State of the Union: A Conservative Perspective

For me, President Obama’s third State of the Union addressed all that I hoped it would.  President Obama delivered an eloquent and carefully worded political speech.  As expected, the President focused largely, and rightly, on jobs, clinging largely to unifying rhetoric as opposed to digging into the messy details of policy.  Last night, President Obama addressed civility in politics, the economy, education, health care, and most importantly for many of us at Harvard, ROTC.  So what does this all mean from a conservative perspective?
First, Obama recognized the recent shootings in Tuscon.  While the debate inside and outside of Washington is fierce, Obama contended, we must remain civil in our words and actions.  The shootings in Arizona put political disagreements in perspective, and this call for civility is one that should be heeded by Republicans and Democrats alike.
Second, Obama addressed health care.  While willing to change parts of the legislation, he argues that a complete overhaul of the act that passed hastily last year would inevitably cause more strain on the economy.  As a conservative, I agree; many economists predict that an overhaul of the health care bill would damage an already fragile economy.  Because of this, Republicans in the house must pick and choose the provisions that they deem unnecessary or harmful.  Obama addressed one of these provisions in his speech, a bookkeeping annoyance on small businesses, winning him cheers from both Republicans and Democrats in the chamber.  However, simply removing bookkeeping provisions in the bill is not enough.  Congress must move forward to increase competition among regionally constrained insurance companies, remove the part of the act that requires an American citizen to buy a service, and reform malpractice lawsuits against doctors.
In regards to the economy, President Obama spoke with a more moderate tone.  He acknowledged that it is necessary to trim the fat around the federal government and curb spending in Washington now.  Indeed, cutting the deficit is essential if America is to maintain its place and credit rating in the world.  However, he also addressed basic research and investment in innovation, advocating a greater government role in innovation investment.  While Congressman Paul Ryan, in the Republican response, advocated government cuts in these areas, increased investment in these areas is necessary to propel a new wave of innovation in the United States.  Investments in these areas have given us the position on the world stage that we hold today.  Research by private companies is often unprofitable; because of this, the government must sponsor basic research in order to create new ideas and technologies. For example, innovations by NASA and other government sponsored think tanks and foundations have been responsible for much of the economic growth we have experienced over the last century.  Moreover, countries around the world are investing heavily in research and innovation, and if we hope to compete in the next century, we need to invest with them.
However, the most important topic that Obama addressed for many of us here at Harvard is military recruitment on campuses.    With the President of the United States calling for all college campuses to reinstate ROTC, the time is now for President Drew Faust, and other college presidents across the country, to reinstate ROTC.  The question no longer remains one of whether to respect the right of gays to enter the military, but about whether college campuses are ready to respect the military and the cadets who serve and protect our freedoms every day.  Too long have ROTC cadets been shut out of our universities; the time is now to reinstate ROTC.
Photo Credit: http://kilburnhall.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/state_of_the_union.jpg