“At this second appearing to take the oath of the presidential office, there is less occasion for an extended address than there was at the first.”
So said Abraham Lincoln as he began his second inaugural address in 1865. And then he gave one of the greatest presidential orations ever, pledging, “with malice towards none, with charity towards all … to bind up the nation’s wounds.”
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The political message battle of 2012 has begun. The side that wins the message battle will most likely win the war.
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President Obama covered a lot of territory in the one hour and fifteen minute State of the Union message that he delivered last night. Some of it was new. But, predictably, he ended up riding his favorite hobby horse: Raise taxes on the rich.
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There’s a story speechwriters love about a man who drowned in the Johnstown Flood. When he got to Heaven he told St. Peter the flood was such an interesting experience he thought folks there might want to hear a speech about it.
St. Peter said, “Okay – but don’t make it too big a deal. Noah’ll be in the crowd.”
It’s best not to look too closely at these stories. Can’t Noah stay home if he wants? It’s Heaven! Still, it’s good to have listeners who know a lot. They have insight. One imagines Noah scowling in his seat or during the Q&A asking why the guy didn’t build an ark.
Which is why it was so disappointing to read the response to last week’s State of the Union speech by two former speechwriters turned pundits, Charles Krauthammer and Michael Gerson.
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President Obama may have hit the mark in the State of the Union when focusing on the future of the economy, but Dan Conley points to one of the speech’s major flaws.
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President Obama is expected to deliver a pro-growth, pro-trade message tomorrow night in the State of the Union. As Dan Conley suggests, the President should also take the opportunity to redefine for Americans what the future of the economy looks like and how both government and the private sector need to adjust to it.
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Much like most State of the Union addresses, President Obama’s speech this year will be filled with initiatives and proposals that he would like Congress to enact. But this will not be a speech about policy. It will be about Tucson and the soul of the country in the aftermath of the terrible shooting.
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The State of the Union is Stranger
My fellow Americans, 51 years ago, John F. Kennedy declared to this chamber that, “the Constitution makes us not rivals for power, but partners for progress. It is my task to report the State of the Union. To improve it is the task of us all.”
(APPLAUSE)
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