Looking Back/Forward
"Yeah, I know if you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything."—Marty McFly
- Obama says that even new challenges need to be met with old-school values. He calls these values "truths" and challenges Americans to embrace "a new era of responsibility" (28.2).
- It's kind of as if Obama has gone full DeLorean time machine with this address and created a mutant combination of Roosevelt, Kennedy, Johnson, and himself.
- Time to get God in there. "God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny" (29.2). No pressure or anything.
- Obama also mentions his race for the first time, pointing out that the first African American president is a sign of America's progress.
- Obama tells a story about George Washington firing up his troops during a tough winter battle against the British. Something about coming forth to meet challenges in the depth of winter (31.1).
- Kind of like the depth of winter (both literal and figurative) that Americans were experiencing in January 2009. Oh, we see what you did there, Obama.
- Now, back to the future. Obama tells America (or at least the America that was watching TV that day) to deliver the "gift of freedom" to future generations (32.3).
- To carry it forward from the past like a boat beating against the current. Whoops, we slipped into Gatsby mode there.
- And lastly, Obama quotes Lil Wayne…"God bless Amerika."