IT WAS BARACK’S NIGHT TO RIDE INTO HISTORY.
As you can see, I live blogged below. But, in the end, the speech was the message. It was historic, poetic, substantive, powerful, confrontational, ferocious, creative and inspiring. Remarkable.
“Tonight, I say to the American people, to Democrats and Republicans and Independents across this great land – enough!”
Yes. Enough.
The details are below plus commentary I caught while jumping around the various cable news networks.
7:01: First THE VIDEO
7:02: “It was his search for self that defined him.” (Is that too intellectual? It happens to be true and it makes sense to me. In fact it’s one of the things that first made him interesting as a candidate.)
7:05: Hmmm….We went straight from Barack as a little kid with the mom….to Chicago….Michelle and DC. That was a big jump.
7:08: Alright, now we’re going to family again. Michelle and the girls, and then to his mom’s death. She was “the beating heart of that family,” he says.
7:11: “That’s the country I believe in.” An okay video but not exactly life changing. Michelle’s was better.
And now.. Barack…
7:13: FASHION NOTE: I do believe Barack’s ruby tie matches Michelle’s ruby red dress.
7:15: After accepting the nomination he gives a big, big shout out to Hil…..and to Bill. “How made the ae for change last night as only he can make it…” To Ted Kennedy….and to Joe Biden.
7:16: A shout out to Michelle “the love of my life.” Sasha and Malia jump up and applaud for their mom. (Definite cute kid alert.)
7:18: So far this typical Barack. GOOD Barack. But typical.
7:19: Laundry list of general problems: “These problems are not all of governments making, but the failure to respond is a product of the failed policies of George W. Bush.”
7:20: Great heartbreaking line, when talking about America being better than the last eight years: ….better than…”a country that sits on its hands while a major American city drowns before our eyes.
7:21: “Eight is enough.” The crowd loves this and starts chanting it mindlessly. (Which is a little scary. It would be nice if they liked the complex points. But okay. IQ testing for voting would be facist.)
7:23: “A nation of whiners.” Oooooooh. Good one. And then all the examples of courage.
7:25: “I think think John McCain doesn’t care about people’s problems. I think he just doesn’t know….”…..”It’s because John McCain doesn’t get it.” Even better one.
A lot of laundry lists, but they’re strong and creative laundry lists.
About his mother: “Who once turned to food stamps but still was able to send us to the best schools in the country with the aid of student loans and scholarships…”
“I don’t know what kind of lives John McCain thinks celebrities lead, but this has been mine. And these have been my heroes. (meaning his grandmother and mom.)
Ba-da-bom.
“….We also rise or fall as one nation, that I am my brother or my sister’s keeper, that’s the promise we need to keep.”
7:32: OKAY, PLATFORM.
I will cut taxes….Listen now….I will cut taxes for 95 percent of working families.
Makes the commitment to end dependence on foreign oil in ten years.
7:34: I will invest 150 billion in renewable resources….. (This sounds very State of the Union-ish, which is a good thing.)
7:36: Education….invest in early childhood education (more on this from me later)…..pay teachers more……a service for tuition thing for students. (All good, but we have no idea how this would happen, but okay, this is a convention speech.)
7:38: Hmmmm….About that bankruptcy law thingy…… (Oh, Joe-o-o-ooooo….)
7:40: If this is the only criminal justice moment where he’s talking only about the responsibility of family….. Not good. But I’ll quibble with that later.
7:42: Good Iraq stuff. Makes the (very true) point that his timetable is the one everyone seems to be adopting.
There was a total of 29 different platform points. Good. (You want specifics? Dude gave us specifics.)
“7:45: “America is again that last best hope…” (By my conservative count that was the 479th shout out to Abe Lincoln in the last four days.
7:47: The audience is shouting “U-S-A! U-S-A!” Hmmmmm. Does this audience have a warm-up crew telling these people what to chant? I don’t get it.
7:51: “In defining moments, the change we need doesn’t come from Washington. The change comes to Washington.” I believe this is one of those moments.
7:55: Here’s the wind-up for the pitch that makes Barack Obama different: “It is that American spirit, that American promise…..” (and then he unfurls the Obama trademark rhetoric that either brings you to tears….or if you do not believe, and no one can make you.
