OBAMA'S SPEECH: ALL THE RIGHT NOTES . . . BUT . . .
Barack Obama hit all the right notes in an eloquent and graceful inaugural address. He rooted his administration firmly in America’s best traditions and ideals while making it clear that pragmatism would be more important to him than ideology. He called on the nation to get over a period of lazy self-indulgence and get to work on building a better future. He sent some very specific signals, making it plain, for example, that torture ( a.k.a. “enhanced interrogation”) is no longer allowed, when he said, “As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals.”
The theme of growing up and getting serious was a favorite. Time to put aside “childish things,” he said, quoting St. Paul. The blame for the financial mess lies not only on those who acted from “greed and irresponsibility” but on all of us who failed to make “hard choices.” Pundits said the speech was “serious and sober,” and indeed it was.
Fine. Obama can ban torture, stop the tribunals at Guantanamo, tell the military to prepare to pull out of Iraq, sign a stimulus bill, and shake up Wall Street. All that is within his power as President with a majority in Congress.
But what happens if even those easy decisions turn out to be tough ones? What will we really do with all the hard-case terrorists locked up at Guantanamo Bay? Most have committed no crimes against the United States and can’t be tried in civilian courts. We can’t ship them home because their home countries know very well they are terrorist bad guys and won’t take them. The only thing left to do is parole them into the United States. When that becomes the only choice left, will Mr. Obama rethink his decision to close the camp?
Mr. Obama sought to distinguish himself from former presidents by taking the rhetorical tack opposite of theirs. Bill Clinton, for example, proclaimed in 1996, "the era of big government is over.” Obama said:
“The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works -- whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end.”
It will be interesting to see if, two years from now, any government programs of any size have ended. Democrats are not famous for cutting government programs.
The new leader of the free world, or at least of the United States, fired a rhetorical shot across the bows of the likes of Vladimir Putin, the increasingly autocratic strong man of Russia: “To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.” Since it is extremely unlikely that Putin (or Venezuela’s Chavez) will ever unclench his fist, the real question is how Obama treats him in the meantime. On that subject, he gave no clue.
To govern is to choose. Barack Obama has not had to make many hard choices so far in his extraordinary rise to power. Before long, his inbox will be full of tough decisions. General Motors says it will go broke by the end of March. Obama himself will have to make that call. He airily called for a “hard-earned peace” in Afghanistan. The Taliban and Bin Laden’s gang may have something to say about that. Obama will have to decide how to respond and secure something that looks like peace and stability.
Tuesday was Barack’s Obama’s day, full of pomp and ceremony in the peaceful handover that we like to tell ourselves is so uniquely American. He gave an excellent speech that lacked only a memorable line like JFK’s “Ask not . . .” Today the real work starts, and Obama will begin to try to earn a place in history as something other than a first.