection on a year of his presidency; but, wow, it felt like a "State of the Union" address. It certainly had all the mechanics and mannerisms of one. The President, flanked by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Vice President Joe Biden, spoke directly to the People! I can with much detail recall his stern, frank, and serious talk of how Americans played a role in creating economic strife and the crisis we face. He stood firm that we as Americans have always worked through situations and we will work through this. The fact that he said this and other struggles of the coming years would be hard, hit a personal cord for me. I thought how I must embrace the "hard" things in my life and resolve to work hard and make the difficulty my reason for getting up earlier and working later. Wow, isn't this what we should all do everyday! I can't forget the way he addressed the plight of the Auto Industry in such a simple statement...the automobile was invented by
this nation...we won't give that away and give up on what is ours! So, we'll transform it for the times and keep this nation great. And he candidly asked the Congress to have Regulation Legislation drafted and sent to him sooner not later! This is a President who intends to get work done and call on others to Work too. On education (I sent text messages to my 16 year protege and 15 year old niece to remind them they needed to be watching and listening) the President made it clear that a high school diploma is mandatory...no dropping out...but that all Americans must also be educated beyond high school. It is in his plan to make money available, change the costs associated with higher education, shore up community and 2 year colleges...but to simply get education for all of us...this is how we become a better positioned society! He said charter schools are important, the education of
all children is now a real part of the national agenda! I was completely emotionally tied into the details of a letter he summarized that was received from a high school student from South Carolina. He echoed the words "we are not quitters, we are not quitters". I work with under served students in Philadelphia volunteer programs who say that on a regular basis and I like President Obama want the country to know that these kids deserve better. The President left me standing in front of the tv applauding his sharpness and wit as he asked Congress (all those esteemed folks in the Chamber that night) to send him the "Kennedy-Hatch" bill to finally get the work of these Senators to law...stop talking and get it done! To paraphrase, Health care reform can and WILL get done! By the time he reminded Republicans, with a wink and his legendary smile, that the deficit was spun out of control under their watch...I was fully entranced. With unbelieveable charisma and subtle humor he told the conservatives that they don't agree with him on everything just "yet". Nancy Pelosi could not help her self from smiling broadly and clapping non stop as President Obama spoke from issue to issue. By this time I was chatting a solo tune of "Obama, Obama!" Having a background as a Finance Executive in Corporate America I was impressed that the President is taking the budget planning process ten years out...this may have been missed by many watching him speak...but I know this is BIG. Budgets are complex and no one wants to budget to begin with but extending it is a very responsible move and shows a great deal of unprecedented accountability. His team has already identied $2Trillion to be saved/redirected. It's been two days now since the speech and moment by moment I continue to recall parts of the speech this is a first...I cannot recall ever remembering so much of a Presidential address. Once again, President Barack Obama has left me with a great deal of reflection and a spirit to get my share of the work done! Boy, I feel like we got the right guy for the job this time.
