State of the Usual

[Geee]

Front Page Magazine:

Early on during his State of the Union address last night, Barack Obama acknowledged the results of last November’s election. He called for unity and compromise, themes that have dominated his political career because they appeal to the American character. Americans of every political stripe want to believe that we’re all basically the same sort of good-hearted people at our cores and that we all aspire to the same sort of end results. A middle road that leads to worthy ends, in other words, can always be found if we work hard enough to discover it. This President understands that portion of the American character better than perhaps anyone else who has occupied the Oval Office, and – as he did during the 2008 presidential campaign – he warmed to the familiar theme once again last night:

“What comes of this moment will be determined not by whether we can sit together tonight, but whether we can work together tomorrow,” he said. “I believe we can. I believe we must. That’s what the people who sent us here expect of us. With their votes, they’ve determined that governing will now be a shared responsibility between parties. New laws will only pass with support from Democrats and Republicans. We will move forward together, or not at all – for the challenges we face are bigger than party, and bigger than politics.”

And then, having declared the need for America to pursue a bipartisan, middle-of-the-road future going forward, the president proceeded to outline his vision of that future – a course in which “compromise” consists almost entirely of conservatives and libertarians abandoning their ideas and ideals in order to support the progressive agenda. Obama’s version of “compromise” involves even more increases in government spending – although such expenditures will hereafter be rebranded as “investments” – along with the nation continuing to ignore the 800 pound gorillas that are America’s entitlement programs and continuing to pretend that Obamacare is both affordable and desirable.