For years, the GOP has portrayed itself (right or wrong) as the US political party that is the responsible one.  The stereotypical Republican is a pull-’em-up-by-the-bootstraps, nose-to-the-grindstone, hard-working, no-whining, son-of-a-gun.  Personal responsibility has been a rallying cry for the GOP faithful for as long as I can remember.

Democrats, not so much.  Right or wrong, the Dems just don’t have that particular public image.

Well, until last night.  Pres. Obama turned one of the GOP’s  favorite talking points into his own.  He didn’t just turn it; he converted it.  He kidnapped it, absconded with it, and married it.

My highlights:

we have launched a housing plan that will help responsible families facing the threat of foreclosure lower their monthly payments and re-finance their mortgages.  It’s a plan that won’t help speculators or that neighbor down the street who bought a house he could never hope to afford, but it will help millions of Americans who are struggling with declining home values – Americans who will now be able to take advantage of the lower interest rates that this plan has already helped bring about.

History reminds us that at every moment of economic upheaval and transformation, this nation has responded with bold action and big ideas.  In the midst of civil war, we laid railroad tracks from one coast to another that spurred commerce and industry.  From the turmoil of the Industrial Revolution came a system of public high schools that prepared our citizens for a new age.  In the wake of war and depression, the GI Bill sent a generation to college and created the largest middle-class in history.  And a twilight struggle for freedom led to a nation of highways, an American on the moon, and an explosion of technology that still shapes our world.

In each case, government didn’t supplant private enterprise; it catalyzed private enterprise.  It created the conditions for thousands of entrepreneurs and new businesses to adapt and to thrive.

It is our responsibility as lawmakers and educators to make this system work.  But it is the responsibility of every citizen to participate in it.  And so tonight, I ask every American to commit to at least one year or more of higher education or career training.  This can be community college or a four-year school; vocational training or an apprenticeship.  But whatever the training may be, every American will need to get more than a high school diploma.  And dropping out of high school is no longer an option.  It’s not just quitting on yourself, it’s quitting on your country – and this country needs and values the talents of every American.  That is why we will provide the support necessary for you to complete college and meet a new goal:  by 2020, America will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world.

Finally, because we’re also suffering from a deficit of trust, I am committed to restoring a sense of honesty and accountability to our budget.  That is why this budget looks ahead ten years and accounts for spending that was left out under the old rules – and for the first time, that includes the full cost of fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.  For seven years, we have been a nation at war.  No longer will we hide its price.

Good stuff.  I’m especially pleased with this: “For seven years, we have been a nation at war.  No longer will we hide its price.”  Way back when Bush addressed the nation after 9/11– and I *liked* that address– the one thing he did not ask for was citizen involvement.  Our involvement in the war was to try to decipher the ridiculous pinwheel of emergency colors.  The war was kept at arms length from the citizens, carefully hidden away so we wouldn’t feel it.  The funding for the war was, if I understand correctly, driven by loans taken out from the Chinese.

Here’s to transparency.  It’s long past time to shed some light on the skullduggery governmental world that has been creeping up the last 8 years, and take some responsibility for putting things right.