Inaugural Theme Focused on Personal Responsibility
EmailI asked incoming White House senior adviser David Axelrod during our interview on "This Week" to give me a sneak peek of President-elect Barack Obama’s highly anticipated inauguration speech on Tuesday.
Axelrod hinted that Obama’s speech will be themed around the concept of personal responsibility.
"One thing about Barack Obama, his themes have been consistent not just through this campaign, but through his public life," Axelrod told me.
"From his convention speech in 2004 through today. So I don’t think you’re going to be surprised by what you hear. I think he’s going to talk about where we are as a country, but also who we are as a people. And what responsibilities accrue to us as a result of that. And what we have to do to move forward. I’m not going to handicap whether it’s going to be a great speech, a good speech or — but I have confidence in the message that he wants to deliver and I don’t think you’ll be surprised by it."
–George Stephanopoulos
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Personal responsibility?? Keep that up Obama and you’re going to p*ss off more liberals!
Posted by: Marcus | January 18, 2009, 10:07 am 10:07 am
“Axelrod hinted that Obama’s speech will be themed around the concept of personal responsibility.”
This one doesn’t withstand the laugh test. ALL of the obama policy initiatives revolve around the collective not the individual. Universal health care, universal pre school, bailing our failed companies and emphasis on community service are the absolute antithesis of individual responsibility. Let’s get real here!
Posted by: edlaw | January 18, 2009, 10:18 am 10:18 am
“Axelrod hinted that Obama’s speech will be themed around the concept of personal responsibility.”
This one doesn’t withstand the laugh test. ALL of the obama policy initiatives revolve around the collective not the individual. Universal health care, universal pre school, bailing out failed companies, increasing the marriage penalty and emphasis on community service are the absolute antithesis of individual responsibility. Let’s get real here!
Posted by: edlaw | January 18, 2009, 10:25 am 10:25 am
This will be a switch. The democrat’s party is one of giving out handouts (entitlements)… It’s akin to “Ask not what you can do for your country, ask what your country can do for you”. Personal responsibility begins at the top… like not spending obscene,
exorbitant amount of money on an inauguration in these troubling times… a real ego trip! It’s not do what I do, it;s do what I say. The republican mantra has always been, “Give a man a fish, it will last one day… Teach a man to fish, it will last for a lifetime”. Why don’t we start there.
Posted by: Fran | January 18, 2009, 11:37 am 11:37 am
Fran, you got the republican mantra wrong. It goes, Give a man a fish, but only if he is indeed a man and preferably white and radically Christian; to heck with the rest of them.
Posted by: whatever | January 18, 2009, 11:42 am 11:42 am
Would someone please tell me how the mantra of personal responsibility and sacrifice plays against the conflicting background of spending $110,000,000 for the most expensive inauguration to date at a time of increasing job loss and national debt of more than a trillion dollars? The disconnect between the talking heads on tv and John Q. Public becomes larger every day.
Posted by: jan | January 18, 2009, 12:25 pm 12:25 pm
Responsible like the Governors of
Alaska, Illinois, New York, New Jersey?
Like Nixon and Agnew and Dean?
Like the Keating five?
Like everybody who dipped in to the
Congressional bank?
Like Clinton,Scooter and Gonzales?
That kind of responsible?
Anybody see a pattern here?
Posted by: laidbackuser | January 18, 2009, 12:28 pm 12:28 pm
p.s. Donna Brazile has now gained the same reputation and level of reliability that Mr. Will occupies. …Not a good thing.
Posted by: jan | January 18, 2009, 12:34 pm 12:34 pm
Since when do liberals reject personal responsibility? I am a liberal and this country as a whole needs to do more of this. That doesn’t mean any particular group – it means us all. He’s setting a tone of expectation – we must all rise to a greater expectation and responsibility. Stop looking for a fight Marcus and the like, we’re in this together – and the message is a good one – even for those who take personal responsibility already. Go Obama.
Posted by: Rob | January 18, 2009, 5:22 pm 5:22 pm
Give me a break. Why doesn’t this messiah start with his own personal responsibility – like not blowing $150 mln on his inauguration and having a hollywood designer redesign the white house. I suppose the trillions he will spend to “create jobs” is personal responsibility on his and Pelosi’s part as well. What a band of crooks! The liberal elite is in a state of orgy.
