Five unique perspectives on President Obama's State of the Union Address.
After last week's State of the Union Address, you may have been reflecting upon the past year of Obama's presidency and asking yourself a few questions:
How did he do?
Am I feeling inspired?
Am I benefiting in any real way from Obama's policies and his leadership?
Could Obama really be our first truly integral president, transcending and including the best of Democratic and Republican values?
We've been asking ourselves the same questions, and thought we would take a moment to offer our own integral assessment of President Obama's first national State of the Union Address. So we posed these questions (and a handful of others) to five smart and savvy minds, who were kind enough to share five uniquely enlightening perspectives on Obama's first year—the good, the bad, and the partial....
Though it is certainly not required, we invite you to watch President Obama's State of the Union Address, if you haven't already done so. The full video can be found to the right, or you can read the full transcript here.
For your convenience, the question and answer sessions have been broken up into several pieces below. Or, if you like, you can download the full discussion here:
Note: Safari users may need to double-click the audio players.
Question 1: Are You Still Inspired by President Obama?
Ken Wilber
"He seemed to be almost worn down by Washington… [like] 'change' was a little bit harder than he thought...."
Diane Musho Hamilton
"He was inspiring to me in the sense that I think he actually embodied the fact that he's been through a struggle...."
Robb Smith
"I was struck by how much Obama spoke about the resilience and power of the individual, and then embarked on a year of politics that did everything to give lie to that notion...."
Aaliyah Haqq
"I am probably more inspired now than I was a year ago, only because I see how much more difficult everything has been...."
Bert Parlee
"I felt inspired by him, as I often do—I thought he was bold and that generally his trans-partisan cry was alive and well in a newer and more powerful way...."
Question 2: Did Anything in President Obama's Address Benefit You Personally?
Ken Wilber
"It looks like I might be getting a tax break…!"
Diane Musho Hamilton
"The moment that I felt most benefitted was when he said he was going to definitely get the troops out of Iraq...."
Robb Smith
"I can't track anything the government's done in the past 15 months to benefit me in any way…."
Aaliyah Haqq
"I work for a small business, so being able to hear about tax breaks for small businesses, that's a great help to me...."
Bert Parlee
"A lot of these policies are affecting [the tone of the social interactions around me], and is how I feel it most personally...."
Question 3: What Did You Think of President Obama's Call for Bi-Partisanship?
Ken Wilber
"His plan to meet with Democrats and Republicans on a monthly basis... was one of the most encouraging things that he said… and gets him back on the Integral track."
Diane Musho Hamilton
"He basically challenged everyone in the room and talked about the 'deficit of trust' on the part of the American public. I wonder how he's actually going to succeed in [changing] that...."
Robb Smith
"I think it's time that we stop papering over [our] philosophical differences and actually start to have a dialogue that tries to re-establish meaning in the country…."
Aaliyah Haqq
"I'm glad to see that it was addressed. I'm thinking that he probably could have been a bit more skillful, but I'm not sure what that actually would have looked like...."
Bert Parlee
"I think that's absolutely the right tone to be striking; but I do think that he missed a couple opportunities...."
Question 4: Do You Have a Clear and Detailed Sense of What President Obama Wants to Do?
Ken Wilber
"I didn't hear very many real details at all—mostly it sounded like he was trying to set a tone."
Diane Musho Hamilton
"The two issues that immediately emerged are the issues of health care and the state of the economy...."
Robb Smith
"If [America] doesn't have economic sustainability, it's not willing to look elsewhere to solve other issues."
Aaliyah Haqq
"I would like to hear a more concrete plan: how will new jobs be created?"
Bert Parlee
"I was really enlivened by a lot of particulars—geopolitically, domestically—in a variety of ways...."
Question 5: What Did You Think of the Media Response?
Ken Wilber
"In a word, they seemed to be mostly bored!"
Diane Musho Hamilton
"My criticism of the media is that it too quickly goes to the dualistic perspective. We seem to want to align with this conflicted position...."
Robb Smith
"I think there were a couple commentators that had really intelligent observations; I was really impressed by an editorial David Brooks wrote in the New York Times…."
Aaliyah Haqq
"I think that the media is a bit hard on him, and I'm wondering how much more people really expect in a year...."
Bert Parlee
"We don't see how things are, as much as we see how we are...."
Question 6: Is President Obama an Integral Leader?
Ken Wilber
"A fair amount of his political platform—at least those parts that are integral—have been not disagreed with, but have not been heard...."
Diane Musho Hamilton
"I think [he is] in his vision and his cognition; but whether he actually is able to enact a kind of integral perspective in his leadership is still an open question for me...."
Robb Smith
"I think part of the problem is that Obama has a post-conventional aspiration, without the accompanying skills."
Bert Parlee
"That for me was what I was most encouraged about—I think that [he's been] intentionally a little removed, a little above the fray, and he's been criticized for that...."
Question 7: Final Thoughts
Ken Wilber
"We're looking for an emergence of a different type of politics. Trans-partisan is not the same as bi-partisan."
Diane Musho Hamilton
"I'm afraid that trying to actually change the tone and really work in a more collaborative and fluid way may be directly opposed to getting his Democratic agenda through and accomplishing things like health care...."
Robb Smith
"My sense is that we've lost a once-in-a-generation opportunity…."
Aaliyah Haqq
"President Obama was dealt a really terrible hand… and it took a special person to say 'you know what, I'm willing to step up and do this.'"
Bert Parlee
"We are going to be tested in the time ahead, not the least of which is Iran. And I think Obama will be forced to recognize the limits of well-intentioned mediation and negotiation—limits and boundaries will need to be set, with consequences."
Question 8: Would You Vote For Him Again?
Ken Wilber
"Yeah I would very likely vote for him."
Diane Musho Hamilton
"I would absolutely vote for him again...."
Robb Smith
"No I wouldn't...."
Aaliyah Haqq
"I would, and I'd give him the largest campaign contribution that I could afford."
Ken Wilber is the most widely translated academic writer in America, with 25 books translated into some 30 foreign languages. Wilber is an internationally acknowledged leader and the preeminent scholar of the Integral stage of human development, which continues to gather momentum around the world. Ken Wilber is the founder of Integral Institute, Inc., the co-founder of Integral Life, Inc., and the Senior Fellow of Integral Life Spiritual Center.
Diane is Genpo Roshi’s first successor in the Big Mind Process lineage, as well as a dharma holder in traditional Zen. She is also a trained mediator. Diane has taught at Integral Institute’s Integral Life Practice Level 1 and Level 2 seminars, and has conducted her own Integral Zen Seminar.
Aaliyah Haqq is the Director of Program Management and acting General Manager of the Academy Business Unit for Stagen, a unique professional services firm. A strong advocate of community service, Aaliyah serves on the Board of Directors of Promise House, an organization which gives shelter and support to runaway and homeless teens.
Offering leadership and other trainings around the world, Dr Parlee is a licensed clinical psychologist with private psychotherapy and executive/personal life coaching practices in Mill Valley, California. From its inception, Bert has been a vital part of Ken Wilber’s Integral Institute in Colorado, where he has worked as a large group trainer and facilitator.
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Contributors: 
Ken 
Diane Musho Hamilton
Robb 
Aaliyah
Bert 
