Barack Moves Forward Jindahl Moves Sideways

 Or How the State of the Onion Makes Even the Right Cry a Bit

In the few days since President Obama took office the Republican response took a left turn. Or at least the Governor of Louisiana in his response hit the populist button regularly in his response speech. His most common phrase was, “The American People Can Do Anything!” Well Bobby, “Yes We Can.” We can discern jingoism disguised as patriotism in a New York Second. We can also tell real political acuity from silly partisan rhetoric.

Our concern goes far beyond the size of government it goes to the heart of why we have a government at all. It speaks of the reason that people band together to protect and defend their common beliefs and their common interests. Our concern reflects our ability to decide who is to lead us, you are not that man. Our capacity for being governed is related to the decency of those we hire to govern us and their concern about those who elect them.
 

We are all worried about the future of this nation. Nothing but change will save us from the recent past mistakes. We heard the President tell us the list of changes we need to make. The government is there to enable those changes and we are here to carry them out. Your concern that government is only negative as a force in human life is misplaced. Government multiplies our force in many ways. Defense is only one of them.

The education of every one of the common people of this nation depends on our government's dedication to that powerful force for human development. The balancing of forces within our nation for the common good is a major reason that elected officials everywhere are chosen to represent us. We elect our government not to destroy its power but to hold it hostage to our interests.

I watched a master politician and an apprentice joust on the national field. Governor Jindal jangled his way through a speech loaded with Republican talking points from the past. President Obama realized that vision was the most important need of this crisis and provided it in a speech that appealed to the best in all of us. You may judge for yourself what happened but I know what I saw.

Two men of different opinions talked to us and one focused his light of respect for the people on the crisis and it's solutions. The other focused his light on the darkness that resides in the heart of all governments if they are allowed to run amok. Which do you prefer?