Wednesday, January 13, 2016
Pretty good speech!
I was impressed with President Obama. As those of you who read this blog know, I have been quite critical of the President at times, often in the national press. There are things I think he should do differently.
But, this was a very strong speech, and I agree with much of what he said. I wish our politics were different, in a way that would allow Republicans to stand with the President when he says and promotes something that all agree on.
One of President Obama's strengths, for the whole breadth of his political career, has been the ability to state our shared aspirations. That's not a bad thing; it is a key job of the Executive. Last night he again did that very well.
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i will always remember President Obama for his thoughtful tribute to Joe Biden. The idea to assign Joe Biden to head a task force to facilitate obtaining real cures for cancer. I didn't appreciate the scope of this until I listened to a prominent doctor in cancer research express his enthusiasm for this initiative. He stated that we have so many new tools but not the organization required to cure cancers. THIS IS A SIGNIFICANT MOMENT IN MEDICINE. With the new emphasis on personalized immune therapies which are long term cures rather than the short lived treatments of chemo and radiation it is possible for the first time to honestly set a goal of curing cancer.
I agree: pretty good. Not horrible. It had its moments. If you like this President, you probably liked the speech.
An Aside in re the Biden Moonshot: it certainly offers some fodder for good jokes ("Joe Biden in charge of curing cancer"). But I agree with John Osler that this probably signals a significant moment in medicine. We seem very close to making a big breakthrough in the worst health scourge of our time. And I like the idea of this honorary position as a tribute to the VP's remarkable career.
In another sadder way this "pretty good" (not great) speech seems emblematic of the Obama presidency.
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An Aside in re the Biden Moonshot: it certainly offers some fodder for good jokes ("Joe Biden in charge of curing cancer"). But I agree with John Osler that this probably signals a significant moment in medicine. We seem very close to making a big breakthrough in the worst health scourge of our time. And I like the idea of this honorary position as a tribute to the VP's remarkable career.
In another sadder way this "pretty good" (not great) speech seems emblematic of the Obama presidency.
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