I’ll get the text in a moment. Okay here:
This country of ours has more wealth than any nation, but that’s not what makes us rich. We have the most powerful military on Earth, but that’s not what makes us strong. Our universities and our culture are the envy of the world, but that’s not what keeps the world coming to our shores.
Instead, it is that American spirit – that American promise – that pushes us forward even when the path is uncertain; that binds us together in spite of our differences; that makes us fix our eye not on what is seen, but what is unseen, that better place around the bend.
That promise is our greatest inheritance. It’s a promise I make to my daughters when I tuck them in at night, and a promise that you make to yours – a promise that has led immigrants to cross oceans and pioneers to travel west; a promise that led workers to picket lines, and women to reach for the ballot.
And it is that promise that forty five years ago today, brought Americans from every corner of this land to stand together on a Mall in Washington, before Lincoln’s Memorial, and hear a young preacher from Georgia speak of his dream.
The men and women who gathered there could’ve heard many things. They could’ve heard words of anger and discord. They could’ve been told to succumb to the fear and frustration of so many dreams deferred.
But what the people heard instead – people of every creed and color, from every walk of life – is that in America, our destiny is inextricably linked. That together, our dreams can be one.
“We cannot walk alone,” the preacher cried. “And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back.”
America, we cannot turn back. Not with so much work to be done. Not with so many children to educate, and so many veterans to care for. Not with an economy to fix and cities to rebuild and farms to save. Not with so many families to protect and so many lives to mend. America, we cannot turn back. We cannot walk alone. At this moment, in this election, we must pledge once more to march into the future. Let us keep that promise – that American promise…
“And in the words of Scripture hold firmly, without wavering, to the hope that we confess.”
Brilliant. Just brilliant.
“I’ve got news for you, John McCain. We all put our country first.”
Bring it on!
*********************************************************************************************************
Look: Despite the compromises Obama has already made, despite the fact that, as far as we know, he doesn’t part the seas or make the lame walk, I still believe he is the once in a generation candidate. A man fused with an opportunity.
And the opportunity belongs to us.
*******************************************************************************************************
8:00: The MSNBC pundits are in some kind of state of poetic shock.
Olbermann: This cut the crap moment, is not the thing of fiction. It’s the real thing.
Chris Matthews: It’s an open challenge to the hearts and minds of the country.
One of the interesting things about Obama is that he’s not just a great orator, but he’s an excellent writer, and he thinks like a writer. He thinks like a poet. (Yes, yes, we know that he’s got good speech writers. But so have others. And they don’t give speeches like this one.)
8:13: David Gergen on CNN: As a political speech this was a masterpiece. He seems bigger somehow tonight. He’s growing in the job.
8:29: Howard Wolfson on Fox—-“Somebody may have slipped some Barack Obama Kool-Aide in my water because I thought it was great.” Thank you, Howard. Big of you.
8:31: Karl Rove on Fox, just basically gives Republicans their talking points by showing them how they can spin Obama’s words until they mean something entirely different than, well, anything that was said. Oh, turd blossom, you never disappoint.
***************************************************************************************************************
READ THIS: WHAT IS UP WITH THE AP???
8:45: Olbermann points out that AP is again sandbagging Obama. Here’s the column in question.
That’s two in a row. This is not, I repeat, not responsible journalism. This is editorial writing and has no place in the nation’s largest wire service.
Interestingly, this fool says that the speech was 35 minutes long—when it was more like 48 or 50 minutes. WHICH MEANS THIS WAS WRITTEN BEFORE THE SPEECH.
*************************************************************************************************************
8:57: Olbermann: “So there you have it. We had to stop Pat Buchanan from gushing over Obama’s speech in the interest of time.”
So what do you think?
**********************************************************************************************
(Photos: Francisco Kjolseth/The Salt Lake Tribune )
Chris Matthews had a tingle going up his leg.
I looked around the crowd and saw people who were truly hopeful that Obama would deliver on his promises. There were tears and looks of desperation. Whether Obama is elected or not, those people will have been used and will end up disappointed.
