By Nick Bond

Tuesday evening, in his first address to a joint session of Congress, President Barack Obama outlined an admittedly ambitious vision for the future of the country he has been recently chosen to lead. Highlighted by an emphasis on grand social programs, considered by noted political blog Politico as the most intense “government intervention into the private economy that Washington has undertaken since the Great Society,” the speech covered a plethora of topics.

Ranging from the fiscal irresponsibility that begot the current crisis to the personal responsibility required to find our way out of it, it was a speech seen by some as exactly what the commander-in-chief needed to establish himself as a leader to be followed in the hallowed chambers of the home of Congress and in less renowned dwellings across the nation.

“I thought one of the things that he had to do was articulate his vision for the country and I think he did,” said Professor and Chair of the Political Science Department Rosanna Perotti. “I think that he displayed a lot of optimism, which satisfied many people who though that he was being too ‘realistic’ about our situation”.

For those that watched the speech, it seems clear that this perceived over zealousness had transferred from his assessment of our current economic condition to those whom he felt were to blame.

He placed-at different times-blame on the Bush administration (despite his explicit statement to the contrary) and the shortsightedness of the American people for the trouble we find ourselves in. It was only then, after explaining from whence we came, where we were going.

Emphasis was put explicitly on three main topics; health care reform, education and alternative energy, with major program and policy initiatives incorporated therein.

Alternative energy took the floor first, as President Obama made it clear that a major portion of his hopes for the realization of his plan for economic stimulus rested on the success of American’s transition to a greener energy future.

President Obama outlined his issues succinctly in regards to the topic, saying, “we know the country that harnesses the power of clean, renewable energy will lead the 21st century and yet, it is China that has launched the largest effort in history to make their economy energy efficient. We invented solar technology, but we’ve fallen behind countries like Germany and Japan in producing it. New plug-in hybrids roll off our assembly lines, but they will run on batteries made in Korea,” before finally driving his point home, saying, “well I do not accept a future where the jobs and industries of tomorrow take root beyond our borders, and I know you don’t either. It is time for America to lead again.”

This style of stark and honest rhetoric continued in his discussion of health care, as he said without reservation that, “we can no longer afford to put health care reform on hold.” His plan calls for an investment in electronic health records and preventative care and a concerted push by the government to cure cancer.

President Obama’s ambitious plans didn’t end there, as he continued on to his final major point of emphasis: Education. Reform spearheaded this section of his speech, with goals of incentives for teaching performance and closing the achievement gap near the top of the list. At the top of that list however, was President Obama’s pledge to, by the year 2020, “have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world”. To do so, the Commander-in-Chief seems to be looking for a community or military service based incentive program in exchange for college tuition.

Much like the rest of the president’s plans, it seems a far reaching and expensive prescription for a daunting problem. But to some citizens the price, and more importantly the cost, is far too steep-especially when the question of where the money will appear from is asked.

Political Science Professor Richard Himelfarb seemed troubled by the increased spending. “I thought it was worrisome; President Obama has an extraordinarily ambitious social agenda in the areas of energy, health, and education,” he said. “His plan provides for a four-year college education, national health care and massive investments in alternative forms of energy.”

Himelfarb continued, “but given that we had the TARP bill, a 789 billion dollar stimulus package and another bank bailout on the way, it seems to be fiscally reckless, offering to spend more money without an explanation of where the money is going to come from.”

With a mountain of debt to climb out of, two wars to work our way out of and not many other options left, President Obama’s extraordinarily ambitious plan seems to be at its very best, an inspiring assessment of the strength of the American backbone, and at worst, the an exposition of the perceived na’veté that nearly kept the former senator out of the White House in the first place.