Obama's State of Confusion Speech

In 1994 after a wholesale rejection of what was known at the time as HillaryCare, President Clinton used the State of the Union Speech to announce that the "era of big government is over." Clinton moved to the center and passed legislation such as welfare reform (though he did veto it twice). After going on a liberal bender with "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and health care reform, Clinton's survivalist mentality prevailed and he settled for an incrementalist agenda. Obama has made clear in his State of the Union speech that he has no such survivalist inclinations.

One is led to believe Obama would have denied his dismal first year where healthcare reform stalled and cap and trade was dead on arrival if not for the election of Scott Brown in Massachusetts. Even after that, his "moderation" is little more than window dressing. His plan to enact a spending freeze while maintaining a largely unspent stimulus that serves as a slush fund to Democratic pet projects is at best disingenuous. Even then, the freeze only affects 1/6 of the budget. In two years, Obama raised the discretionary, nonsecurity domestic spending by 24%. Freezing spending after that is much like going on a diet after a hotdog eating contest.

Having been satisfied that he "checked the box" for fiscal responsibility, he curiously overlooked his policy of Mirandizing terrorists like the underwear bomber. He grappled awkwardly with the solution to unemployment referencing the deficit “in which we find ourselves” not mentioning his quadrupling of the deficit including his $800 million stimulus. Obama even took a shot at the Supreme Court for overturning campaign-finance reform that violated the first Amendment.

Obama will have to work with Republicans to pass any version of healthcare reform but has been hesitant to scrap the bills that the House and Senate passed separately last year. Obama has signaled willingness to utilize nuclear power and drill offshore but if he intends to add these provisions to his current version of cap and trade, he will still be imposing a regressive tax on all Americans.

Obama threw conservatives and moderates few bones during the speech and only when the details are fleshed out will we determine which strings are attached. Another year of legislative gridlock will cause Obama to lose more seats in the '10 elections so the onus is on him to reach across the aisle. After his State of the Union, I'm just not sure he has any intention to.