here’s the text of President Obama’s speech to Congress tonight.
Favorite phrase:
a down-payment on the principle that we must have quality, affordable health care for every American
Down-payment on a principle. Love it!
As for a general take, it all sounds good, but I have to read the actual budget to see if it makes sense.
Prachee said:
I liked this:
“So tonight I ask every American to commit to at least one year or more of higher education or career training. This can be a community college or a four-year school, vocational training or an apprenticeship. But whatever the training may be, every American will need to get more than a high school diploma.
And dropping out of high school is no longer an option. It’s not just quitting on yourself; it’s quitting on your country. And this country needs and values the talents of every American.”
It’s a revolutionary idea (higher education as an obligation to one’s country) that made me sit back and think my standards for *all* Americans are too low.
February 25th, 2009 at 8:33 am
Richa said:
I have to agree. The idea of education-as-patriotism wasn’t one I’d thought of before, but in general I like the approach he’s taking—that putting aside these grave-but-not-immediate (according to the conventional wisdom) issues like Medicare, health care reform and education is harming the country more than they’re helping it, and that now is the time to make difficult, foundational changes in the way we think about all these problems. And that, incidentally, we’ll make big progress toward sustainable long-term solutions to other issues by attacking their root causes rather than their symptoms.
February 25th, 2009 at 9:32 am