Thank you Governor Jindal. I'll take it from here.

I would like to thank Governor Jindal for his enlightening comments.

(Shake hands with the Governor. Push him out of camera range.)

(Approach podium. Rest elbows on edge. Look directly into America's soul.)

Listen folks, I have no doubts about the brilliance of the American people. This country has proven time and time again that when we come together, great things happen. The key to this greatness is the free will of its citizens. When we are faced with a significant problem, we rise up and tackle the situation.

President Obama just gave an excellent speech on what his visions are for our country and I whole heartedly agree. What I do not agree with is the means to that glorious goal. President Obama is a great orator, but his speech lacked substance. Based on his first month in office, I can only assume that his vision includes providing tax credits (welfare), building infrastructure (non-sustaining jobs), focusing on green energy (inefficient and costly), making healthcare a right (bureaucracy and red-tape), holding executives accountable (more red-tape), drawing down troops (risk destabilizing the Middle East), reducing foreclosures (some folks should be renters), and many more. The bottom line to any 'CHANGE' that is proposed by his administration involves the growth of government and additional debt.

There are many items that the President addressed and I could go on and on for an hour just as he did, but let's focus on the big three that he outlined; energy, health care, and education. Our country has undergone a massive transformation over the previous century. The industrialization of the world, led by the United States, has created amazing innovation in the fields of technology and manufacturing. Private industry has always been the backbone of our economy, but in the wake of global competition, the private sector has had to make changes that our government has not. Rises in energy prices, labor costs, taxes, and the like have forced companies to outsource employees to other countries or, more drastically, move out of America. The insistence of our government to keep corporate tax rates as the second highest in the world and not allowing domestic exploration for fossil fuels has prevented job creation in America and exported cash to other countries, boosting their GDP's. I am not saying that we should not protect our nation's environment, but there are plenty of common sense things that every American can do without turning environmentalism into a religion. We need to responsibly utilize our own resources, until viable alternatives can be produced. Solar and wind are admirable alternatives, but they lack efficiency and have not completely harnessed the power that is required to fuel growth. There are numerous scientists in the private and public sector currently working on ways to make alternative energy efficient, and I am confident that an innovation is imminent. But until that time, we need to tap the resources under our feet and break the strangle hold that foreign resources have on us.

The United States is filled with the greatest centers for health care and specialty surgery in the world. Foreigners make there way to our shores just so they can pay for and have access to the best doctors, nurses, and other care-givers. Why in the world would we want to risk damaging that credibility by letting government control it? Socialized medicine does not work. We see this in countries like the United Kingdom, Australia, and even Canada to our north. The issue our President was attempting to address is access to care. The rising costs in health care are twofold. Innovation has extended the lives of the average citizen, making the expense involved with care greater. We have also seen a massive increase in population, legally and illegally, making the demand for care greater. With changes in the business sector proposed earlier, health insurance will be more affordable for owners to provide to their employees. Couple this with limiting government interference, and the insurance industry will once again become a competitive marketplace, making it possible for everyone to receive affordable health care.

All of the reform I have been discussing with energy policy, bringing business and money back to our shores, and health care will not mean anything if we do not have a well-educated population to drive it. It is no secret that the education of our youth has steadily declined when compared with other industrialized nations. We need to be certain that all American children have the tools necessary to compete globally. The commitment to educate our young citizens begins at home. Our teachers and administrators are saddled enough with a lack of technology, large class sizes, poor school funding and rigorous standardized testing to notice if one individual falls through the cracks. Parents need to take responsibility for their children's education and the best way to get that ball rolling again is through incentives. On top of the child tax credits, we will offer additional credits for that child's performance and attendance in school, with an additional credit for high school graduation. It may sound unfortunate, but money seems to talk in this day and age, and if that's what it takes for parents to once again become vested in education, then we will make that investment and it will ultimately benefit this country.

I, like President Obama, have a great vision for the United States. But unlike him, the role of government in that vision is a small one. Individual accountability and personal responsibility are what our Founding Fathers dreamed for America. We can not let that dream lapse by creating an intrusive and overbearing bureaucracy. Let us go forward in these tough times and create opportunities for every citizen. Let's stop the bleeding of talent, money, and jobs from this country.

Thank you, God bless you, and God bless the United States of America!

(Exit stage right.)

(Imagine whomever you wish to fill this role. I personally envisioned Mitt Romney.)