Tuesday night, President Barack Obama fulfilled his constitutional duty to address the Congress of the United States.
And that was pretty much it.
Aside from a few sentimental rounds of applause and a myriad of modest proposals, the State of the Union was pretty dull. That, of course, is the state of our union: dull, uneventful and mundane.
Education particularly higher education, was low on the list of priorities in Tuesday’s address.
Obama briefly mentioned the recent Higher Education Summit that LSU President F. King Alexander attended. The most relevant statement toward college students came when the president appealed to Congress “to see how we can help even more Americans who feel trapped by student loan debt.”
It was in elementary education, though, where Obama made his most sweeping appeals to governors and state legislatures around the country. He called on the states to guarantee every child a “high-quality” pre-k program in hopes that quality education from the beginning will make a difference in children’s lives.
Hardly a groundbreaking stance on one of the country’s most important issues.
But perhaps the most disheartening fact was the toned-down rhetoric and ambition that were both so prevalent when Obama took office in 2009. What began as a presidency that ignited hope in millions of Americans, now seems to have become a textbook case in the evils of our governmental system, and the constraints that are put on even our most charismatic figures.
For his part, Obama was bold in his modesty.
He claimed he would do everything in his executive power to create jobs and strengthen the economy. This dealt a proverbial slap in the face to Speaker of the House John Boehner, whose Republican- controlled chamber has become notorious for its ineffectiveness.
The boldest of these actions will be a raise of the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour for all employees working on government contracts.
But this still leaves out the vast majority of the American workplace and does nothing to affect everyday workers like the highly-publicized fast food strikers. That power lies with Congress, which is taking the tortoise approach to legislating.
When we look back at this State of the Union — if we ever look back at it — we will find a sad complacency with the problems of our government.
Sure, Obama toned down his ambition because his five year struggle to preserve his healthcare law has jaded his resolve in tackling more contentious debates. But, perhaps more alarming is his decision to avoid controversy prior to a pivotal midterm election this November.
The White House knows this pitfall all too well after the uproar over Obamacare in 2010 unseated the Democratic Party as the majority in the House of Representatives. With another midterm approaching, Obama need not step on the toes of his own congressmen by advocating programs or issues that could swing elections in contested districts.
Perhaps this is why there was no mention of gay athletes when he heralded Team USA marching into Sochi and capturing the gold at this year’s winter Olympics. Or, why there was hardly any mention at all of privacy violation over the NSA surveillance scandal.
The bottom line is that while our government seems stagnant and even unresponsive to its people, our once-charismatic leader has only given us more reason to doubt the direction of our country’s future.
As Obama continued to tout the United States as the best country in the world for a plethora of reasons, we saw how weak and ineffective these values and institutions can be in the face of adversity.
However, for all its faults, this country remains a nation of problem solvers. Let’s see this November just how good at solving we are.
Eli Haddow is a 21-year-old English and History junior from New Orleans.