Giddy.
Amazing speech!
!!!!!!!
As I noted over at Coopers, Pat Buchanan was so excited by Obama’s speech that I’ve got a hunch that Mrs. Buchanan is going to have quite the good time when Pat gets back to the hotel. She’ll probably order a DVD !
Great comment from Nate Silver at FiveThirtyEight:
The Republicans were probably anticipating a more abstract, uplifting, grandiose address — one more in line with the Obama caricature, and one which would make for easy critique in the context of the grandiose setting of an NFL stadium. Instead, Obama’s speech was specific, hard-hitting, and functional. It wasn’t a speech intended for the Rhetoric Hall of Fame; it was one intended to be responsive to the political winds of August 28, 2008. One needn’t worry about trying to beat expectations when one is able to defy them. (end clip)
Actually I think it goes down in the Hall of Fame – at least the Hall of Fame of Acceptance Speeches at Party Convention – which, after all is what it was.
Kevin Drum:
Tonight Obama made a start on a campaign that’s based not just on talking points (though there will be plenty of those), but on a sustained assault on modern conservatism and a sustained defense of modern liberalism.
But it was only a start. He needs to keep pressing both halves of that game plan, even if it means occasionally saying some hard things. If he takes a few chances and does that, though, he’ll not only win, he’ll win with a public behind him that’s actively sold on a genuinely liberal agenda. This is why conservatives have so far been apoplectic about his speech tonight: if he continues down this road, and wins, they know that he’ll leave movement conservatism in tatters. He is, at least potentially, the most dangerous politician they’ve ever faced. (end clip)
Pat “gushing” over Obama’s speech. Gotta love this…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0Fru4dZLGA
I’m amazed that people compare Obama to Reagan. Reagan saw what was good about America. Obama sees everything negative in America and is ready to give away our superpower status to be friends with the world.
Pres. Reagan: Well, Now it’s true: a lot of liberal democrats are saying it’s time for a change; and they’re right…. For you see, my fellow Republicans, we are the change!
I don’t want to go back to a party that wants bigger government taxing you more, regulating everything down to the shape of a toilet seat, and turning a nation of opportunity into a socialist “paradise.”
The Republican Party of Reagan was the change. We need to move back in that direction.
Bravo Sen. Obama your speech was superb. This Hillary supporter was not sure if you had any fire in you or a understanding of the issues but you proved me wrong. You also proved you have more then just a speech, you have now turned this Hillary supporter into a Barack Obama supporter. With that being said, it;s time for all of us to stop attacking each other and start going after McCain and his record.
Yes We Can! Obama/Biden08
Such hero worship on all talk and no substance.
When Obama said that he was going to cut the capital gains taxes on small businesses, my colleagues and I went “huh?”
Exactly Carol. Hillary’s and Bill’s speeches were also superb – truly. I had some issues with the way they framed certain of their attacks during the primaries and was ready for “change from within” our party but this week they reminded me of who they are at their best and what they are capable of as progressive leaders. I noticed in the gallup tracking poll that Obama gained 14 points among “conservative Democrats” the week ending on Wednesday. Hillary and Bill deserve much of the credit for that – probably along with Joe Biden on board. I’m looking forward to the next ten weeks and to winning with all Dems on board.
Principled speech. From everything we have seen, this guy is a cool cucumber, which speaks so well of his leadership qualities.
He is already up in the latest polls, has not suffered serious political damage, as the media seems to have believed certain.
This speech provides the news peg for recognizing that Obama is still standing, only now even taller.
Great speech, great promises, great applause and a great show, but what will really change in cites throughout the country? Is Obama coming to L.A. with a large team of FBI agents to arrest the Mayor and city council for corruption? The same group of idiots will still be sitting in the Mayor and city council seats in cities like Los Angeles. The same group of idiots will be running the LAUSD and other government agencies. You could give the LAUSD $252,000 (the same amount spent on Calif. Juvenile defenders) to spend on each student and the students would still have the lowest test scores in the country. The social and culture problems found within so many families is not going to change, no matter how much money you throw at the problem.
