Obama's Speech -- Values?

[JDPriestly]

My husband and I have, over the years, known some really tough times -- two children, almost no money and choices to make about what to buy, what to do without - priorities.

We have also known some good times. And in those times, we had to choose what to spend and what to save.

We never thought of it as "balancing a budget." We thought of it as making the right choices.

And, in making choices together, we learned over time that the secret to good choices is deciding at the outset what our values are and making sure that our values drive our decisions.

I did not hear Obama say anything about values in his speech. (And I heard the speech once and read it an additional two times.)

The closest thing was this:

History is scattered with the stories of those who held fast to rigid ideologies and refused to listen to those who disagreed. But those are not the Americans we remember. We remember the Americans who put country above self, and set personal grievances aside for the greater good. We remember the Americans who held this country together during its most difficult hours; who put aside pride and party to form a more perfect union.

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/07/obama-default-would-be-reckless-and-irresponsible.php?ref=fpblg

Is that all that is left of the values that made our country great?

Obama speaks as though "compromise" were in and of itself the supreme value. Really? Compromise as I understand it grows from the more basic values and assumptions that are shared -- like making sure everyone has enough to eat and safe shelter, like equality and justice for all.

The speech baffled me. D.C. policy-wonkism to the extreme.

Surely Obama can do better than this.

They say that if you want to lose weight the first thing you have to do is push yourself away from the table.

Our folks in D.C. (not just Obama but all of them), need to push themselves away from D.C. and get out in America. Visit some of the budget stores and watch elderly people studying prices. Go to schools in poor neighborhoods and talk to parents. Meet some homeless people. Don't just go to serve up food for a photo op. Sit and talk with some of those in a shelter about how they got where they are and their dreams.

I know a trailer park in Boehner's own district that Obama and Boehner could visit as they are making their decisions. Or why don't they take a day-trip to a VA hospital? How about spending a morning with Americans who have been looking for work for over a year? Maybe if they got out and saw the reality that ordinary Americans are facing, they could find common direction.

And since when does a Democratic president quote Reagan? Wouldn't some quotes from FDR and JFK be more appropriate?

[polichick]

1. A Dem prez quotes Reagan when he has bought into Republican lies...

...and stopped pretending to stand for Democratic principles and values.

k&r

[phleshdef]

15. Quoting Reagan = Calling the Republicans hypocrites to their faces.

Thats painfully obvious political strategy. Its one of the oldest tactics in the book. Use your oppositions own heroes against it to make it question itself. Its not different than when a liberal points out to a Reagan worshipping Norquist Republican that Reagan raised taxes a bajillion times.

[polichick]

38. Depends on the quote and the context. This prez HAS bought into Reaganomics...

...otherwise he wouldn't allow the other side to frame the issues.

[phleshdef]

40. Thats bullshit. Obama is not a trickle down believer in the slightest.

Even when he extended the Bush tax cuts, he clearly stated that it wouldn't create one damn job. The vast majority of spending and tax cuts that Obama has pursued as his preferred policy have been aimed at people who are not wealthy.

The context of the Reagan quote was used to point out that the so called hero of this obstructive movement in Congress would have had the same position on raising the debt ceiling as Obama has, and thats that it needs to be done and it will be catastrophic if it doesn't happen. There was nothing else in the comment beyond that.

[midnight]

2. K&R

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

3. Obama quoting Reagan - Trickle-down politics?

[DonCoquixote]

20. no

he is pointing out to the tea party that reagan, their saint, would be considered too far to the left for them today.

[NobodyInParticular]

4. Did Obama speak from the heart?

I listened to his speech on the radio and his speech sounded "measured." And then I saw a video of it, and the speaker looked hollow: There was no moment where there was any caring in his voice and demeanor, only a studied presentation of what he thought would be effective...

[ProSense]

5. "I did not hear Obama say anything about values in his speech.

...(And I heard the speech once and read it an additional two times.)

The closest thing was this:

History is scattered with the stories of those who held fast to rigid ideologies and refused to listen to those who disagreed. But those are not the Americans we remember. We remember the Americans who put country above self, and set personal grievances aside for the greater good. We remember the Americans who held this country together during its most difficult hours; who put aside pride and party to form a more perfect union."


