Your leadership is desperately needed to make the tough decisions that will restore confidence. We have elected you to clear away the roadblocks that bar the way to the American dream. Never before have we been so rich, and yet poverty is at an all-time high. While we are free from major foreign enemies, our streets are unsafe. Though we spend lavishly on education, our schools are beset by academic and social failure.
Leadership is a double-edged sword.
It is never easy, because where much is given, much is expected. I've prepared a list of urgent concerns that must be addressed if we are to restore families to their rightful place in national life. Some items on this list will be particularly hard for some to accept, because they substitute personal responsibility for government provision. Other items will be hard for you to adopt, because they require Congress to push away political power. Some commentators, like ABC's Peter Jennings, have disparaged the voters' judgments.