"Obama Returns to His Moral Vision..."

[damonm]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/george-lakoff/obama-returns-to-his-mora_b_850295.html

Last week, on April 13, 2011, President Obama gave all Democrats and all progressives a remarkable gift. Most of them barely noticed. They looked at the president's speech as if it were only about budgetary details. But the speech went well beyond the budget. It went to the heart of progressive thought and the nature of American democracy, and it gave all progressives a model of how to think and talk about every issue.
It was a landmark speech. It should be watched and read carefully and repeatedly by every progressive who cares about our country -- whether Democratic office-holder, staffer, writer, or campaign worker -- and every progressive blogger, activist and concerned citizen. The speech is a work of art.
The policy topic happened to be the budget, but he called it "The Country We Believe In" for a reason. The real topic was how the progressive moral system defines the democratic ideals America was founded on, and how those ideals apply to specific issues. Obama's moral vision, which he applied to the budget, is more general: it applies to every issue. And it can be applied everywhere by everyone who shares that moral vision of American democracy.
The basic idea is this: Democracy is based on empathy, that is, on citizens caring about each other and acting on that care, taking responsibility not just for themselves but for their families, communities, and their nation. The role of government is to carry out this principle in two ways: protection and empowerment.

Obama quotes Lincoln: "to do together what we cannot do as well for ourselves." That is what he calls patriotism. He spotlights "the American belief... that each one of us deserves some basic measure of security... that no matter how responsibly we live our lives, hard time or bad luck, crippling illness or a layoff, may strike any one of us." He cites the religious version of this moral vision: "There but for the grace of God go I." The greatness of America comes from carrying out such moral commitments as Medicare, Social Security, and Medicaid...

[Deep13]

1. The problem is that Obama's position would be an acceptable...

...final compromise, but it sure as hell sucks as an opening move.

[Autumn]

2. How strong are ones morals if one can

let them lapse so easily? It was a nice speech but then his usually are :shrug: especially when he is campaigning.

[bvar22]

3. LOL.

Did somebody miss the announcement that Campaign 2012 started the day before?


"If we don't fight hard enough for the things we stand for,
at some point we have to recognize that we don't really stand for them."
--- Paul Wellstone

[Renew Deal]

4. Whose campaign 2012 started the day before?

[Name removed]

5. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[woo me with science]

6. So we admit that many policies of the past two years have been morally offensive?

"Returned" to his moral vision, indeed.

[polichick]

7. Yes, he's a terrific campaigner. His "moral vision" suffers when negotiating.

[Arkana]

8. He went up and made a case for government that needed to be made.

It's like Toby Ziegler said: "Government can be a place where people come together...where no one gets left behind."