Aging & Wisdom Quote by Thomas Vilsack

A sentence like this is built to feel like movement without forcing commitment. Vilsack piles on aspiration verbs - tackle, transform, accomplish, grow, realize - as if energy itself were a policy. It’s the rhetorical equivalent of a campaign bus rolling past cornfields at golden hour: forward motion, flattering scenery, no inconvenient close-up.

The specific intent is coalition maintenance. “Let us” pulls listeners into a collective that already agrees, while “big issues” and “bold ideas” signal seriousness without naming the fights that make issues big in the first place: taxes, schools, farm policy, labor, abortion, water, brain drain. The line keeps every faction inside the tent by never giving any one faction a reason to bolt. “Shared mission” and “shared vision” do similar work - they erase disagreement by definition. If you dissent, you’re not just opposing a proposal; you’re stepping outside the shared Iowa.

The subtext is branding. “Iowa as the best place to live, work and raise a family” is a familiar Midwestern political mantra, a values-coded promise that nods to stability and wholesomeness. It implicitly prioritizes the family wage, safe communities, and a predictable social order, while quietly sidelining people whose lives don’t fit that poster: singles, immigrants, young professionals looking for urban dynamism, anyone asking for systemic change that might feel disruptive.

Context matters: Vilsack’s style, especially in Iowa politics and later in national roles, leans technocratic and consensus-driven. This line isn’t designed to persuade skeptics with evidence; it’s designed to sound like responsible leadership while keeping the future safely abstract.