Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Editorial: Reviewing Obama’s Bipartisan Address

Neither side was entirely happy with President Obama’s State of the Union address this week. But then again, that wasn’t the point.

After all the pageantry usually reserved for the red carpet of the Academy Awards, Obama’s goal was to set a new tone in his relationship with Congress on Tuesday. By hitting the reset button, the president has signaled the beginning of a new period of bipartisanship.

Obama’s ability to enact his legislative agenda will define remainder of his term. The November elections tightened the margin for error in Congress, largely because Obama failed to build significant bipartisan consensus while he enjoyed the Democratic majority. Despite these new challenges, Obama extended a conciliatory handshake in the hopes of forging forward through the worst recession in recent record, two overseas conflicts and a nation disillusioned with his last legislative agenda.

His address on Tuesday night was, of course, less conceived in the hope of consensus-building, and more in light of the looming 2012 elections. He has realized that he can no longer afford to work around the Republicans if he plans on asking voters for a second term.

To that end, Obama avoided divulging too many details of the programs he proposed, but still offered a few concrete promises aimed at increasing Republican support. He pledged to veto any legislation with spending earmarks, and he opened up the debate on health care. It will be interesting to see how closely he adheres to those promises; avoiding every single earmark, in particular, will be tricky.

Despite the olive branches it offered Republicans, Obama’s address was not a complete cause for liberals’ despair. It is very unlikely that he can do much to backpedal on the Bush tax cuts extensions this term, but he still made an effort to make his position clear. He also managed to inject some inspiring rhetoric into his call-to-arms to Congress and the American people to lift the nation out of a prolonged recession. He painted a very stark picture of fundamental changes in the economy, offering an unfortunate, but much needed, reality check for the American people.

Furthermore, Obama introduced a new, more centrist dialogue on the deficit. Some of his proposals were common sense and others were clearly concessions. Simplifying the personal tax code and reducing the world’s highest corporate tax rate are two necessary steps toward the positive change the president spoke of, and represent important compromises in the spirit of bipartisanship.

In order to reinvigorate the hope created in Grant Park, where Obama was officially named the 44th president-elect of the United States almost three years ago, he must rise above partisan politics and be the mediator-in-chief he was meant to be. Although his State of the Union was motivated in part by his re-election goal, his focus on bipartisanship is exactly what the country needs. The stakes have been set; now both Obama and Congress must come together to turn rhetoric into results.

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