A blend of optimism and reality

Inter Lake editorial

"We will rebuild, we will recover, and the United States of America will emerge stronger than before."

President Obama made that bold promise during his first speech to Congress earlier this week. If there is going to be bipartisan agreement going forward during these difficult times, it must be centered around just such optimism.

Americans don't want doom and gloom from their leaders, and the new president wisely tried to give back to the country some of the hope on which he had based his campaign.

But no one should expect the path to recovery to be an easy one, and no one should settle for empty rhetoric at a time of crisis. We did not elect a cheerleader-in-chief, but rather a commander. And just as in military battle, President Obama needs to make hard decisions, put them into action, and then fight and pray for a favorable outcome.

He provided a framework for some change in his speech Tuesday, focusing on job creation, universal health care, green energy and affordable college education. Those will certainly please his supporters, but we need to get beyond just asking for more benefits from government in order to "emerge stronger than before."

There is hard work ahead - and sacrifice. Just how much is anyone's guess at this point, but no one should expect the government to be able to wave a magic wand and bring back jobs just by spending money. If we've learned anything over the past 50 years of bloated government, it should be this - you don't make a problem any less of a problem by throwing money at it.

It is worth noting that the president's speech coincidentally fell on Mardi Gras, the infamous Fat Tuesday celebration when partiers glut themselves in preparation for the hard times ahead during the 40 days of Lent. Let's take seriously the Lenten commitment of sacrifice as an example of how the country needs to tighten its belt at this time.

"The answers to our problems don't lie beyond our reach," President Obama said. "What is required now is for this country to pull together, confront boldly the challenges we face, and take responsibility for our future once more."