Words I Wish Obama Said

We are in the midst of a great realignment, both politically and economically, and most of us are unaware it is happening. Just as the receding era began with a Great Depression, the incoming era has begun with the Great Recession. Just as the Great Depression brought about fundamental changes in how Americans viewed the role of government in stabilizing the economy and smoothing out the rough edges of capitalist indifference, so too will the Great Recession define a new era and a new role for government. What that role will be depends on the political philosophy and political willpower of those in charge. And while a Democrat is in the White House, his words and actions show that the philosophy of Barack Obama is significantly different than those of the last president to lead us through such dark times: Franklin D. Roosevelt. What follows are excerpts from a speech given by Roosevelt ahead of the 1936 election. I wish Barack Obama would read, learn, and heed these words...and possibly repeat them and live by them as he approaches the economic crisis facing this country. On what the American People Want What was our hope in 1932? Above all other things the American people wanted peace. They wanted peace of mind instead of gnawing fear. First, they sought escape from the personal terror which had stalked them for three years. They wanted the peace that comes from security in their homes: safety for their savings, permanence in their jobs, a fair profit from their enterprise. Next, they wanted peace in the community, the peace that springs from the ability to meet the needs of community life: schools, playgrounds, parks, sanitation, highways—those things which are expected of solvent local government. They sought escape from disintegration and bankruptcy in local and state affairs. They also sought peace within the Nation: protection of their currency, fairer wages, the ending of long hours of toil, the abolition of child labor, the elimination of wild-cat speculation, the safety of their children from kidnappers. And, finally, they sought peace with other Nations—peace in a world of unrest. The Nation knows that I hate war, and I know that the Nation hates war. On the Anti-Government Political Sentiments of Morons and Charlatans For twelve years this Nation was afflicted with hear-nothing, see-nothing, do-nothing Government. The Nation looked to Government but the Government looked away. Powerful influences strive today to restore that kind of government with its doctrine that that Government is best which is most indifferent. On the Overwhelming Influence of Business Interests Against Americans We had to struggle with the old enemies of peace—business and financial monopoly, speculation, reckless banking, class antagonism, sectionalism, war profiteering. They had begun to consider the Government of the United States as a mere appendage to their own affairs. We know now that Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob. Never before in all our history have these forces been so united against one candidate as they stand today. They are unanimous in their hate for me—and I welcome their hatred. On Poverty and the Unemployed Here and now I want to make myself clear about those who disparage their fellow citizens on the relief rolls. They say that those on relief are not merely jobless—that they are worthless. Their solution for the relief problem is to end relief—to purge the rolls by starvation. To use the language of the stock broker, our needy unemployed would be cared for when, as, and if some fairy godmother should happen on the scene. You and I will continue to refuse to accept that estimate of our unemployed fellow Americans. Your Government is still on the same side of the street with the Good Samaritan and not with those who pass by on the other side. On What Government Can Do to Help Of course we will continue our efforts for young men and women so that they may obtain an education and an opportunity to put it to use. Of course we will continue our help for the crippled, for the blind, for the mothers, our insurance for the unemployed, our security for the aged. Of course we will continue to protect the consumer against unnecessary price spreads, against the costs that are added by monopoly and speculation. We will continue our successful efforts to increase his purchasing power and to keep it constant.