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Redstate...
The Sputnik Moment
Posted by Erick Erickson
Wednesday, January 26th
“Barack Obama did not jump the shark; he sputniked.”
Barack Obama’s “Sputnik Moment” sums up his speech best. In fact, there
is no reason to fully dwell on his speech in light of the sputnik
moment. What do I mean? Consider this: Barack Obama declared that “This
is our generation’s Sputnik moment.” His reference was to the
mobilization of the United States after the Soviets launched the
Sputnik satellite. President Kennedy mobilized the United States to
aggressively combat the Soviets with not just an arms race, but with a
space race — a race to the moon.
President Obama declared our present economic climate our sputnik
moment then proceeded to ignore NASA in his speech while defunding our
space program. Nevermind that he did not identify an enemy hell bent on
destroying us. He just wanted to use the metaphor without regard for
its historic meaning — something this President all too often does.
Barack Obama’s bold leadership will not lead to a new race to space.
Rather, in his own words, Barack Obama’s “sputnik moment” is . . . wait
for it . . . no seriously, wait for it . . . “solar shingles that are
being sold all across the country.”
Not exactly a John F. Kennedy oratory moment. But wait, it gets even
better as Barack Obama announces his intention to return us to the
1950’s.
As much as the Democrats caricature the Republicans as hell bent on
driving us back to 1950’s style culture, Barack Obama is hell bent on
driving us back to 1950’s style economics where people work for large
corporations that subsist on government program subsidies and the
employees all belong to unions. In the history of the United States,
that world view is very recent.
Alexander Graham Bell, Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, Bill Gates, Steve
Jobs — none of these people needed government subsistence to innovate.
They did it on their own. And those, like Jobs, Gates, and others that
built off of government inventiveness, the inventiveness on which they
built off of came from technological advancements in national security
and war — an area of the budget the President is willing to cut.
Barack Obama’s speech was a terrible speech. The only saving grace for
him is that it will not be remembered by the American public. Paul Ryan
had much more substance and, surprisingly enough, Michelle Bachmann had
the best speech of the night with both style and substance.
All and all, Barack Obama’s “sputnik moment” should stand in American
history for a great buildup without delivery. Barack Obama did not jump
the shark; he sputniked.
http://www.redstate.com/erick/2011/01/26/the-sputnik-moment/
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