What is really going to change in Washington other than who lives in the White House? The USA did not give away jobs, technology or its trading advantage to China and others in just the last eight years. I’m sure the same group of lobbyists hosting DNC parties will be hosting parties at the bad guys convention.
Lost Hope, what are you expecting? This is about feeling good–not substance.
Obama Delivers, And Then Some. He has presented a powerful image of someone who is ready to be our president. It was substance, and it was leadership. And it really worked. Obama proved to me last night that he is a statesman, a man of substance and gravitas, and that McCain is not. The political tactics of Karl Rove are not what serious people want. This is a serious time, an historic time, and it needs serious leadership. The Gop party is above all else, too shallow, cynical, and stupid to govern a great nation like the US. They have proved themselves to be infested by the ghost of the Old Southern Confederacy, a spirit both malignant and delusional, and so have become ridiculous and sad.
Lost Hope – did you listen to the “responsibility” part of the speech ? Folks in LA have to move their asses and begin to get their own act together – as he said it’s not an election about him but about “us.” Dude can’t fly around the country being everybody’s daddy. Grow up…start things moving in the right direction and Obama’s administration will be there with all reasonable assistance.
bill: The political tactics of Karl Rove are not what serious people want.
Well, they sure don’t want the political tactics of the Cook County Democratic machine and Obama, who won his first election by having his opponents disqualified over technicalities and his second one by exposing the divorce papers of his opponents.
bill: It was substance….
Substance is having specifics to back up the rhetoric. Obama simply reads his teleprompter–quite well. He can’t offer details or defend his plans without it being written out for him. But, first, someone needs to write it out. There’s nothing there but big talk.
Regarding responsibility, this is from the Democratic platform. If Obama was honest, he would have quoted it.
“For decades, Americans have been told to act for ourselves, by ourselves, on our own. Democrats reject this recipe for division and failure.”
“Don’t worry. We just ask you to try (with a wink), but we know that individuals are incapable of helping themselves. Let big-brother government take care of you.”
Incredible,historic, inspiring, and a political masterpiece that hit on all cylinders with the American people, and has the Republicans scrambling for cover and confused.
Obama, as electricity turns on the lights, connected with the fears and concerns of middle and working class citizens and totally debunked and destroyed the myth of trickle down economics, supply siders, and the benevolence of uncontrolled monopoly capitalism and the Robber Barons of the Bush era.
He accentuated the disconnect between the wealthy corporate interests of the Bush admin and the American working people and middle class small business owners who have been struggling to keep their heads above water (many didn’t and drowned in the last eight years).
And speaking of drowning I thought that the zinger Obama hit the Bush’s with on their non action, and disgraceful days and weeks long reaction to the hurricane Katrina catastrophe was a huge smash on the proverbial nails head.
And finally Obama’s quoting of McSame’s ex top economic advisor, the “conquering worm” Phil Grahmm, when he said that America is a nation of “whiners” was devastating to the McSame cause. It hit a nerve I suspect with many many US voters.
All in all I think “The Speech” was genius in it’s content, and I agree with the right wing populist, but likable, Pat Buchanan when he said it was the greatest and most inspiring acceptance speech since JFK.
Bravo!!
Palin ? I would have preferred Idle or Cleese…but whatever.
D.Q. Obama…totally debunked and destroyed the myth of trickle down economics, supply siders, and the benevolence of uncontrolled monopoly capitalism and the Robber Barons of the Bush era.
More cheap talk with no substance. Perhaps you can explain how he destroyed the “myths.” Obama hasn’t debunked anything. Rather, he tries to convince others that we are in a recession, when the economy is growing. He blames consequences of bad personal choices on the Republican administration and evil big business. I guess it’s more polite than blaming the Jews.
Regarding the “nation of whiners,” I disagree with that, too. What we have is a Democratic Party of whiners. Naturally, Obama intentionally misled people by omitting the fact that McCain immediately disassociated himself from that statement and from Grahmm for saying it.
If I had the time, I could dismantle Obama’s speech point-by-point. It would be so easy.
Palin’s…uh…pretty. And there’s oil up there in ANWAR. So, yeah, she’s suitable Commander in Chief material. Hopefully she won’t blow the image Americans have of her as someone they’ve been looking toward as their leader by giving a bunch of great speeches. That would expose the whole PalinPander as a ploy.
