7aki Fadi

I could not stop watching yesterday as President Obama delivered his speech.

I thought he kicked ass and I liked what he had to say.

Here are some excerpts:

So I supported the last administration’s efforts to create the financial rescue program. And when we took that program over, we made it more transparent and more accountable. And as a result, the markets are now stabilized, and we’ve recovered most of the money we spent on the banks.  Most but not all.

To recover the rest, I’ve proposed a fee on the biggest banks.  Now, I know Wall Street isn’t keen on this idea. But if these firms can afford to hand out big bonuses again, they can afford a modest fee to pay back the taxpayers who rescued them in their time of need.

YES! Make those guys pay. They take the bailout money and then they have the audacity to award bonuses to themselves! No shame.

So tonight, I’m proposing that we take $30 billion of the money Wall Street banks have repaid and use it to help community banks give small businesses the credit they need to stay afloat.  I’m also proposing a new small business tax credit one that will go to over one million small businesses who hire new workers or raise wages. While we’re at it, let’s also eliminate all capital gains taxes on small business investment, and provide a tax incentive for all large businesses and all small businesses to invest in new plants and equipment.

Half of the people did not clap or seem happy about that statement.

We should put more Americans to work building clean energy facilities and give rebates to Americans who make their homes more energy-efficient, which supports clean energy jobs. And to encourage these and other businesses to stay within our borders, it is time to finally slash the tax breaks for companies that ship our jobs overseas, and give those tax breaks to companies that create jobs right here in the United States of America.

I am all for green energy, if the US does this the world will follow. I hope at least Canada does!

From the day I took office, I’ve been told that addressing our larger challenges is too ambitious; such an effort would be too contentious. I’ve been told that our political system is too gridlocked, and that we should just put things on hold for a while.

For those who make these claims, I have one simple question: How long should we wait? How long should America put its future on hold?

You see, Washington has been telling us to wait for decades, even as the problems have grown worse. Meanwhile, China is not waiting to revamp its economy. Germany is not waiting. India is not waiting.

HOW LONG WASHINGTON? See I am not American but just watching him gets me all fired up!

China and India ARE growing but at the same time the poverty is still there so I am not sure I like them to be used as an example here. Yes they are growing but they are polluting the planet in the process and eating up a lot of the natural resources in the process too. The US should lead the world into responsible growth that does not threaten the environment and natural resources.

Now, the House has already passed financial reform with many of these changes.  And the lobbyists are trying to kill it. But we cannot let them win this fight.  And if the bill that ends up on my desk does not meet the test of real reform, I will send it back until we get it right. We’ve got to get it right.

Now if someone would get rid of those damned lobbyists. He will speak more on lobbyists later.

And that means building a new generation of safe, clean nuclear power plants in this country. It means making tough decisions about opening new offshore areas for oil and gas development. It means continued investment in advanced biofuels and clean coal technologies. And, yes, it means passing a comprehensive energy and climate bill with incentives that will finally make clean energy the profitable kind of energy in America.

Guess which of these will be done? Did you guess? I think they will just open new offshore areas for oil and gas development and call it a day. Everything else said in that paragraph is not going to happen.  Call me a pessimist.

I know there have been questions about whether we can afford such changes in a tough economy. I know that there are those who disagree with the overwhelming scientific evidence on climate change. But here’s the thing — even if you doubt the evidence, providing incentives for energy-efficiency and clean energy are the right thing to do for our future -– because the nation that leads the clean energy economy will be the nation that leads the global economy. And America must be that nation.

“I know that there are those who disagree with the overwhelming scientific evidence on climate change”  What he meant to say is the stupid people who still say there is no climate change.

And YES! Please America LEAD THE CLEAN ENERGY. My girls need green when they grow up.

And let’s tell another one million students that when they graduate, they will be required to pay only 10 percent of their income on student loans, and all of their debt will be forgiven after 20 years –- and forgiven after 10 years if they choose a career in public service, because in the United States of America, no one should go broke because they chose to go to college.

That was not received well on half the floor.  If this really happens CANADA SHOULD DO THE SAME!!!! I know people in their forties who are still paying student loans. That’s just wrong.

Like any cash-strapped family, we will work within a budget to invest in what we need and sacrifice what we don’t. And if I have to enforce this discipline by veto, I will.

He talking to them like he’s the boss. Who’s the boss? Obama is. I LOVE THIS GUY.

