By Doug McDaniel
copyright 2005 Douglas Stuart McDaniel, all rights reserved.
A nation seeks a leader who will unite us and lead us. Who will give this speech?
Tuesday, January 20, 2009The election of 2008 was close, given the vote tallies of a divided nation. But, with the election reforms finally passed by the Congress after the rampant fraud in the 2006 election, confidence in the electoral process had been restored, with several officers of voting technology companies being forced to disclose their interests and take measures to insure ballot integrity. The president-elect, while humble, was more confident than ever in the agenda. As many presidents before had done, a service at St. John’s Episcopal Church was held that morning before the president-elect joined President Bush to travel to the Capitol. The oath of office was administered by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, John Roberts.
The President: Mr. Vice President, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Chief Justice, President Bush, Vice President Cheney, President Clinton, President Bush, President Carter, reverend clergy, fellow citizens: I stand before you today as a humble servant to the American people. Today marks a turning point. Today marks the beginning of the second American Revolution—the energy revolution. While we must learn from our recent history, we must not look back again. We must look forward…forward to this new day, and forward to the difficult work before us with a renewed spirit of hope and optimism.
That work begins at the conclusion of this speech.
I will, today, fulfill the largest campaign promise I made: to launch the start of America’s Twenty Year Plan. Today, we begin the long journey toward true national security. We close the doors on a century of war fighting and open our hearts toward a new century of real freedom and real security. Let every nation and every terrorist cell know, that the giant slumbers no more in the policies of the past. Whether a nation or group wishes us well or wishes us harm, let them know that we embark today on a new course to assure our survival and the success of liberty.
We will secure our freedom and security. Of this let there be no doubt. But we must do so in ways that do not resemble the past.
We will journey together to become a free and secure nation completely independent of foreign energy supplies. Our investments in alternative and clean fuel sources will be accelerated so that within 20 years, we will no longer rely solely on crude oil. This is our mission to the Moon, and I ask that every engineer, every scientist, every environmental leader, and every entrepreneur join us in this mission. We know that the freedom of capital markets is a blessing on our nation. We must, therefore, use our collective expertise in smarter and more efficient ways—not to consume more and indebt our grandchildren.
We will rewrite the book on homeland security, defining clear chains of command, funding critical infrastructure improvements, and coming up with sound disaster response plans. We will cut out corruption from federal contracts through sound accounting and procurement strategies that expose corruption and prosecute it as a matter of national security.
We will begin now to change the shape and size of our cities, creating new opportunities for smart travel and new construction that puts homes and jobs closer together while allowing each and every American to achieve the dream of home ownership.
We will, as a nation, re-commit ourselves to the Rule of Law and to respect human rights across the globe, in our prisons, and in our own communities. We will practice what we preach.
We will embrace our peaceful brothers and sisters in the Muslim faith and every other religion, creed, and culture that embraces freedom and peace. We will spend money on faith-based initiatives that help the Islamic community unite itself and heal itself. We will no longer ignore the hatred of false prophets, be they Christian or Muslim, and we will call them what they are. They are a threat to our national security.
We will respect the sovereignty of foreign nations. Our energy policies will be re-written to reduce dependence on foreign supplies, so that we need not bully our neighbors. We will offer, and we will expect—truly free and fair trade. If you want to sell in our markets, we will sell in yours. We will work within a newly disciplined community of nations to reduce the influence of despots and dictators, for while there are dozens of these, we recognize that we cannot and should not invade these nations. We will project peace through strength. We will once again be a shining beacon to the world.
We will pledge that within 20 years, we will remove all military presence from foreign soils in the Middle East, acknowledging here for the first time that our very presence threatens the very national security that we seek. We are one nation, not an empire driven by our thirst for oil. We will choose another path.
By choosing a path of energy independence, we will embark upon a course that makes our air cleaner and our waters more pure, so that our children will be healthier than previous generations.
We will recognize that poverty within our nation is a matter of national urgency. Poverty begins where opportunity ends. And opportunity never grows where learning isn’t welcome or rewarded. We must ask hard questions of ourselves…of our parenting, and of our teaching. We must begin again to consider matters of dignity and respect. We must face the child behind the test score and ask more than whether they are learning…we must ask: Are they hungry? Are they clothed? Are they safe from harm? We can and must do better, and we will launch innovative educational initiatives that reduce classroom size and increase teacher pay so that teachers do not have to take a second job to make ends meet. We will call on our community leaders and our seniors to become more present, to provide role models for parenting and mentoring where parents and mentors are absent. Our goal will be more than testing. Our success will be measured in relationships and role models.
Let us join together now and put our partisan differences behind us. I ask both sides in Congress to put down their swords and to begin sowing seeds of hope. Our nation needs you to work together in a new spirit of cooperation. I will choose the American people over my own party, every time, and I expect every member of the House and Senate to do the same. We must bring overall spending down and reduce the national debt. Our national security depends upon it. We must restore fiscal discipline and get our books in order.
And so, my fellow Americans, let us embrace a future of freedom and security, for blessed are the peacemakers who seek to bring harmony and reconciliation between those who are estranged. Peace means strength. Peace means justice for all. Peace means right relationships between each of us.
Finally, let us remember that our greatest generations are those who have sacrificed the most, not the least. We must sacrifice now so that our best days will be before us, not behind us. I call upon every American to serve this great nation, bringing their talents, their gifts, and their hard work to the betterment of this land. The revolution is before us. And we are equal to the task.
May God bless every nation upon His earth, and may God bless the United States of America.
