Obama's Parable: Solid As A Rock

The White House is never one to waste a moment, and they've decided to sandwich a major speech about the economy in between a major policy announcement in re: Cuba and Obama's trip to Mexico and South America. Just because. Well, actually, there's a little bit of a contained communications challenge: the economy is getting a little better, according to some metrics, and the White House wants to take credit. Own the recovery. Own the recovery. Own the recovery.  But the foundations remain shaky, and sober economists aren't so sure that this recession won't double-dip.  Today's sermon from President Obama uses a parable from the Sermon on the Mount as its governing metaphor:

There is a parable at the end of the Sermon on the Mount that tells the story of two men.  The first built his house on a pile of sand, and it was destroyed as soon as the storm hit.  But the second is known as the wise man, for when "...the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house...it fell not:  for it was founded upon a rock."

 We cannot rebuild this economy on the same pile of sand.  We must build our house upon a rock.  We must lay a new foundation for growth and prosperity - a foundation that will move us from an era of borrow and spend to one where we save and invest; where we consume less at home and send more exports abroad. 

Obama returns to the metaphor several times. He's using the speech to build support for his re-regulation agenda -- a new facility for dealing with companies too large to fail, etc.; the second 100 days will see if the "glimmer of hope" turns into something else.

This article available online at:

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2009/04/obamas-parable-solid-as-a-rock/13059/