Obama Promises Change

Photo Credit: Doug Mills/ The New York Times

If there was one sentence that defined President's Obama speech to Congress, it was the one that we will look back on four years from now and gape in the grandeur of it all.

"We will rebuild, we will recover, and the United States will emerge stronger than before,"said Obama leading into an eruption of applause from Democrats and Republicans alike.

President Obama has inherited a $1.3 trillion deficit and with his recent stimulus bill, the debt will further increase. However, Obama's plan indicated that spending more in the short run will ultimately lead to economic relief in the near future. Obama's plan is bold, aiming to cut the national deficit in half by the time his first term in office is up.

There is great speculation to Obama's plan, with the majority of Republicans arguing that Obama is spending too much and that Democrats have rushed too quickly into passing massive amounts of spending. Democrats on the other hand argue that the debt former President Bush led us into has led to these brash circumstances. Tying up the loose ends of a proposed bipartisanship seems knotted up and unlikely.

Yet one man stands at the front of the podium, addressing the nation in these trying times with utmost confidence and optimism.

"We can't govern out of anger, but we must govern out of responsibility," Obama said.

Yes there is immense skepticism against President Obama and his chances of pulling our country our of this economic crisis. Yes it seems unlikely that our country's deficit will be cut in half by 2014. Yes it seems nearly impossible to invest in energy,
health care, and education and expect to emerge stronger.

But that charismatic figure that vociferously speaks to our country seems to have a presence that resembles Martin Luther King Jr. during his "I have a dream" speech. Like Abraham Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address," which rallied a nation when there was lack of direction. Like former President John F. Kennedy's "Inaugural Address," unifying a country desperately searching for a leader.

I believe that President Obama's speech to Congress will fall into the category of historic rallying calls, and we will look back on this and remember what he has said. Don't believe the skepticism, the Obama era is upon us. Under his guidance, he too will triumph through adversity and prove the skeptics wrong.

President Obama put it simple. "It is time for America to lead again."

Hold on to your seats America, change is coming.