Sen. Barack Obama gave an excellent speech at Wesleyan University of the weekend. He quoted an older man who was asked why he signed up for the Peace Corps
in 1961, and he said "Because it was the first time anyone asked me to
do anything for my country." Then he told the graduates, "If I become
president, I'll be asking you to do something for your country every
day."
Ever since John F. Kennedy gave his famous "Ask Not" speech at his 1961 inauguration, many Americans have waited for a president who once again called the country to service.
Bill Clinton tried. During his campaign and at the 1992 Democratic convention, he used the slogan "New Covenant" to describe his efforts to forge "a solemn agreement between the people and their government." As president he promised to create more opportunities for people, but noted they would have an obligation to give something back to society in return for receiving it's benefits. Unfortunately, pollsters found it wasn't a very popular message and it was mostly dropped after he took office.
President Bush took another approach in 2001 after terrorists attacked New York and Washington. When many looked for a way to help the country they loved, Bush suggested the best thing they could do was to go shopping or go out to dinner.
In contrast, Obama's rhetoric is extremely refreshing. It's generates enormous excitement. The challenge for him over the next six months will be to convince Americans they will actually be called to service.
Update: James Fallows and Matthew Yglesias also liked the speech.
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Comments
Taegan: I sincerely hope Obama continues to champion the Service cause if elected president (he actually proposed a modest expansion of Clinton's AmeriCorps while campaigning a few months ago).
You are incorrect, however, to suggest that Clinton's call to service was unpopular and dropped soon after he took office. In just one year he promoted and signed into law the National and Community Service Act , launching AmeriCorps (www.americorps.org), Learn and Serve America, NCCC, and several related community service programs for thousands of mostly young Americans.
The legislative process was documented in Steve Waldman's 1996 book "The Bill." According to the group AmeriCorpsAlums.org there are over 400,000 alumni; they are organizing a National Service summit in September with Peace Corps and other such service veterans.
I remember, too, that AmeriCorps was one of the very few programs that Clinton steadfastly refused to cut during his epic budget battles with the Gingrich. And when the Tom DeLay led Congress tried to zero it out after 9/11, there was a huge grassroots "Save Americorps" backlash which forced Congress to restore funds.
Hopefully Obama can take it even further, but Clinton actually did quite a lot and engaged many young people in service.
Posted by: TightLikeThat
| May 27, 2008 9:58 PM
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