Obviously the McCainiacs are thinking that Dems won’t attack Palin on her utter lack of any experience resembling CC because it will raise doubts about Obama. The gaping flaw in that is that Palin’s so over-the-top inexperienced for the Presidency that you don’t have to even bring it up. It’s the Pink Elephant in the room.
God – the more I think about this, the more I’m loving it. Of course, she could give the GOP that momentum Walter Mondale got from picking Ferraro in ’84. Bonus in this pick: lots of Geraldine on FOX. Fuck – I hope she jumps ship – or life boat, or whatever she’s riding around in these days – and campaigns for ’em. Then they’re doomed for sure.
McCain doesn’t have any kind of relationship with Palin. Zilch. Barely knows her. Never worked together on anything. That certainly inspires even more confidence.
There goes reg, trying to beat up a woman.
Barack promised to lower taxes for 95% of the population while delivering a host of multi-billion dollar programs to them on the back of the “rich.” As some pundits promptly pointed out, apart from the fact that he’s never voted to lower a tax in his life, being the most liberal Senator of any with Biden #3, there just aren’t that many “rich” people — to make up for this empty promise. There’s just no way for that sort of math to add up in the real world — no way, no how. Phony promise.
His claim that everyone’s following HIS timeline on Iraq now is as egotistical and disrespectful of the Clintons as everything else about him: It was always Hillary who posed an 18-month withdrawal goal for Iraq, and he’s adopted it. Sure, stealing from your opponents is fair game in politics: Bill adopted a lot of the Republicans’ positions on taxes and the economy, which gave his Admin. a sound basis, but Obot’s doing it from Hillary, whose bi-partisan record and negotiation skills (which he totally lacks) could have won for the Democrats, but he never will. Yes, it was an uplifting rock concert/ coronation, but utterly lacking in things he could deliver, concluding with the same sleight of hand he’s used in all his speeches: getting the audience hyped about movements and great people in history that he’s had nothing to do with, just has the ego to place himself as the inheritor of that lineage. He has NOTHING to show from his own record, that could even suggest his “inspiring” talk about hope and change can correlate to his voodoo economics.
Just as Obot picking Biden acknowledges he’s weak in foreign policy and experience, McCain’s choosing Palin does the same regarding women and the younger vote. Her lack of experience and pro-choice stance may not siphon off as many women voters and angry Hillaristas as would have Condi. But her populist appeal, with a son serving in the Army, going to Iraq like McCain’s, and a Downs syndrome child she chose not to abort — putting her money where he mouth is as a mother and humanist — will attract a lot of the working class women who’ve been unable to relate to any of spouses or Candidates so far. This should also stir debate on health care and education for the disabled. Plus side: she has more of an independent, individualistic streak typical of Alaskans than rightwing, a sense she’ll approach each issue on its merits, making her a real wild card vs. all the dogma and typical “progressive” big-government agenda of the Obama camp.
Who ran as Senator Robert Dole’s VP pick back then in 96′? Well this Republican ticket has as much charisma, and allure. I feel bad for John, he is a nice man, but feel he must have been pushed into the running by a bunch of self-seeking, self-promoting assholes. John did not look happy at todays announcement.
Brilliant, effective and truly strong speech. But Biden’s was almost as great, Clinton was wonderful and Gore was terrific too. Is it just the fact that we’ve been listening to such utter crap from the “administration” that they sounded so competent, or are we maybe being treated to a real rise in the appreciation of articulate and coherent communication? Maybe Tony Blair helped restore something to American politics. As a lifelong Dem the speech made me look forward to the final two months of the campaign in a way that I have not since 1992. For the first time in a long time I saw a Democrat who showed he will not back down in the face of the GOP politics of personal destruction but will come right back at them and show that Democrats are patriots too.
The story of “the Keating Five”
For anyone not aware of the Keating Five, here’s a very simple summary:
Charles Keating owned a savings and loan in California. He was illegally using the money of his bank’s customers to give loans to himself and friends that they didn’t have to repay, and to speculate on risky real estate investments, which was strictly forbidden by U.S. law (the latter was one cause of the Great Depression).
