本帖最后由 咖啡盐 于 2011-1-24 19:22 编辑
A New Chance for Mr. Obama
Published: January 23, 2011
(an editorial about Mr. Obama)
[size=1.5em]President Obama unveiled a promising new theme on Friday when he toured a factory in Schenectady, N.Y., and began talking about the desperate need to foster competitiveness and innovation in the pursuit of American jobs. The real test of his commitment to that cause in the second half of his term will come on Tuesday in his State of the Union address. He will have to make his case in the face of a newly strengthened and shrill Republican Party, determined to dismantle government’s most fundamental role in fighting the recession.
[size=1.5em]The top of his agenda should be explaining to the public why job creation and growth are more important than short-term spending cuts, and why those two paths are incompatible(矛盾的). Now is the time for a full-throated statement about the need for federal investment in infrastructure, education and state aid. He should capitalize on his new team of business-oriented advisers to explain which industries he believes will provide the jobs, and show what he is prepared to do to foster that growth.
[size=1.5em]Clearly, though, a plan for long-term deficit(赤字) reduction is vital to economic security. Mr. Obama has a chance to make clear how he plans to build in the years to come on cuts he has already proposed. But he cannot be drawn into the Republican game of choosing from a menu of ill-advised quick fixes. This is not an area where the difference can be split, or a few pre-emptive(先发制人的) reductions can palliate(缓和) the hunger on the right.
[size=1.5em]There is no point in even bringing up Social Security outside of a long-term and comprehensive budget debate. A moment for negotiation on the near-term budget will arrive, but it does not have to begin with sacrificial offerings from the podium. Mr. Obama is expected to propose a restructured(调整) tax code, but that important goal can only be reached in the context of raising more revenue to close chronic deficits.
[size=1.5em]The president may be able to find some rare common ground with Republicans on reauthorizing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (now known as No Child Left Behind). Any new act will undoubtedly provide more flexibility for states and local districts to meet federal standards, but must maintain its commitment to pursuing equity for minority schools, along with a tough measurement system for teachers and schools.
[size=1.5em]We hope Mr. Obama dares to offer solutions on immigration, standing on the side of assimilation and earned citizenship. On the environment, he must stand firm against a coming Republican attack on the Clean Air Act and its authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions and pollutants like smog, soot and mercury.
[size=1.5em]Overseas, the speech should explain why Afghanistan, alarmingly unstable after a decade of war, is important to American security and how he intends to reach a minimally acceptable outcome. He also needs to address his plans for forging better cooperation with Pakistan, where Qaeda and Taliban leaders are based.
[size=1.5em]Beyond the usual laundry list, however, the president will have to balance inspiration — the kind Americans saw in abundance in his Tucson remarks — with feisty confidence in his fundamental principles. The midterm election showed how strongly voters hungered for lost leadership on the economy. Mr. Obama has it within him to stand up to the forces of governmental destruction and begin restoring confidence in his leadership.
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