He also said this:

So the debate right now isn't about whether we need to make tough choices. Democrats and Republicans agree on the amount of deficit reduction we need. The debate is about how it should be done. Most Americans, regardless of political party, don't understand how we can ask a senior citizen to pay more for her Medicare before we ask corporate jet owners and oil companies to give up tax breaks that other companies don't get. How can we ask a student to pay more for college before we ask hedge fund managers to stop paying taxes at a lower rate than their secretaries? How can we slash funding for education and clean energy before we ask people like me to give up tax breaks we don't need and didn't ask for?

That's not right. It's not fair. We all want a government that lives within its means, but there are still things we need to pay for as a country - things like new roads and bridges; weather satellites and food inspection; services to veterans and medical research.

[JDPriestly]

6. Very, very weak. ProSense.

Look. You and I disagree about Obama, but I think we will agree that Obama has given speeches that were quite inspiring.

This was not one of them.

And I will say that speech reflects precisely the kind of depression a person feels when he has forgotten his values and is just trying to get through the day.

Obama needs to find his moral bearings.

And he's going to have to look somewhere other than D.C., somewhere other than in free market economics, somewhere other than in "compromise" for the sake of compromise.

Compromise is a means to an end, not the end itself. So, what ends are guiding Obama's negotiations?

It's not that I think he doesn't know. It's that I think he isn't focusing on them and therefore did not articulate them clearly.

He has fallen into the conservative trap of squinting at the bottom line, looking for short-term answers and forgetting that there is a really big picture out there.

The lines you quote don't reflect any clear commitment to any values. They simply recite cliches. Obama should speak about values over and over and over. He knows how to do it. Why isn't he?

On edit: the lines about weather satellites, etc. -- Again, a statement of policy directions, but not values. That's precisely the problem.

Why do we want weather satellites. You and I know why, but most Americans think that weather satellites are a waste of time and money.

Obama has to explain the values that things like food safety and weather satellites would serve.

The entire point of Fox News and the conservative rhetoric with which we are barraged on the evening news is to disconnect values and things like food safety and weather satellites. Obama's job as a Democratic president is to connect the values we all share with the policies and programs that we on DU and the president support.

Obama told the nation that we have to eat our peas. Why do we have to eat our peas? Just because Obama says so?

Telling people to eat their peas "because I say so" is a recipe for disaster. People need to understand why they have to eat their peas. And if Americans cared about the policy aspects and compromise needed to balance the budget, we would not be in this crisis in the first place.

Values. They must be the starting point, the spring if you will, for Obama's discussion about budgets and deficits. He did not do a good job in that speech. (Which is a shame because giving speeches is his strength.)

[NobodyInParticular]

7. Obama needs to wake up from the trance

that his corporate handlers have put him under.

[ProSense]

11. No

"Look. You and I disagree about Obama, but I think we will agree that Obama has given speeches that were quite inspiring.

This was not one of them.

And I will say that speech reflects precisely the kind of depression a person feels when he has forgotten his values and is just trying to get through the day.

Obama needs to find his moral bearings."

... I don't agree that this wasn't one of them. If the only inspiration was that enough Americans contacted Congress to crash its servers, then it was inspirational.

You say the paragraphs I cited are "very, very weak," but they are not as weak and far more relevant to the "values" point than the one you cited.

[JoePhilly]

12. You sem to only hear what you want to hear.

Like your reference to the "eat your peas" line from a prior press conference.

You might want to go back and listen to that one again.

He did not say that the American people need to eat their peas, which is what you claim (and what many on DU incorrectly claim).

He said that the politicians in Washington need to "eat their peas" and make the tough decisions they need to make to prevent the government from going into default.

But that's not what you heard.

[JDPriestly]

19. That, I assure you, is not what Americans heard.

You put your finger on one of the problems. Obama speaks in public to his colleagues in D.C. seemingly oblivious of the fact that Americans assume he is speaking to them.

[polmaven]

30. That's what I heard.

I'm not an American? Who knew?? :shrug:

[JoePhilly]

41. So Americans are stupid?

The sad thing is that when the media, and folks like you, incorrectly re-frame what he actually said, YOU contribute to the problem.

Many Americans did not hear what he actually said, but do they do, later, hear the kind of incorrect and misleading framing that YOU, and the media, used.

And then, amazingly, YOU blame Obama that such a thing happened.

You are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem.

[Fire1]

17. It is quite obvious to most of us that this speech was not

intended to be "inspirational." It was meant to do exactly what it did. Lay out in rudimentary terms exactly what the problem is in this negotiation. WHO, WHAT , WHERE and more importantly, WHY! As usual, 60% STILL don't get it.:banghead:

[Name removed]

8. Deleted message

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[jberryhill]

9. I'm interested in having a chief executive, not a Sunday School teacher

I'm comfortable with my values, and not in the market for anyone else's.

