Advice for the President's Speechwriters

What should the President say in the State of the Union? Well, if his speech writers were asking me, I'd say the President needs to come out tough and stay tough. He needs to hit these four themes:

1. Of the people, by the people, for the people
2. “No” is not a solution
3. Hold on to the vision
4. Better, but not good enough.

And in case they asked for it, here's a draft:

We must not lose sight of why we are here. Our work must be "of the people, by the people, and for the people. " We are here in this Chamber because people voted for us to govern for the people; not for corporate power, not for special interests, not for our own personal gain. We are “of the people” – and to me that means we must walk in their shoes. We must understand -- to our core—that Americans are suffering, they are angry and they are afraid that things will only get worse. They have little faith in our ability to do our jobs. Doing our jobs means we have to be about the How.

We do not have the luxury of ignoring the multiple challenges this Administration inherited. I am about how we can meet these challenges and solve these very complex problems. If you disagree with my approach, tell me how you propose to solve them. Just don’t tell me and the American people, “No.” We cannot govern under a two-letter policy of “No.” “No” is not a solution. “No” is not leadership.

To those who suggest this Administration has taken on too many issues too fast, I say, step up and work with me, or step out of the way. There is much work that needs to be done and I will not limit my vision of the greatness we can create together because of those who want to rewrite history or be obstructionist.

I still hold on to the vision that America can be better. Where every American will have health care and no one will be denied coverage because of a pre-existing condition. I hold on to the vision that we will have health care reform in this country to prevent insurance companies from ending coverage because someone has been too sick for too long. I still hold on to the vision that America can lead the clean energy revolution, create millions of new jobs and make our country energy independent. I still hold on to the vision that my daughters and their generation will enjoy a healthier and safer environment. I still hold on to the vision that America can be a respected leader in the world community.

I refuse to accept that the partisanship that has poisoned our political process is here to stay. I still hold on to the vision that we can work together on behalf of the American people.

The State of the Union is better, but it is not good enough. While I am proud of this Administration’s accomplishments in our first year, there is much more work to do. Americans deserve better. We have not solved all the problems we inherited, and we cannot do it without the leadership and commitment of all of you sitting here tonight.

It is time to stop worrying about our jobs and ensure we create the jobs Americans need. It is time to stop worrying about our campaign budgets, and create the opportunities Americans need to repair their budgets. It’s time to stop obsessing over our own political power and give Americans back the power they need to improve their lives. It is time to stop the hateful rhetoric that breeds anger and division among our citizenry. It’s time that lobbyists for Big Oil and Big Coal, Big Banks, Big Insurance and Big Drug companies step away from the controls.

It’s time that “Main Street matters more than Wall Street” becomes more than a catchy tagline.