In anticipation of the SOTU address, I think now would be a good time to reflect on the words
of a real Presicent and Commander in Chief, Dwight D. Eisenhower. From his 1961 Farewell Speech:
Another factor in maintaining balance involves the element of time. As we peer into society's
future, we -- you and I, and our government -- must avoid the impulse to live only for today,
plundering, for our own ease and convenience, the precious resources of tomorrow. We cannot
mortgage the material assets of our grandchildren without risking the loss also of their
political and spiritual heritage. We want democracy to survive for all generations to come, not
to become the insolvent phantom of tomorrow.
Tax cuts anyone?
This is the 'Military Industrial Complex Speech' so the following quote is often used:
In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of
unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the militaryindustrial complex. The
potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.
We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic
processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can
compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our
peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together.
If there was ever a damning indictment of our current situation with the bush Administration,
Halliburton, The Carlyle Group, and the NSA, this is it. Damning indictment that it is though, it
tends to overshadow other equally important passages like the following:
Throughout America's adventure in free government, our basic purposes have been to keep the
peace; to foster progress in human achievement, and to enhance liberty, dignity and integrity
among people and among nations. To strive for less would be unworthy of a free and religious
people. Any failure traceable to arrogance, or our lack of comprehension or readiness to
sacrifice would inflict upon us grievous hurt both at home and abroad.
Progress toward these noble goals is persistently threatened by the conflict now engulfing the
world. It commands our whole attention, absorbs our very beings. We face a hostile ideology --
global in scope, atheistic in character, ruthless in purpose, and insidious in method. Unhappily
the danger is poses promises to be of indefinite duration. To meet it successfully, there is
called for, not so much the emotional and transitory sacrifices of crisis, but rather those which
enable us to carry forward steadily, surely, and without complaint the burdens of a prolonged and
complex struggle -- with liberty the stake. Only thus shall we remain, despite every provocation,
on our charted course toward permanent peace and human betterment.
Crises there will continue to be. In meeting them, whether foreign or domestic, great or
small, there is a recurring temptation to feel that some spectacular and costly action could
become the miraculous solution to all current difficulties. ...
Unfortunately, the republicans of today are not descendant from Eisenhower. They did not
inherit the leadership, civic duty, or the moral courage of Eisenhower. Eisenhower appears to be
the last of his breed.
No, the republicans of today are descendants of Richard Nixon. They inherited Nixon's
leadership, civic duty, and moral courage as well as the Nixon acolytes, cheney and rumsfeld. The
republicans of today apparently feel that Nixon's great failure was not lying to Congress, spying
on Americans, bribery and slush funds. The republicans of today appear to feel that Richard
Nixon's failure was getting caught and they are trying to remedy that.