Posted by: Rob | January 19, 2009, 2:34 am 2:34 am
The theme should be government responsiblity to those they serve.
Posted by: dlc | January 19, 2009, 10:47 am 10:47 am
It’s sad that we live in a country where the president must preach personal responsibility – we used to take pride in doing things right. This is a country where we used to not buy things we couldn’t afford. We saved to buy a house. We saved for a rainy day. We conserved gas and resources.
But it’s great that Obama is preaching personal responsibility because there are so many in this country who need to hear it. There are people who blame the bank because they bought a house they couldn’t afford; they blame the gas companies because they can’t afford to fill up their SUVs or minivans; they blame the credit card companies for allowing them to build up massive amounts of debt; so many teens get pregnant and they blame the schools for not handing out condoms. No where, in any of this, are people blaming themselves.
I hope Obama’s message resonates with people across the board – from the pregnant teens to the business owners and politicians.
Posted by: Sak Pasé | January 19, 2009, 11:54 am 11:54 am
“you got the republican mantra wrong. It goes, Give a man a fish, but only if he is indeed a man and preferably white and radically Christian; to heck with the rest of them.”Posted by: whatever
Whatever – I guess you haven’t noticed all the Christian churches/church goers volunteering in the inner cities, soup kitchens, homeless shelters, prisons, drug rehab centers, hospitals, and foreign countries to help people who are less fortunate. Stop pretending that Republicans are all white and radical Christian – get to know a Republican or two, you might find that your simple stereotypes about them are foolish.
Posted by: Time to stop pretending | January 19, 2009, 12:02 pm 12:02 pm
As a minority, I believe that the election of Obama is a HUGE step in the right direction toward ending discrimination in this country. But he is a very inexperienced senator with little evidence that he can change anything. Words are words, but actions are actions. He has a very difficult road ahead of him.
Unfortunately, it appears that government will continue to get bigger and bigger and entitlement spending will only get worse. If you’ve had a chance to review the economic stimulus proposal by the Democrats (called American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009), you’ll see TONS of entitlement spending:
-$6 billion to weatherize “modest income homes.” (wow, who knew tubes of caulk could be so expensive;)
-$6 billion to provide internet in “underserved” areas
-$20 billion to increase food stamp funding
-$87 billion to provide a “temporary” increase in Medicaid funding
I fail to see how any of this spending (roughly $100 billion above) will stimulate the economy. How will this create jobs, increase lending by banks, reduce foreclosures, etc??? All of this money is coming from those of us who have jobs, work hard, do the right things (like paying our mortgages), and pay the majority of taxes in this country.
Personal responsibility means getting a job, paying taxes, weatherizing your own home, saving for tough times, etc. We need to be responsible for ourselves!
Posted by: MLM | January 19, 2009, 12:48 pm 12:48 pm
Well we’re movin on up,
To the east side.
To a deluxe apartment in the sky.
Movin on up,
To the east side.
We finally got a piece of the pie.
Fish don’t fry in the kitchen;
Beans don’t burn on the grill.
Took a whole lotta tryin’,
Just to get up that hill.
Now we’re up in the big leagues,
Gettin’ our turn at bat.
As long as we live, it’s you and me baby,
There ain’t nothin wrong with that.
Well we’re movin on up,
To the east side.
To a deluxe apartment in the sky.
Movin on up,
To the east side.
We finally got a piece of the pie.
Posted by: Michelle | January 19, 2009, 7:15 pm 7:15 pm
GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS ARE WORRIED THAT THE AMERICAN PEOPLE DO NOT BUY THINGS (CONTRIBUTE TO MOVE THIS ECONOMY FORWARD). THEY WANT TO CUT TAXES OR ISSUE GOVERNMENT CHECKS. WELL, EITHER ONE WILL LAST A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME. WHY NOT CUT PROPERTY TAXES. WHY NOT GET RID OF CAR TAXES. I AM SURE THAT WILL HELP THE ECONOMY. THE REASON THIS ECONOMY IS STUCK IS BECAUSE EVERYTHING HERE IS SO EXPENSIVE: PROPERTY TAXES, CAR TAXES, IF YOU OWN A CONDO, YOUR CONDO FEE GOES UP EVERY YEAR, COLLEGE TUITION IS SO EXPENSIVE, HEALTH INSURANCE IS SO EXPENSIVE, RENT IS SO EXPENSIVE, IF YOU HAVE A CHILD, HIRING A BABYSITTER IS SO EXPENSIVE. SO HOW, I ASK GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS, YOU WANT US TO SPEND OUR DOLLARS (TO MOVE THIS ECONOMY) WHEN FIRST WE HAVE TO PAY THE EXPENSIVE BILLS (READ ABOVE). AFTER WE PAY OUR EXPENSIVE BILLS, WE HAVE NOTHING LEFT ($$$$$$).
