Barack Obama's Second Term

The discussion is on. What should we expect from a second Obama-Biden term in the White House? As I have listened to pundits and comments from the conservative right, it is clear that they will not accept that they lost the election. They still feel that the President must obey, that he must do as they say, or else. And that "or else" means that the Republicans will continue to do everything they can to prevent the President from getting any of his agenda through. And the right wing media, e.g., Fox News, will continue to misinform the uninformed.

"Compromise" to those on the right means, it would seem, the President acceding to Republican demands. Here is what I want the President to achieve in his second term.

To those who know history, the similarities between the current time and the administration of Franklin Delano Roosevelt are striking. On January 11, 1944, President Roosevelt in his State of the Union Address proposed a Second Bill of Rights which he termed an Economic Bill of Rights. He believed that Americans should be entitled to basic assurances as citizens of the most prosperous and greatest country. President Roosevelt, who was quite ill at the time, was not able to deliver the speech in person. It was a radio address. President Roosevelt would die in office just over a year later with his vision unfulfilled.

In his second term, President Obama should focus on achieving the vision for America that Franklin Roosevelt was unable to fulfill. Listen to President Roosevelt's proposal in his own words. I hope that President Obama and the Democratic Party will adopt this agenda.

©2012