Blue Mass Group

Last night’s State of the Union address was the perfect example of why Barack Obama is going to win re-election in November.  Let’s ignore for a moment that BO is polling extraordinarily well nationwide (this in spite of the fact that all of the media attention is on the Republicans).  Let’s ignore for a moment that Newt Gingrich is surging, meaning that the Republicans are in for a long primary season that is sure to hurt whoever ends up being the nominee.  Let’s imagine a perfect world for the Republicans and why, even in such a world, neither Mitt Romney nor Newt Gingrich stand a chance.  And let’s examine why BO’s speech last night makes that even more clear.

First of all, what do Republicans like to do more than anything else when criticizing Obama?  Call him a socialist.  Of course, liberals know that this sort of rhetoric is ridiculous, but alas, many people do, for better or for worse, buy into it.  Republicans accuse Obama’s desire for increased upward mobility with an ideology that most Americans equate with Fascism.  How does Barack respond to these accusations last night?

Those of us who’ve been sent here to serve can learn a thing or two from the service of our troops. When you put on that uniform, it doesn’t matter if you’re black or white; Asian, Latino, Native American; conservative, liberal; rich, poor; gay, straight. When you’re marching into battle, you look out for the person next to you, or the mission fails. When you’re in the thick of the fight, you rise or fall as one unit, serving one nation, leaving no one behind.

The key words here, of course, are “leaving no one behind”.  Four short words that have so many political implications.  Here, Obama is able to equate upward social mobility with fighting the War on Terror.  Obviously, fighting a War on Terror is a decidedly anti-socialist idea, which on its own refutes the accusations he has been receiving, but he takes it a step further.  He challenges Americans to leave nobody behind.  In doing this, he says, in effect, “upward social mobility is not socialism; rather, it is the obligation of a democratic society: look to our soldiers as an example”.  In doing this, he is able to shift the dialogue completely.  No longer is helping others a radical socialist idea; now, it is what is expected of every American, just as it is expected of every soldier.

Of course, beginning and ending his speech with the killing of Bin Laden runs the risk of the media perceiving him as a man trying to avoid addressing the issues most Americans are concerned about.  But he is able to rectify this by linking that accomplishment to other issues, which makes for fantastic oration.

But what is the other issue that Republicans hit him hard on?  Aside from jobs, which he addresses very competently early in the speech by making it clear that job creation is at its highest since 2005 and that manufacturers are creation jobs for the first time since the 1990s, that other issue is health care.  This issue, of course, ties directly into socialism, as the right loves to paint “Obamacare” as a prime example of socialism.  But BO fights back:

I’m a Democrat. But I believe what Republican Abraham Lincoln believed: That government should do for people only what they cannot do better by themselves, and no more.  That’s why my education reform offers more competition, and more control for schools and states. That’s why we’re getting rid of regulations that don’t work. That’s why our health care law relies on a reformed private market, not a government program.

This is really his only mention of health care in his speech.  Naturally, many liberals dislike this, preferring a single payer system.  But with one short statement, he is able to put down all the claims of socialism when it comes to his reforms.  Once again, he shifts the dialogue in a way that quells the fears of his detractors on both the left and the right.

Throughout last night’s speech, I think most liberals were shocked and awed at the Obama they saw.  He was not pandering to the right, something that he has done for much of his term (to the ire of those on the left).  In fact, it appears as if his advisers have decided to “let Obama be Obama”:

The defining issue of our time is how to keep that promise alive. No challenge is more urgent. No debate is more important. We can either settle for a country where a shrinking number of people do really well while a growing number of Americans barely get by, or we can restore an economy where everyone gets a fair shot, and everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same set of rules.  What’s at stake aren’t Democratic values or Republican values, but American values. And we have to reclaim them.

Despite going back to his liberal roots, however, he is also able to appeal to right leaning conservatives throughout his speech.  He throws a few barbs at the right, but those barbs are subtle.  He panders to his liberal base, but again, that pandering is quite subtle.  It is this kind of rhetoric about bringing the country together that allowed him to win in 2008.

With Republicans like Mitt Romney talking about how conservative values come before serving your country, it is the same kind of rhetoric that will allow him to win in 2012.