President Barack Obama, proclaiming that Americans "don't quit; I don't quit," challenged Congress to put aside petty partisanship and seize this moment in time.
He was forceful. He was compassionate. He was poised.
And he was right. He was right not only in tone, but in content. A year into his presidency, he was true to the issues that led a majority of American voters to put him into office. And he added needed urgency to his calls for change.
Too often in the past year Obama has allowed others to tinker and tamper with the details of the plans he supports to move the country forward. During his State of the Union address Wednesday he was again a leader.
He cited the challenges met in the past year, admitted mistakes and outlined a path forward. The president noted that he had inherited massive problems — a financial system in tatters, an economy that had dropped over the cliff, and two wars, with one taking a nasty turn.
To imagine he'd have solved all of these issues and moved on by now was naive.
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