Tuesday night’s speech
What a wonderful speech it was—just wonderful
HERE’S hoping you caught Tuesday night’s address to the nation. It was just about the best speech we’ve seen/heard in a couple of years. Not that it had a whole lot of competition, the last couple of years being what they were. What with the rise of The Donald and Bernie Sanders and—isn’t there another candidate on the Democratic side?—we were about to lose hope, that the nation had gone over two cliffs. One on the right, one on the left.
Tuesday night, hope was restored.
How best describe the speech? It was a combination of civility and strength. Of optimism. Of morning again in America. Maybe even of hope and change. There was nothing in it that talked down to Americans, but lifted us all. Of course, we’re talking about Nikki Haley’s speech.
Her response to the president’s show was worth the hour or so it took to get to her turn. And one thought kept coming to mind as she spoke: Why isn’t Nikki Haley running for president?
The governor of South Carolina started her speech on a high note, and only went up from there. Her first words were about the “rich and complicated history” of her state, as if the American people were smart enough to understand where we come from, and the greatness and sins of our past. Every history of every group of human beings will be complicated. Until the species reaches perfection. Which might be a long time yet. A hundred years from now, folks might look back on 2016 and think: How could they?
Instead of pandering, Gov. Haley treated us all as adults. For which we should all be grateful. And demand that of everybody who would lead us.
She also had a few words about the other speech that was given just before, a little bit farther north: “Barack Obama’s election as president seven years ago broke historic barriers and inspired millions of Americans. As he did when he first ran for office, tonight President Obama spoke eloquently about grand things. He is at his best when he does that.”
And then she gave her vision of where America should go from here. And what a vision it is. (Why isn’t Nikki Haley running for president?)
“We need to be honest with each other, and with ourselves,” the governor said. “While Democrats in Washington bear much responsibility for the problems facing America today, they do not bear it alone. There is more than enough blame to go around. We as Republicans need to own that truth. We need to recognize our contributions to the erosion of the public trust in America’s leadership. We need to accept that we’ve played a role in how and why our government is broken. And then we need to fix it.” Yes, ma’am. “The foundation that has made America that last, best hope on earth hasn’t gone anywhere. It still exists. It is up to us to return to it.” Yes ma’am. And amen. “Today, we live in a time of threats like few others in recent memory. During anxious times, it can be tempting to follow the siren call of the angriest voices. We must resist that temptation.”
As if fear of The Other isn’t an answer. Nor are insults that don’t even belong in a schoolyard. Call this daughter of immigrants the antiTrump.
Why isn’t Nikki Haley running for president?
UNLIKE a presidential State of the Union address, the rebuttals only last a few minutes. But she said more things that made more sense in those few minutes than the last several SOTU speeches combined. For example, Gov. Haley said nobody who’s willing to work and abide by the nation’s laws should ever feel unwelcome here.
But at the same time we can’t just open the borders to everybody who’d come here, including our enemies. Or as she put it, and much better than we could: “We must fix our broken immigration system. That means stopping illegal immigration. And it means welcoming properly vetted legal immigrants, regardless of their race or religion. Just like we have for centuries.”
And imagine if more politicians had her idea about politics: “Some people think that you have to be the loudest voice in the room to make a difference. That is just not true. Often, the best thing we can do is turn down the volume. When the sound is quieter, you can actually hear what someone else is saying. And that can make a world of difference.”
All said in a South Carolina accent that was as soothing as the words were uplifting. She was even able to give her opinion on what a Republican administration might do if the GOP wins the White House later this year—without sounding overly political. Maybe only a Southern lady could pull that off. The kind who is strong and firm, but thoughtful and charitable at the same time. Tough when it matters, dignified always. Or in a word, presidential.
Maybe somebody should ask a question: Why isn’t Nikki Haley running for president?