The politics of “triangulation” were clearly at play in Tuesday’s State of the Union address. Triangulation, a term that comes from the era of former President Bill Clinton, is when politicians put themselves at odds with not only the opposition party, but also those in his or her own party.
Tuesday night, President Barack Obama successfully paved the middle of the road with his plans for “winning the future.” Now, whether this means getting reelected in 2012 or actually making a down payment in the potential the next generation has is up for debate.
But by stressing the importance of the future, Obama allowed himself to reconnect with the voters who may have felt abandoned by the combative politics of the past two years. He did this by making key concessions to the Republicans. Perhaps it was in a spirit of good faith, but it is more likely that Obama is acknowledging how he will deal with a conservative House of Representatives.
One of the most surprising concessions he made dealt with the health care law. He signaled willingness to roll back a provision of the law that put an “unnecessary bookkeeping burden on small businesses.”
He could have used the State of the Union as a second chance to sell the controversial law, but he chose instead to lay a plan for revision. He also embraced the idea of medical malpractice reform, which is something liberals do not normally champion.
Then there was the issue of earmarks. In a large nod to the Tea Party, the president vowed to veto any bill that contains earmarks to fund pet projects in a representative’s district or a senator’s state.
This is one of the specific provisions presented to reduce our ballooning federal deficit, and the thing Obama has the most control over.
While health care and deficit reduction are constantly debated in Washington, one less common policy deserves special recognition.
The president specifically emphasized the importance of research and development, calling for more investments in “biomedical research, information technology and especially clean energy technology.”
As students who are about to come of age, we are grateful for this nod to research and development. All too often it is only briefly acknowledged on a tangent when discussing education.
The president also asked Congress to make a tuition tax credit permanent. The tax credit, worth $10,000 over four years, is an important tax break that will make college more affordable and accessible to people.
The most notable thing from the State of the Union, though, did not come from the speech. Rather, it was in the seating arrangement. Our elected officials broke a tradition that lasted more than a century. Traditionally, politicians sit according to party — Democrats on one side of the aisle, Republicans on the other. On Tuesday night, they sat next to one another, regardless of party. Such a gesture may be largely symbolic, but it is a visual affirmation — rather than a verbal one — that we are united as Americans, not divided along the lines of red and blue.
By stressing issues that are both bipartisan and essential to our future, Obama successfully positioned himself for both this Congress and his reelection campaign. The post-partisan politician that America elected in 2008 made a triumphant return Tuesday night.