We will not continue tax cuts for oil companies, for investment fund managers, and for those making over $250,000 a year. We just can’t afford it

Tell them Boss!

Let’s meet our responsibility to the citizens who sent us here. Let’s try common sense. A novel concept

Novel indeed.

We face a deficit of trust -– deep and corrosive doubts about how Washington works that have been growing for years. To close that credibility gap we have to take action on both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue — to end the out-sized influence of lobbyists; to do our work openly; to give our people the government they deserve. (Applause.)

That’s what I came to Washington to do. That’s why -– for the first time in history –- my administration posts on our White House visitors online. That’s why we’ve excluded lobbyists from policy-making jobs, or seats on federal boards and commissions.

But we can’t stop there. It’s time to require lobbyists to disclose each contact they make on behalf of a client with my administration or with Congress. It’s time to put strict limits on the contributions that lobbyists give to candidates for federal office.

With all due deference to separation of powers, last week the Supreme Court reversed a century of law that I believe will open the floodgates for special interests –- including foreign corporations –- to spend without limit in our elections. (Applause.) I don’t think American elections should be bankrolled by America’s most powerful interests, or worse, by foreign entities. (Applause.) They should be decided by the American people. And I’d urge Democrats and Republicans to pass a bill that helps to correct some of these problems.

I truly and sincerely hope that this happens, lobbyists cause most of the problems. And imagine if anyone is allowed to support a candidate. This would be a travesty!

But what frustrates the American people is a Washington where every day is Election Day. We can’t wage a perpetual campaign where the only goal is to see who can get the most embarrassing headlines about the other side -– a belief that if you lose, I win. Neither party should delay or obstruct every single bill just because they can. The confirmation of –  I’m speaking to both parties now. The confirmation of well-qualified public servants shouldn’t be held hostage to the pet projects or grudges of a few individual senators. Washington may think that saying anything about the other side, no matter how false, no matter how malicious, is just part of the game. But it’s precisely such politics that has stopped either party from helping the American people

Because politicians start to campaign the SECOND they hold office, they are afraid to make the unpopular tough decisions.

Just saying no to everything may be good short-term politics, but it’s not leadership. We were sent here to serve our citizens, not our ambitions.

But Obama, politics is a game and those politicians are so far removed from real people. don’t you get it?

As we take the fight to al Qaeda, we are responsibly leaving Iraq to its people. As a candidate, I promised that I would end this war, and that is what I am doing as President. We will have all of our combat troops out of Iraq by the end of this August. We will support the Iraqi government — we will support the Iraqi government as they hold elections, and we will continue to partner with the Iraqi people to promote regional peace and prosperity. But make no mistake: This war is ending, and all of our troops are coming home.

Wow. August? I thought this day will never come. What do you guys feel about this?

But each time a CEO rewards himself for failure, or a banker puts the rest of us at risk for his own selfish gain, people’s doubts grow. Each time lobbyists game the system or politicians tear each other down instead of lifting this country up, we lose faith. The more that TV pundits reduce serious debates to silly arguments, big issues into sound bites, our citizens turn away.

Not only citizens turn away, also the world.

I campaigned on the promise of change –- change we can believe in, the slogan went. And right now, I know there are many Americans who aren’t sure if they still believe we can change –- or that I can deliver it.

But remember this –- I never suggested that change would be easy, or that I could do it alone. Democracy in a nation of 300 million people can be noisy and messy and complicated. And when you try to do big things and make big changes, it stirs passions and controversy. That’s just how it is.

Those of us in public office can respond to this reality by playing it safe and avoid telling hard truths and pointing fingers. We can do what’s necessary to keep our poll numbers high, and get through the next election instead of doing what’s best for the next generation.

But I also know this: If people had made that decision 50 years ago, or 100 years ago, or 200 years ago, we wouldn’t be here tonight. The only reason we are here is because generations of Americans were unafraid to do what was hard; to do what was needed even when success was uncertain; to do what it took to keep the dream of this nation alive for their children and their grandchildren.

Wow. This is inspiring stuff people. LISTEN TO HIM WASHINGTON.

Of course he mentioned North Korea and Iran. No state of the Union address is complete without mentioning those two so blah blah blah.

Here’s a link to the  full text of the state of the union address by Obama 2010. Read it and let me know what YOU think.

This is most probably my longest post ever.

So goodbye forever.

7aki

PS: Goodbye forever? Not really. It’s just that this post is just so long that it feels like I will never write again.

PPS: Goodbye forever.