When the feds found out what was going on and launched an investigation into Keating and his company, Keating called five U.S. Senators whom he had wined, dined, and lavished with hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign donations and personal gifts for years.
Keating asked the five Senators to tell the feds to bug off, and the five Senators, later known as the Keating Five, obliged, meeting with federal investigators twice and pressuring them to stop investigating Keating’s crimes. They bought Keating some time, but the feds didn’t give up and eventually Keating was nailed. The reason the feds were so persistent was because Keating wasn’t playing with mere chump change. Keating blew $3.4 billion through illegal personal loans and bad investments, and the FDIC eventually had to reimburse Keating’s customers who had been ripped off. (The FDIC is a part of the federal government funded by taxpayers dollars, so when Keating stole from his customers you and I were the ones who paid for it.)
When the involvement of the Keating Five was made public, a scandal erupted and the Senate Ethics Committee launched their own investigation into whether the Keating Five had violated Senate ethics rules. It was a giant mess. The other four Senators left office either immediately or within one term. John McCain was formally rebuked by the Senate Ethics Committee for exercising “poor judgment†for intervening with the federal regulators on behalf of Keating.
John McCain then went back to the drawing board and re-invented himself as “the Straight-Talk Express†and the media gobbled it up. “Tax-Evading-Criminal†doesn’t sound as catchy as “Straight-Shooting-War-Heroâ€Â.
Ever since the scandal, when McCain lies today, it’s never questioned, because he’s a “straight talkerâ€Â. The man has more skeletons in his closet than any politician in history. The Keating Five is just one bone.
It’s still all about Hillary? McCain’s female pick rests on Obama’s weakness with female Clinton fans.
Lori, Glad to hear you bring up Gore’s speech. I heard it on the radio as I was driving home from teaching, and thought it was terrific. Strong. Incredibly important.
I think we can feel confident that all that he said reflects the way an Obama presidency will approach the global warming and energy crisis.
Reg, thanks for posting Drum and some of the other pieces of good commentary.
I’m still floating in the thrall of that speech.
Re: “Hate to Burst Your Bubble’s” screed – uh – why bother to comment ?
Ditto yourself on that one, reg — kind of pitiful, really, how your same-old same-old just has to manifest itself again and again. That hatred you and your kind have shown for even another Dem., the more moderate and realistic Hillary and her camp is being noted by some of her supporters as a key reason they’ve withheld support for Obama, that lack of respect for non-Obots who won’t drink their Kool-Aid. BTW, there was an Opinion piece in yesterday’s Times claiming that the vast majority of Americans are neither extreme left like you nor right, like some of Woody’s neighbors (not Woody?), that the extemes together rep a mere 6.6% of voters; the rest are more issues-based and not dogmatic nor the ones most likely to comment on this Obot blog. That’s hugely encouraging for the country — too bad both parties feel compelled to run toward their extremes to win their primaries.
(Obama can thank a lot of his victory to the spite Pelosi has towards Hillary — did you see how she welcomed him right after his speech: throwing her arms wide with a “look what I’ve made possible for you, Barack! Come to Mama!” gloat? This was a lot between her and Hillary — no other woman of her gen was going to be more powerful than her.)
#33, ref. to Dick Meyers’ “What ‘Culture War'” re: parties trying to foment a phony Blue/White division that only they can “heal.”
If Obama keeps doin’ what he’s doin’ “He’ll win with a public behind him that’s sold on a genuinely liberal agenda,” saith reg. #7 among other things. No, if he wins, it’s only because the vast, vast majority is too busy working and raising families or just getting by to dig too deeply beneath what they’re being told by the MSM — they certainly don’t read blogs like this, with Celeste endlessly spinning tearjerkers about illegal immigrant gangbangers who who are nice kids except for that little flaw, which leads them to do things like kill people, deal drugs or maybe just happen to hitch a ride with those who do and if we throw tons of money at them by taxing the put-upon, angry, law-abiding and struggling middle class for programs and poetry while denouncing anyone who dares speak of immigration L-A-W as xenophobic.
