Five Pillars Speech – this is the appellation that I have given to the speech that President Obama gave at Georgetown University on 2009 April 14. The White House provided transcript (via TalkingPointsMemo) has the speech’s title as "Obama Speaks On Economy" – a title that doesn’t seem to capture the essence of the speech.
After several readings of the transcript, the second half of the speech seems to be the most critical part; and it deserves greater public analyses than it has received thus far.
After the jump, a highlight of President Obama’s five pillars for a new foundation of national economic growth and prosperity is provided.
In beginning a discussion of his five pillars, and this should be a national discussion, President Obama transitions from the first half of his speech with a parable – highlighted below:
Now, there's a parable at the end of the Sermon on the Mount that tells the story of two men. The first built his house on a pile of sand, and it was soon destroyed when a storm hit. But the second is known as the wise man, for when "the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house, it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock."
It was founded upon a rock. We cannot rebuild this economy on the same pile of sand. We must build our house upon a rock. We must lay a new foundation for growth and prosperity -- a foundation that will move us from an era of borrow and spend to one where we save and invest; where we consume less at home and send more exports abroad.
President Barack Obama (White House Transcript – courtesy of TalkingPointsMemo)
President Obama’s "new foundation for growth and prosperity" is to be founded on five pillars, and Obama introduces these five pillars with the following words:
It's a foundation built upon five pillars that will grow our economy and make this new century another American century: Number one, new rules for Wall Street that will reward drive and innovation, not reckless risk-taking -- (applause); number two, new investments in education that will make our workforce more skilled and competitive -- (applause); number three, new investments in renewable energy and technology that will create new jobs and new industries -- (applause); number four, new investments in health care that will cut costs for families and businesses; and number five, new savings in our federal budget that will bring down the debt for future generations.
That's the new foundation we must build. That's our house built upon a rock. That must be our future -- and my administration's policies are designed to achieve that future.
President Barack Obama (White House Transcript – courtesy of TalkingPointsMemo)
President Obama’s design for America’s future appears to be captured in his five-pillar blueprint for a new national foundation. Although President Obama offers a short description of each pillar, the new foundation as outlined by the president must be filled in with the remainder of the foundation – reinforced concrete "slab" must be formed and poured.
I look forward to expansive and comprehensive discussions of President Obama’s five pillars for a new foundation on which to build our nation’s future growth and prosperity. President Obama’s five pillars offer an excellent start to the construction of a new and sustainable foundation for future national growth and prosperity, but a lasting and effective foundation is built on more than just its pillars – a "steel" reinforced slab, consisting of rock-solid policy mixtures, is also necessary. Then the foundation must be allowed time to take hold and harden.
In building our new national foundation, it behooves us to remember the admonition that the devil is always in the details – the "rock" and "steel" must be of high enough quality so that they can be "cemented" into a strong and durable foundation.
P.S. The traditional media's coverage, as is the norm for them, distracts you from the important national policy issues raised in President Obama's speech by focusing their reporting on the "coverup" of christian symbols.