Some Initial Thoughts on the State of the Union
I think we’ve got to acknowledge that the State of the Union was as much a campaign speech as it was a policy speech. Considering the amount of work that needs to be done, I’m not sure I think that is an entirely bad thing. Consider the fact that we got a promise to end Dont Ask Dont Tell and a date for troop withdrawal. We got a commitment to jobs and a promise to reform the financial services sector.
Elements of the left will no doubt criticize the speech as empty promises. And maybe they are. He didn’t say how he planned to repeal Dont Ask Don’t Tell. But is he supposed to? He sets the agenda. Congress figures out the details. The constitutional distribution of power is at heart a delegation. For anyone who has ever worked as the #2 on a project or in a department you know this dynamic precisely.
And a word on the rebuke of the Supreme Court. It was necessary and long overdue. Federal judges may not run for election but they are political appointments and maintaining this illusion that they are not political actors has run its course. They are, particularly under the neocon model. Furthermore, on the state level judges run for office, so the ramifications of the Citizens United decision has potentially even more devastating effects, and ones that no one seems to really have their arms around.
But I’m tired. I’ve been working hard and tonight I heard promises but I’m still waiting to see the action. And I’m willing to acknowledge that had President Obama provided all the details to all the programs I’d still be listening to the speech. So I’ll take the pep talk. Tomorrow it is back to work.
great comments!