“I face the world as it is…” – Barack Obama, December 10, 2009
One year ago, Barack Obama became the 44th President of the United States. The anticipation for his inauguration was intense for many reasons: Obama would make history as the first black president, he was replacing a two-term president who had become extremely unpopular, and, even after the constant focus of a nearly two-year campaign, he seemed fresh and hopeful.
Americans and undoubtedly many millions around the world also were eager to hear what the new president would say in his inaugural address. Some of this nation’s greatest and most enduring rhetoric has been spoken in these addresses. From Lincoln came the words, “With malice towards none, with charity for all” to heal the still gaping wounds of the Civil War. Franklin Roosevelt encouraged a nation reeling in economic depression that “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” John Kennedy challenged Americans with, “Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country.”
But those hoping that President Obama would utter the kind of sparkling and passionate words that he had become known for as a candidate would ultimately be disappointed. Slate’s John Dickerson described Obama’s inaugural address at the time as, “a good speech, but not a soaring one” adding that it’s concluding depiction of George Washington’s courage, “was a perfectly fine story…but it’s not a story that’s likely to be retold tomorrow at the office.”
Reviewing the speech after one year, Dickerson’s assessment remains accurate. The speech was good, even very good, but it was not one that will likely be remembered for a line or even a theme. The passage that was most resounding then and now is Obama’s connection of America’s historical ability to adapt and shape the future while valuing our shared and indispensable past. Said the new president in the cold, clear, winter Washington air.
Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends – honesty and hard work, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism – these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history.
Obama’s inaugural address, particularly that passage, provided an indication of what was to come rhetorically during his first year in office. They were words that sought to make the complex clear, even if they did not inspire. They reflected aspects of his personality evident in his biography Dreams From My Father, a curious mix of modernism and small ‘c’ conservatism.
This is most clearly depicted in descriptions of his relationship with his Indonesian stepfatther, Lolo Soetoro. He portrays Soetoro as the person he turned to for guidance to help understand that, “The world was violent…unpredictable and often cruel” and for instruction in “managing the emotions I felt.” Later in the book, Obama recounts Lolo’s emphasis of the importance of a man having good sense, noting that “It had nothing to do with good or bad…like or dislike. It was a matter of taking life on its own terms.”
This pragmatic orientation of Obama’s has confounded his political opponents on the right and frustrated his political allies on the left. It was eloquently expressed in Stockholm during his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech. Obama’s words reflect an understanding and appreciation of history that rejects rigid ideology, empty jingoism, and foolish idealism. They provided an example of his tendency to treat the American people as adults, capable of confronting complicated realities.
We must begin by acknowledging the hard truth: We will not eradicate violent conflict in our lifetimes. There will be times when nations – acting individually or in concert – will find the use of force not only necessary but morally justified.
I make this statement mindful of what Martin Luther King Jr. said in this same ceremony years ago: “Violence never brings permanent peace. It solves no social problem: it merely creates new and more complicated ones.” As someone who stands here as a direct consequence of Dr. King’s life work, I am living testimony to the moral force of non-violence. I know there’s nothing weak – nothing passive – nothing naïve – in the creed and lives of Gandhi and King.
But as a head of state sworn to protect and defend my nation, I cannot be guided by their examples alone. I face the world as it is, and cannot stand idle in the face of threats to the American people. For make no mistake: Evil does exist in the world. A non-violent movement could not have halted Hitler’s armies. Negotiations cannot convince al Qaeda’s leaders to lay down their arms. To say that force may sometimes be necessary is not a call to cynicism – it is a recognition of history; the imperfections of man and the limits of reason.
Barack Obama entered the presidency in the midst of the most blinding storm for a new president since Franklin Roosevelt took the oath of office during the depths of the Great Depression in 1933. Prosecuting and completing two seemingly endless wars–an enormous task for any president– took a back seat to dealing with the banking crisis, the auto industry freefall, and surging unemployment. Few are feeling sympathy for Obama, nor should they. He wanted the job and understands that when the nation struggles, the person in charge will attract a great deal of blame.
In the wake of a weakened position in Congress and stubborn unemployment, many across the political spectrum are claiming that President Obama –just one quarter into his term–has already met his Waterloo, doomed to be a one-termer. Of course, if economic conditions lag over the next few years, they will almost certainly be proven correct. Presidents don’t get reelected with 10% unemployment and blaming George W. Bush for many of the nation’s woes–a fair charge in 2008–won’t fly in 2012.
But such shortsighted analysis fails to recognize the myriad factors that make a president’s fortunes so unpredictable. Between now and the election of 2012 that unemployment rate may drop or plummet. The United States may capture and kill Osama bin Laden or we may be attacked again. Or both. Or neither. We may witness political skill and wise leadership that surpasses the hopes of even Obama’s most enthusiastic boosters. Or he may demonstrate that he is in way over his head.
What is more certain is that throughout this trying year, Obama has–in deeds and words–consistently met challenges with steadiness, civility, energy, and seriousness. Whatever the ultimate fate of his presidency, Obama has faced the world as it is, which requires courage, wisdom, and patience. These admirable traits do not guarantee success, but the absence of them ensures failure.
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