The inauguration of Barack Obama as president has sparked new hope in America. To fulfill those hopes, our new president must lead Americans in rising above the powerful interests and bitter divisions that have kept us from solving our problems, fulfilling our values, and achieving our most worthy aspirations.

Rural America has much at stake in the president’s success and much to like in his platform. It calls for strengthening family farms by placing real limits on payments to mega farms, banning meat packers from raising livestock, and enforcing the Packers and Stockyards Act prohibition on price discrimination against smaller livestock producers. It promises sufficient funding to reward efforts by farmers and ranchers to protect the environment through programs like the Conservation Stewardship Program.

The Obama plan would invest in the future of rural America through small business and microenterprise development, beginning farmer initiatives and value-added agriculture programs. It would address climate change, reduce our dependence on foreign oil, and reinvigorate rural America through unprecedented investment in renewable energy.

Each of these proposals has broad support among rural people, and each draws at least some congressional support from both sides of the political aisle, offering the potential for bipartisan action. Undoubtedly, some will charge that its emphasis on family farms and small businesses is a Democratic idea, out of step with the Republican philosophy of allowing markets to reward success.

I disagree. Small entrepreneurs have long been a core constituency of the Republican Party. Programs that support their entrepreneurial spirit and enable them to build wealth are as consistent with the self-help oriented Republican philosophy as with the Democratic philosophy of helping the little guy. They provide the basis for bipartisan action, as long as the president and Congress commit to addressing rural issues rather than using issues as a lever to gain political advantage.

That is not to suggest the president’s rural agenda will be easily passed. Much political blood has been shed on its proposals. His support for payment limitations will meet stiff resistance from Southern policy makers. The key to success will be addressing their legitimate concerns over the potential of payment limitations to fall disproportionately on Southern producers. Effective payment limitations can be advanced by working collaboratively to calibrate the limits to apply equitably across regions.

The president’s plan will prompt extensive debate of competing philosophies. That is a good thing. It weeds out weak ideas and strengthens those with promise. It is what makes democracy the best system of governance. But it can only reach full flower when combined with a spirit of problem solving that takes the best from competing philosophies to move us forward to a more just and perfect union.

Agree or disagree? Send your comments to Chuck Hassebrook, chuckh@cfra.org or call 402.687.2103 x 1018.