Investing in our future

Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2011 | 2:01 a.m.

President Barack Obama, in his first State of the Union address in which he faces a divided Congress, on Tuesday laid out a smart, forceful vision he has for America — both for today and in the decades to come. The president, with his moderate message, showed he was more than willing to work with Republicans, who made huge gains in the last election. But he also made it clear that Republicans would have to be willing to seek common ground with Democrats to confront the big issues facing the nation.

“We will move forward together, or not at all — for the challenges we face are bigger than party, and bigger than politics,” the president said. “We measure progress by the success of our people. By the jobs they can find and the quality of life those jobs offer. By the prospects of a small-business owner who dreams of turning a good idea into a thriving enterprise. By the opportunities for a better life that we pass on to our children. That’s the project the American people want us to work on. Together.”

To that end, Obama proposed new funding for innovative research and development, including more investment in information technology, biomedical research and particularly in clean energy technology. Furthermore, the president added that “if we want to win the future — if we want innovation to produce jobs in America and not overseas — then we also have to win the race to educate our kids.” Not only does that mean more funding, but the president noted that better education additionally will require needed reforms. The president also, importantly, called for rebuilding America, including fixing our nation’s deteriorating roads and bridges.

America is facing competition from across the globe, which has put pressure on our economy. And, as the president aptly put it, in recalling a moment in our nation’s history when the United States faced a different yet seemingly daunting challenge: “Half a century ago, when the Soviets beat us into space with the launch of a satellite called Sputnik, we had no idea we’d beat them to the moon. The science wasn’t there yet. NASA didn’t even exist. But after investing in better research and education, we didn’t just surpass the Soviets; we unleashed a wave of innovation that created new industries and millions of new jobs. This is our generation’s Sputnik moment.”

Indeed.

One of the overarching themes of Tuesday night was the need to work together. That’s what it will take to achieve the president’s goals. After two years of hyperpartisanship, with Republicans trying to obstruct any progress in Washington, there has to be a change.

Recent polls have shown the public’s desire that Congress and the White House should work together. The nation saw an incredible show of that in the lame-duck session of Congress last month — the parties set aside calls from hard-core partisans and made great progress in a short time.

Several Democrats and Republicans crossed party lines Tuesday night — literally — bypassing the traditional separation in the chamber to sit with one another. Over the past week, there were many jokes about “dates” between several Democrats and Republicans, who agreed to sit next to each other for the speech. It was meant as a show of unity after the tragedy in Tucson, and it was a nice demonstration of civility. But sitting together is one thing. Working together will be quite another.

Republicans are in control of the House of Representatives and they trimmed the Democratic majority in the Senate, but they’ll have to show Americans that they are serious about confronting the nation’s problems. They can’t simply demand that Democrats bow to their will on everything, as they have in the past.

In addition to saying his administration would develop a plan to merge, consolidate and reorganize government that “serves the goal of a more competitive America,” the president on Tuesday also sensibly proposed a five-year freeze on discretionary spending, and that’s something that Republicans should agree with. Of course, the problem will be coming to a consensus on what areas are “discretionary” and what services need to be funded. There should be room for compromise. For example, many Democrats, including the president, have talked positively about some of the budget ideas floated by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, who provided the Republican response to the president’s speech. That is a good place to start.

The president has laid out a wide-ranging vision for the country. It’s time for Congress to pick it up and move forward.