Obama's State of the Union Just Another Speech (ContributorNetwork)

COMMENTARY | Barack Obama's State of the Union speech was a flashback to 2008 when he roamed the country preaching "hope and change." It was a campaign speech. It was an answer to every ad he's seen on TV so far this campaign season. It was full of subtle jabs and bites at his adversaries surrounded by support and hope for our troops. After all, who's going to say a negative word about our armed forces?

President Obama stated in the opening moments of his speech that "for the first time in nine years, there are no Americans fighting in Iraq. For the first time in two decades, Osama bin Laden is not a threat to this country. Most of al Qaeda's top lieutenants have been defeated. The Taliban's momentum has been broken, and some troops in Afghanistan have begun to come home." The idea Obama wanted to convey was one of teamwork and togetherness because his very next line was, "Imagine what we could accomplish if we followed their example."

Yes. Imagine what we could do, but also imagine the rigorous training regiments of our military. The men and women in the U.S. military are told what to wear, when to eat, when to wake, when to sleep, and how to perform their jobs down to the absolute minutest of details. Everything is black and white. Most Americans would revolt. The statement reminded me of the Apple workers in China. A last minute revamp of iPhone screens prompted an Apple factory in China to immediately go back to work. The screens arrived at the factory around midnight. "A foreman immediately roused 8,000 workers inside the company's dormitories, according to the executive. Each employee was given a biscuit and a cup of tea, guided to a workstation and within half an hour started a 12-hour shift fitting glass screens into beveled frames. Within 96 hours, the plant was producing over 10,000 iPhones a day," writes Thomas Friedman in The New York Times.

For an American to do the same thing, we would have to be under attack. There would have to be a greater cause associated with the work, but then maybe there is a greater cause associated with the work. The U.S.A is no longer No. 1. The middle class is dying. The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. Goods made in the U.S.A are not on our store shelves so consumers can't automatically support their country by going to the store. Consumers have to vigilantly look for products made in the U.S.A. That's un-American.

Unfortunately, all Obama gave us was a speech. He outlined no plan, and a lot of his statements were questionable at best. It was more wishes and dreams for a better U.S.A. surrounded by a call to support our troops and a decree to lower taxes for businesses that bring jobs back. While I liked the words, I know Obama cannot deliver on those promises.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obama/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20120125/pl_ac/10882791_obamas_state_of_the_union_just_another_speech

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