State of the Union – A Moderate’s Analysis

I think I’ve mentioned this before, but in case I haven’t, I’m a moderate.  For those who don’t know what that means, I have some tendencies that lean more Republican, and I have some that lean more Democrat.  In fact, I even took a little quiz about my political leaning, and here’s what I got:

Conservative/Progressive score: 5
You are a social moderate. You think the progressive movement is overall well meaning, but sometimes it goes too far. On issues like abortion and affirmative action, you see the negatives of both extremes on the issue. You probably value religion, but at the same time you think it should still stay separate from the government

Capitalist Purist/Social Capitalist score: 7
You are a Moderate Capitalist. You support an economy that is by and large a free market, but has public programs to help people who can’t help themselves or need a little help. Pretty much you believe in the American economy how it currently is.

Libertarian/Authoritarian score: 4
You’re a Moderate. You think that we all have certain inalienable rights that must be protected, but that sometimes laws need to be made to protect the majority’s lives or quality of lives. You might think that the 2nd amendment isn’t necessary anymore because letting everyone a gun is extremely dangerous to the community. You might also be against illegal drug use or public pornography because of its possible harmful effects to society.

Pacifist/Militarist score: 6
You’re a Moderate. You think that in very rare occasions, the United States should invade a country in order to make the world better by spreading democracy or ending a tyrants rule. You also think that defense is very important, and we shouldn’t lower the defense budget. You think that, while the Iraq War probably was a mistake, that we can make the world a better place by sticking with it and spreading democracy in the middle east.

Overall, you would most likely fit into the category of Moderate.

Now that I got that out of the way, I can honestly say I was a little concerned with what President Obama had to say.  I’m still a little concerned with what he said, but I’m not ashamed to talk about it.    At any rate, here we go…

One of the key things he talked about was the economy.  In fact, he mentioned how he and both political parties hated the Wall Street bailout, and he had a plan on how to recoup some of the money back; he “proposed a fee on the biggest banks.”  I couldn’t stand the dichotomy of banks being ‘too big to fail,’ and I was ecstatic to hear that he’s going to work on getting that money back.  I would say I hope they learned their lesson, but I doubt they have the capacity.  After all, these are the same corporations that decided to give their CEO’s big bonuses after receiving their big bailout.

He also mentioned the Recovery Act and mentioned how it helped small businesses because of the benefits they got from it.  He also said that “jobs must be our number one focus in 2010,” and he made the call “for a new jobs bill tonight.”  He also said that he wants to “take $30 billion of the money Wall Street banks have repaid and use it to help community banks and give small businesses the credit they need to stay afloat.”  He’s “proposing a new small business tax credit – one that will go to over one million small businesses who hire new workers or raise wages.”  Personally, I like that idea; I work for a small business, and this is something that could help us out.  I don’t think we’re strapped for cash, but we could definitely use more help on the phones.

He made mention of renewing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.  I liked that, but that’s not all he said that caught my attention.  In fact, he said, “I urge the Senate to…pass a bill that will revitalize our community colleges…and give families a $10,000 tax credit for four years of college and increase Pell Grants.  And let’s tell another one million students that when they graduate, they will be required to pay only ten percent of their income on student loans, and all of their debt will be forgiven after twenty years and forgiven after ten 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.  And it’s time for colleges and universities to get serious about cutting their own costs beause they too have a responsibility to help solve this problem.”

I am so in favor of this.  The cost of education has been increasing exponentially in this country over the past few years; in fact, Cal-Berkeley students protested after the university wanted to increase their tuition by 32%.  I think I would’ve protested that, too.  This will help a great deal with people struggling to go to school, and even more of those that can’t pay for it after it’s completed.  If this gets passed, then it will help so many people who need it the most.

He made a mention of health care reform and how he wants both parties to come together to solve the problem, instead of being stuck under a lot of political posturing.  He even said that “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.”   He basically fired warning shots over the bows of the S.S. Republican and the S.S. Democrat; he had a message, and the message was clear: quit squabbling and help the American people.  Whether or not this will be heard is unknown, but we can certainly hope that it works.

One of the next two things came as a complete shock to the voracity of it, and one was shocking due to the reaction it got.  He made mention of the Supreme Court reversing a law to open the floodgates for special interests.  He’s urging the Democrats and Republicans to pass a bill that fixes this.  In my opinion, the fact that the Supreme Court allowing this to pass in the first place was a VERY BAD IDEA!  Hopefully, both parties will get their heads out of their butts and fix this problem before it gets REALLY bad.

He also wants to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” – or as I know it as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Don’t Pursue” – and allow Gay and Lesbian Americans the ability to join the Armed Forces.  Honestly, I don’t care if they join or not; that’s not my place to say.  If they want to serve this country, then so be it; they shouldn’t have to hide who they are just because some people don’t like the fact that their sexual preference is abnormal to some.  If they want to serve, then let them; hell, there are some “normal” Americans who don’t want to serve.  The problem was that there were some stony-faced Generals and Admirals who reacted to that.  Those who hate this decision really need to get over themselves.

I really hope that people really think about what was said and what the man wants to do, instead of listening to talking heads break a 70 minute speech into talking points.  I also hope that people finally decide to have an open mind about the direction this country is going in; otherwise, this country won’t get any better.  I have faith in this country and I have faith in the people of this great country to do what is right and what is in the best interest of this country.

Please…don’t prove me wrong.