Obama’s change for America is to lower expectations by providing government enforced fair and balanced outcomes for all Americans. Leave aside the thorny fact that government cannot succeed in producing such an outcome–that it’s completely impossible for government to do that.
Most importantly, the key takeaway from yesterday’s speech is that Obama’s version of the American Dream is an American nightmare where unlimited opportunity becomes “a country where working people can earn enough to raise a family, build a modest savings, own a home, and secure their retirement.”
Sounds all very pleasant, but it’s a far cry from the land of unlimited opportunity where anyone can do or become anything they want if they’re willing to work for it.
People don’t immigrate to America to get by modestly and then quietly die. That is the life they want to immigrate from, not to! The American Dream is about unlimited personal and societal growth and creative opportunity. It’s about a life accessible to anyone that is not limited by heritage, not limited by any other man within a consensual framework, and especially not limited by a government “by and for the people.”
America has the largest middle class of any country because it’s where a lot of people end up after aiming for the top. If Obama succeeds in convincing Americans to aim for the middle, he will have lowered expectations for all Americans, and the ranks of impoverished Americans will grow.
A president should lead the country by expressing high ideals, not low expectations. This has always been a problem with both Michelle and Barack.