Can Obama walk the talk?

President Barack Obama stood before members of Congress and the Supreme Court and gave the State of the Union Address last Wednesday-in short, the list of what he wants accomplished during his second year of presidency.

This list included many admirable projects, such as revamping the railroad system (since much of the current system dates back to the pre-Civil War era) and creating jobs by working to fix the energy problem the United States will soon face. These fixes would include nuclear energy, similar to the European model and offshore drilling. He also spoke of investing in the education and skills of the nation. He mentioned the ongoing battle for the health insurance reform, going so far as to plead directly to the Congress not to abandon the plan or give up hope. He also spoke of increasing American exports, to make America more self-sufficient.

Obama also took the time to defend his first presidential year. This was not something he chose to do; he had to do it, because of all his promises in the race for presidency that went unfulfilled. Not only did he promise to cut back partisan politics (which has not happened) but he promised to bring the troops home (he has put more overseas) and cut back on how much lobbyists could give as funding (as of yet, nothing has come of this). All these promises fell through, even though there was a Democrat majority in both the House and the Senate.

On top of these glaringly obvious failures is the national debt, a staggering $12 trillion—of which, about $2 trillion is from Obama’s policies.

It is hard to be indifferent to Obama’s speaking style, however. There is little argument about how charismatic and passionate Obama can sound in speeches. The vision he paints of America’s future is something that everyone wishes for and aspires to—but it is nothing more than mirages in the desert at this point. There is no solid evidence that Obama can pull off what he is promising. The fact that he fell short on previous promises does not bode well for his ability to carry out his admirable, yet naïve, goals for his second year as president.

Who could do better, though? Obama pointed out he walked into a bad situation, with no easy way out. To excuse the cliché, he had to play the cards he had been dealt. Who could say they would make smarter or better choices with such a hand? I am disinclined to judge Obama too harshly, if only, because he still has three more years to prove his worth.

“I never suggested that change would be easy, or that I can do it alone,” Obama said near the end of his speech, and he is right in this issue. Change never is easy, nor is it something that will happen overnight. However, change needs small steps to build on, and as it stands now, those small steps are conspicuously absent.