NYTimes 9.8 Paul Krugman, Obama's need for Audacity

I do agree with Professor Krugman's statement that this "speech has to be aimed at the American people." That's a good observation, since in many past addresses I have not been certain exactly to whom the President was speaking.

Dr. Krugman's final observation however is one I must respectfully challenge. "This is time for Obama to show real leadership to persuade America that it needs to change." His emphasis on healthcare reform, vesting power in czars, speaking kindly to our foreign enemies, having difficulty using the word 'terrorism,' failure in assuring main street voters that he has heard their criticisms, has not related to the concerns of a majority of the electorate.

America needs to change? Isn't it time that someone in congress or the administration pose that question to those most concerned, the American people. The elephant in the room going unnoticed by the President and his staff is simply stated in a simple question for him. What is the change you are trying to persuade us to make?

This healthcare proposal on his part, as needful as it might be, is no longer the issue of most importance to the nation. A majority of the country has awakened and their concern is much larger than this single issue. Simply stated the nexus of the dissent concerns a majority of the citizens of this nation who now conclude that this President is seeking to take away the American way of life and erode long held constitutional freedoms, promoted by past administrations. This observation by many may or may not be true, but it does exist and must be addressed soon.

One can utilize rhetoric and legalese, but this country's majority will simply not permit the removal of basic traditional values only to have them replaced by ideas that threaten, if enacted, to remove liberty and constitutional guarantees.

A speech on healthcare reform, with minor modifications, is much like the dog next door who barks at midnight, while people are asleep while the moon is unable to respond. The administration's assumption that healthcare reform proposals are responsible for the President's declining popularity are wrong.

The main problem that Obama is now facing, center around a lack of credibility underlying any Presidential address. This administration must revisit some of its outlandish proposals, reevaluate the nation's advice and recycle a failed plan that seems already ancient. The President should make it clear-out with the old plan which will never be accepted by a majority of American people and in with a new effort encompassing many of their suggestions.

Dr. Alan Phillips