Editorial: A populist speech Thursday, 26 January 2012 03:59

US President Barack Obama’s state of the union address on Tuesday night has turned out what it was expected to be: a declaration of his agenda for 2012 re-election campaign. The speech was full of niceties, sounded grandiose, eloquent and if implemented in their entirety, his suggestions can help regain the lost grandeur of America and help efface the inequities in American society which have made life tough  for a large majority.

The speech was populist in that he promised to address a slew of issues which are foremost in the minds of Americans -- economy, job creation, the power of Wall Street and the pervasive influence of money in politics. At the end of it, the president emerged as a champion of the working-class Americans against the miniscule number of wealthy, influential Americans who are fiercely protected by the Republicans.

As a state of union speech, it was great, as all state of union speeches generally are. He employed the same oratorial skills which had won him the presidency, and it’s the same oratorial skills which will help him retain the presidency. But Americans of all hues are fully convinced and aware of those skills. What many of them are not convinced about is his ability to translate those words into action. If Republicans call him a hope-peddler who talks and can’t perform, it’s not completely off the mark. Americans and the world had expected much more from the ‘Yes We Can’ president than he actually delivered.

According to experts, the most memorable parts of the speech were contributed not by his speech writers but protesters on the streets, the Occupy movement which had shaken the American society, protests which highlighted the inequities and injustices of the American system which were resposible for the misery of the ninety-nine percent and the luxury of the one percent. “No challenge is more urgent.  No debate is more important. We can either settle for a country where a shrinking number of people do really well, while a growing number of Americans barely get by. Or we can restore an economy where everyone gets a fair shot, and everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same set of rules,” he said.

On foreign policy, the president said little and what he said was what any president seeking relection would say: express an unflinching support for Israel and a promise to stand by this ally in extreme summer and winter. In his own words, an “iron-clad, and I mean iron-clad, commitment to Israel’s security”.

Given the disarray in the Republican camp and their extremist policies on a number of issues, including on the Iranian nuclear programme, Obama is still a better bet despite all his shortcomings.