Campaigning, leading intertwined in speech
The Obama 2012 campaign officially kicked off last night, and all of the senators and representatives were invited to attend the party on Capitol Hill. The occasion was, of course, the State of the Union address the president gives on an annual basis.
Although, more recently than in the past, the State of the Union ahead of a presidential bid to re-election stands as nothing more than a combination of party lines and an elongated stump speech. It’s neither a Republican or Democratic strategic move; it’s both.
Unfortunately, Americans have seen Washington’s political gridlock hit a critical point, where nobody wants to do anything or vote on any bill deemed too controversial for the sake of ensuring re-election. It’s a sad time, and unfortunately, President Barack Obama played right into the typical political game he vowed he wasn’t a part of during his first election.
Sure, the economy, energy, education and jobs are all certainly topics and issues that are dire in America, but phrasing them and putting it into election terms is just a low blow to the government and spirit of democracy. Far too often we’re seeing the line between election and governance blurred to the point of irreparable despair.
Not to mention, shouting out major swing states such as North Carolina and Michigan only further lays the groundwork for working the political map during the upcoming election. The fact of the matter is that, through no fault of Obama’s, this is the newfangled election cycle we’ve created despite our desire to pick at opponents far ahead of the actual election. Additionally, the 24-hour news cycle scrutinizes every move or decision a public figure makes.
This kind of “campaigning” essentially forces Obama to say, “I’ll executive order this,” and, “I’ll order that,” in order to get anything done between now and November. Is that his rightful power? Sure. But what’s stopped him before now? It’s possible it wasn’t convenient a month ago and would be more difficult to highlight in campaign speak if it wasn’t phrased in such a grandiose manner.
Americans should be upset with this — not because of what Obama waited to do, but rather, at the system practically begging him to wait so it could capitalize on it in his stump speech. Why couldn’t this executive order to speed construction projects happen months ago, when someone in the West Wing likely came up with the idea of putting it in the speech?
The ever-growing time period known as the election cycle has failed Americans. Too many politicians neglect to tackle the big issues right away in order to save them for some superhero-like gesture later on, when it’s politically beneficial.
Again, both Republicans and Democrats play this game all the time — even former presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton. But that doesn’t make it right, and for Obama, the candidate who disowned traditional “inside the Beltway” posturing, suddenly finds himself playing the same game just like the rest of them.
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