What I would like to see is effective and responsive government from my government.

I'll get my "inspiration" elsewhere, thank you.

[JDPriestly]

16. My point is that policy and "responsiveness" cannot be separated from values.

And in addition, you are the exception. Most people want to know the purpose of the policy. Why do we have to eat our peas?

As our president, Obama needs to articulate our shared values.

Functional families share common values and articulate their common values through words and/or actions.

Dysfunctional families and couples headed for divorce typically cannot articulate their common values -- either in words or actions.

To become a functional nation, we have to have leadership that can speak about and act on our nation's values.

I understand that you want to defend Obama's every mistake.

That is not my goal. Instead, I am trying to him succeed.

You use the word "responsive" government. That is precisely my point. What values is Obama responding to? He needs to articulate that so people know "where he is coming from."

If you live as a loner, you don't have to be responsive to anyone.

But we live in families, societies, nations and one world. We have to be responsive to each other's values. There is no such thing as "responsive" without the other. And the moment you are dealing with an "other" you have to apply values.

[jberryhill]

21. "I understand that you want to defend Obama's every mistake."

I wish I made as many "mistakes" as that guy.

And if that statement is a demonstration of your ability to understand things, then there is much you do not understand.

[Doctor_J]

32. But the president managed 70 million votes in 2008 because of the values he projected

And he's abandoned those to "meet halfway" terrorists and traitors

[jberryhill]

35. Yeah, that was the RW criticism - that he'd be willing to speak with enemies

I didn't much think the "palling around with terrorists" line was cute when Palin used it either.

Get a new writer.

[dionysus]

10. ah, today's outrage.

[JoePhilly]

13. +1

[Ichingcarpenter]

18. No... you are wrong

the president wasn't elected by the supporters of John McCain
and Sarah Palin....

That's what you and he doesn't get.
We didn't elect him to change into a republican
or go golfing with Boner.

[JDPriestly]

31. Yes, Iching.

Obama was elected because a bunch of idealists like me (and probably you) got out and visited the trailer courts and the mansions, Main Street and everywhere else telling people that Obama would bring change.

And so what is Obama trying to do? Bring compromise, not change.

Compromise is not change. That's the problem.

Obama should be representing the values of the Democratic Party. He is not doing that.

[Ichingcarpenter]

34. Thank you.. that's what I want to hear

the compromise crap he does with total assholes.

Think about it .... His person came out and said the FBI
said the right wing was a threat to this nation ...

then he withdrew it and apologized for the science and data
of the facts.

I've got a list of his wanting to be a mediator rather than a
leader.

[Name removed]

23. Deleted message

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[Fire1]

14. You want him to preach "values" to a bunch of bigots??

That's rich.

[JDPriestly]

24. Yes. That is our only hope. Values. Otherwise, we will not be

a nation before you know it. Values are what hold families, societies, nations -- together.

Shared values expressed through political action are what make our nation what it is.

We are not a nation based on tribal traditions or race.

We are a nation based on shared values.

A president needs to articulate those values very clearly and very compellingly when trying to call the nation to help him solve a problem. Obama did not do that. He still has time.

[Fire1]

28. He did mention "responsibility" and paying our bills. That is

a value. Still, the values to which amurkans once subscribed are not as shared as you would like to think. Lipstick on a pig.

[JDPriestly]

42. Very sad.

[DebJ]

22. Obama had to speak to ALL of the people, including the

Tea Party idiots. I thought his speech was very well done to speak to those.
And definitely calling the St. Reagan group hypocrites and liars.

[Name removed]

26. Deleted message

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[DevonRex]

25. He needs some smoove Johnny values!!!!!

:rofl:

[dionysus]

36. wah dahlin', care to participate in mah hedge fund?

[DevonRex]

37. Why shore ah do. And may ah have the numbah of yore hair stahlist?

:hi:

[dionysus]

39. I think I left it under mah cruise missile console, maam.

:hi:

[msongs]

27. Obama truly believes in the equivalency of republican and democratic party values nt

[Doctor_J]

33. maybe this is the problem, msongs

He really think that the traitorous slime like McTurtle deserves the same consideration as Bernie Sanders. That explains his disastrous 2.5 years.

[KoKo]

29. A thoughtful post that deserves a Big K&R! It was a depressing speech.

..on many levels.