A more optimistic President Barack Obama delivered a surprisingly hopeful speech on Tuesday, February 24th to a joint-session of Congress.

“We will rebuild, we will recover, and the United States of America will emerge stronger than before,” stated President Obama.

Barack Obama has been much criticized for his pessimistic messages regarding the economy’s slow spiral into a “catastrophe.” He has said that if the economic stimulus did not pass, then the nation “might not recover” from economic destruction. This was a huge turnaround from his outlook on the future during his campaign for presidency, which radiated hope.

This change in his outlook had been reasonable, of course, due to dwindling support for his economic stimulus plan. The idea of big government spending didn’t appeal to many Americans. However, the President took on a more explanatory and hopeful role during his address to the Congress.

He carefully explained his plans with the economy, and also elaborated on his plans with energy, health care, education and Iraq. While doing this, President Obama appealed to Americans’ hunger for hope by delivering it.

Although President Obama’s speech had a somber start, saying that the “impact of this recession is real, and it is everywhere,” he continued with a more positive stance by telling Americans “the weight of this crisis will not determine the destiny of this nation.”

He continued, “The answers to our problems don’t lie beyond our reach. They exist in our laboratories and our universities; in our fields and our factories; in the imaginations of our entrepreneurs and the pride of the hardest-working people on Earth….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.”

President Obama also used the economy as a vehicle to warn Americans to start acting with responsibility. “Now is the time to act boldly and wisely,” he proclaimed, “to not only revive this economy, but to build a new foundation for lasting prosperity.”

Governor Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, an up and coming politician with national aspirations, offered the Republican Party’s response. Although he shares President Obama’s belief in optimism, he believes that the Democratic Party’s approach to the economic crisis will lead to even greater government debt.

Despite the harsh Republican response, the President believes, “If we come together and lift this nation from the depths of this crisis; if we put our people back to work and restart the engine of our prosperity; if we confront without fear the challenges of our time and summon that enduring spirit of an America that does not quit, “then someday years from now our children can tell their children that this was the time when we performed, in the words that are carved into this very chamber, ‘something worthy to be remembered.’”

Sources:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/02/24/politics/main4826494.shtml
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/25/us/politics/25web-obama.html?_r=1&hp