Obama delivered a masterful speech last night, and it was certainly a historic moment. Unfortunately, it was a misleading speech at extreme odds with his record.
It's understandable that Obama is trying to move to the middle as the general election approaches, but many parts of his speech were based on strong conservative principles. In fact, part of his speech gave a better representation of the benefits of conservatism than we've seen a Republican give in a long time.
Here are some of the highlights of the speech that have conservative principles at the core:
- We should get involved in our communities to help each other out.
- Achieving the American Dream takes hard work.
- Government can't solve all of our problems.
- We should eliminate government programs that don't work.
Unfortunately, Obama didn't stick with this positive conservative message. He also didn't uphold his message of a new kind of politics. He often slipped into negativity, attacking McCain with absurd accusations of cowardice, taking facts and statements out of context.
He said he wants to help out middle class families. One of the greatest things facing Americans is rising gas prices, and yet he's against drilling for oil in the US that would bring immediate relief to our economy.
He said he wants to bring together Democrats and Republicans. That's hard to do when you're the most liberal Senator in Congress. It's also a risky thing to say when your opponent actually has the track record of working across party lines.
He said he would cut taxes for 95% of working families. Strangely, he voted this year to raise taxes on anybody making over $42,000 a year.
He said he knows what he's proposing will cost money. His answer for that is to go through the federal budget line by line and cut out programs we don't need. That's a great idea, but what programs? He has never made any pretense on the campaign trail that he'll even try to balance the budget.
He said he's wanting to debate John McCain. Really? McCain's been asking Obama to do town hall meetings all across America since the primaries ended, and Obama has declined.
What Obama is saying sounds too good to be true. He's going to provide health insurance, pay for college education, pay teachers more, and invest in alternative energies, all with lowering taxes for 95% of Americans. It doesn't add up.
We greatly enjoyed Obama's speech, and it was certainly inspiring at times. The problem is that when you dig a little bit deeper, you realize he doesn't plan to deliver on what he's saying. There's no way he can. And interestingly, the more appealing aspects of his speech were based on conservative ideals.
Although the four core principles you pulled out of Obama’s speech are often toted by conservatives (though, not by the Republican party), I believe the point Obama is making is that these principles should be at the heart of every American’s politcal philosophy.
He has clearly moved towards the center (I would argue, taking almost all of Senator Clinton’s positions on major issues), but is that necessarily a bad thing? Last night, he called for a reduction in the rate of unwanted pregnancies, something everyone can actually agree on. He called for a long-term solution to our country’s oil crisis, something everyone can actually agree on. He called for a protection of our fundemental rights, something everyone can actually agree on. My point is, if he follows through as president with a centerist ideology, I would be more than okay with that, as would a majority of our country I believe.
Finally, the fact that he is the most liberal senator is highly contested, though I’m not surprised TRE, or any other conservative blog or voice, would like to paint him as such.
D.
I think you proved the point of this blog. First, a conservative philosophy should be at the heart of every American’s political philosophy because it’s the best philosophy. This is also the philosophy that conservatives more often put into practice.
Second, the blog wasn’t saying Obama coming to the center (even the right at points) was a bad thing. In fact, the blog said the opposite. The point is that what he said is very different than what he’s done.
It’d be great if Obama suddenly had an epiphany and was going to be a centrist if elected. I’m just not going to bet on it based on his record.
Regardless of what he said, he ended the speech with what he believes. His whole: “McCain wants you to pull up your own boot strap...” vomit was one of the most offensive things I’ve ever heard from a politician! He is convinced that the average American not only has no clue how to provide for themselves, but even worse the government is the one that can fill in for our stupidity and inability to provide for ourselves! His speech was generalizing and vague, and gave us no idea as to how he is going to do anything that he is suggesting.
I’ve never been so insulted and peeved off at a politician before...this man infuriates me!