THE speech

This president knows that it is not always about the next election, but about the next generation. He will, like Reagan, stay the course when it is about principle and strive to reach across the aisle to get the job done. Our best presidents are pragmatic presidents, and Obama is by no means an ideologue or a my-way-or-the-highway leader. He showed this last night. He will show it when he speaks to the Republican caucus, as he did when he first came into office, and when he meets every month with Republicans.

Voters want results, and even after Massachusetts, where they dealt Democrats a stunning defeat, the poll by The Washington Post was the most telling. When asked whether they wanted Sen.-elect Scott Brown to work with Democrats or to stop the Democrats’ agenda, by 82-11 percent they wanted him to work with Democrats. Even Brown voters agreed by 75-19 percent. On healthcare, when asked whether Brown should work with Democrats to pass reform or stop the changes that the Democrats proposed, the numbers were overwhelming — 70-28 percent in favor of working with Democrats, not stopping the Democrats’ plans.

Americans are angry and scared and frustrated. They desperately want Washington to work for them. That is why this speech was so important. President Obama laid out a path and a series of plans to get the economy moving again that will benefit hardworking Americans. If there ever was a time for Washington to work, it is now.