SO GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS MUST FOCUS IN REDUCING THE ABOVE EXPENSES. CUTTING TAXES OR ISSUING GOVERNMENT CHECKS WILL NOT SOLVE THE ECONOMIC PROBLEM WE ARE IN.
Posted by: Patty | January 20, 2009, 8:41 am 8:41 am
Patty,
This is nothing more than Obama’s take on the old joke….
“I’m from the government & I’m here to help you!”
I think we are in for a lot of “help” as defined by Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Barney Frank, …etc.
get ready……
Posted by: Mike_C | January 20, 2009, 10:10 am 10:10 am
LOL, Irony is wonderful thing!!!!!
Obama uses personal responsibility as the theme for his inauguration, and has Geithner up for Treasury Sec. That clown has exhibited no personal responsibility at all ! Lots of “transparency” there with his taxes & the AIG Bailout!!!
Posted by: Mike_C | January 20, 2009, 5:13 pm 5:13 pm
The most profound and resounding thing Obama could have done in his very first “on-the-clock” decision as our President would have been to walk-the-walk of responsible spending. I dare anyone to justify the price ticket of this celebration….even the security argument. As painful and unfair and untraditional and un-American…you get my point….as it may have been, the indisputable truth is that there exists a multitude of MUCH less expensive options which would have still allowed for this event. I’ve heard many arguments that attempt to justify: “Would you prefer people get killed because of too little security?” “170 million is a drop in the bucket compared to the bigger spending problems that will be addresses.” UGH…of course I don’t want people to die….but why would we not argue DAILY to spend 75 million dollars to prevent the deaths of people due to starvation…the elements? How can 170 million dollars EVER be a drop in the bucket? They (government) encourages each of us to do our part…no matter how small. Someone should have done his/her part to rein in the budget on this event…no matter the ‘smallness’ of the millions saved. This may be a vulgar comparison, but I don’t see what happened here as much different than a mother who spends money partying while her children go without. That being said, it’s absurd to say that Obama has already failed or that this is a clear indication of all future spending decisions. I still retain some faith that he will do profound and resounding things….it’s just too late for his first act to prove that…and I quote “putting off unpleasant decisions – that time has surely passed” and “Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.”
Posted by: Cori B | January 20, 2009, 9:50 pm 9:50 pm
I think that this message was exactly what we all needed to hear we need to stand up and take some accountability fir the shape that this nation is in. The government did not create this mess alone I was never a big fan of the last president but the truth of the matter is that it’s not all his fault look at everyone in this housing mess you can only blame the lenders so much because you know what your income is you know whether or not you can afford such a lavish home so who do you blame? YOURSELF no one made you make the decision you made. Give him a chance to prove himself we have a lot of cleaning up to do. ALL OF US!!! He deserves to have an expensive gala that money was donated by his campaign contributors if he would have used it for the government then you would be saying he’s selling favors get real and take some responsibility.
Posted by: Nikki | January 21, 2009, 8:48 am 8:48 am
Nikki,
I agree with Cori, Where the money came from does not matter. The dollars donated do not pay for the weeks of advance work that secuirity forces have to do. To clear the staff and the grounds of ten different facilities for these balls is a huge undertaking. Those efforts are paid for with tax dollars.
Leadership means taking the LEAD! It would have been a very good message and even his detractors such as myself would applaud.
I am not saying have no celebration, but cut it back and let the american people know that you are doing so. That step alone sets the proper tone to begin to get the econonmic recovery off on the right foot.
Posted by: Mike_C | January 21, 2009, 9:19 am 9:19 am
Personal responsibility. Got it.
Now, where’s my free gubbermint health care?!
Posted by: John | January 22, 2009, 10:39 am 10:39 am