Something I'd like to hear in Obama's speech (do you think I should hold my breath):
When I took up the office of President of the United States, I swore an oath. The gravity of that oath is such that it bears repeating, and emphasis: I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."
Let me emphasize: my duty and my mandate is to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution.
I am not your king.
I am not your savior.
I am not your ruler; in my capacity as President, I recommend policy, but I do not make law.
My first duty is not to insure your safety or your prosperity. My first duty is to uphold the Constitution, which insures your liberty and the continuance and integrity of this uniquely free republic that our founding fathers bequeathed upon us. It is not the President that makes the United States safe; it is the people acting in liberty. It is not the President that makes the United States prosperous; it is the people acting in liberty. The oath that I took, and that all Presidents take, focuses the President on protecting and defending the Constitution, rather than some lesser goal, for a good reason. Our founding fathers were wise men. They intended the Constitution to act as a guarantee of your liberty, knowing that if liberty is secured, all the blessings of liberty will follow.
Do not mistake me. I do not say these thing because I take your safety or prosperity lightly, or because I wish to remove the weight of responsibility from my shoulders and make things easier on myself. On the contrary, it would be much easier to stand before you this day, pat you on the back, and tell you that everything will be okay and that "I'm here, now." It would be easy to enumerate great lists of things that I am going to do to make you safer and richer and take care of you. It would be easy to give a speech about some tough times and hard work that leads to the dawning of a grand new age of politics in the United States: a golden age with me leading the way down a path lit with shining lamps and strewn with gently falling rose petals. Having invoked this grand vision, I'd stand back, looking proudly into the future, and let the waves of adulation wash over me...
My duty, my mandate, and my oath do not allow me that luxury.
I will, of course, do everything in my power, up to its Constitutional limits, to keep this nation safe. I will also do everything in my power to encourage prosperity and plenty. I will talk more about these things, shortly [smile and pause for relieved chuckles... then get stern...] But I will not do these things at the expense of the Constitution and the ideals it embodies. To cast that aside is not setting aside "just a piece of paper." To cast aside the Constitution is to cast aside the mighty gift that has been placed into our care by the founders of our nation: a gift which protects and upholds our liberty. We are its stewards; not just me, but every one of us. I urge you to grasp your freedom with both hands, guard it jealously, and never let it go...for if you loosen your grip on it, it will be taken from you. And it will be taken from you in the name of practicality, or of protecting you, or of giving you prosperity, or some other sweet-sounding excuse. As President of the United States, and as the chief steward of the Constitution, it is my duty to remind you, the people of this great nation, that you, living and acting in liberty, are what makes it great. This is not some dusty political platitude. It is the reality. This nation rises or falls on the backs of its free people. The blessings of liberty spring directly from the individual efforts of each one of us, acting in freedom. During my campaign for the office of President, I invoked the phrase, "Yes we can." Today, I stand before you and say "Yes, YOU can."