In fact, true to his blowing with the wind to say what it takes to get the vote, notice how Obot spoke about penalties on those who hire illegal workers, which drives down wages for Americans — now that his camp feels they’ve got the Latino vote in Cal sewn up, they need to backpeddle back toward the blue-collar center.
Do I detect real flop sweat from the GOP’ers here?
If Obot wins, it’ll be because McCain let himself be persuaded to pick Palin — who’s younger without looking young (what’s with that Republican French twist do’ from the 80’s she and Cindy have?), though Palin can work on her image makeover, and whose lack of experience and anti-choice views may actively offend Hillaristas who think they’re saying that anyone in a skirt can take Hillary’s place. If Obot wins, it’s because the Republicans have handed it to him.
Woody 8:47, you say you could dismantle Obama’s whole speech but you don’t have the time? Crap you must have some time on your hands since you have posted up here at least 7 times today.
Yea lets hear it Woody!
And whats up with the blaming the Jews statement? Huh?
Historically hasn’t it been the extreme right wing that blames the Jewish people for their plight? Remember Hitler and Mussolini? I wouldn’t pull the Jewish card out so flippantly if I was you Woody cause it could lead to you being branded either a right wing nut or an anti Semite.
From Woody 8:47
“”More cheap talk with no substance. Perhaps you can explain how he destroyed the “myths.†Obama hasn’t debunked anything. Rather, he tries to convince others that we are in a recession, when the economy is growing. He blames consequences of bad personal choices on the Republican administration and evil big business. I guess it’s more polite than blaming the Jews.””
Woody do you have your blinders on or is your decree that the economy is sound and growing some delusional Republican “is the glass half empty or half full” spin?
The U.S. economy is settling into a deepening slump with worsening economic pain for America’s families. Seven months of job losses followed the slowest job growth since the Great Depression. Wages are close or even below where they were when this business cycle started in March 2001.
At the same time, families are paying a lot more for everything from gasoline to food and medical care, and college tuition. Paying more for life’s necessities has become much harder as families are burdened with large amounts of debt.
More and more families are declaring bankruptcy and defaulting on their loans. Easing the burden on families won’t be easy since massive trade deficits are draining our national resources, and long-term budget deficits due to tax cuts for the rich are posing obstacles to real solutions for America’s families.
US Bureau of Economic Analysis data:
The United States lost a total of 463,000 jobs in the first seven months of 2008, including 51,000 jobs in July 2008. For the past 12 months, the United States lost an average of 5,600 jobs each month after gaining an average of 125,800 in the 12 months before that and 185,800 in the 12 months before then
And from the conservative US New and World Report
“”There’s no doubt about it; we’re in the midst of a slow-motion recession, and it’s going to take more than one round of stimulus checks to get out of it. This is not to say that the stimulus checks were ineffective. They were the right thing to do, and while much of the data has yet to be collected, it appears they blunted the worst of the downturn to date.
President Bush would like to sit on his laurels at this moment and wait to see if everything gets better before passing another round of legislation to jumpstart the economy. This would be unwise. State budgets that began on July 1, 2008, contain sharp cuts in spending that will affect both the public payrolls and employment in health care and other services that rely on state government expenditures. These sectors were some of the only bright spots in the employment picture over the past year. From December 2007 to June 2008, the private sector lost 564,000 jobs. Our economy needs positive intervention now to help those who are suffering from rising prices, reduced hours and unemployment. “”
So Woody you can spin and spin if you like but I think most people in America today would agree that the economy and their own economic well being is in a precarious position and I would think that any honest observer would lay the blame squarely on the Bush monopoly capitalist robber barons and almost eight years of deregulation, privatization, bail outs, and transfer of wealth from working and middle class families to the 5 or 10 percent of extremely wealthy individuals that would include the Bush’s,Cheney’s, and McSames.
Go Obama! You nailed it!
Guess who…
Lost Hope – did you listen to the “responsibility†part of the speech ? Folks in LA have to move their asses and begin to get their own act together – as he said it’s not an election about him but about “us.†Dude can’t fly around the country being everybody’s daddy.
***************************
I had to read that statement twice, it sounded like a Woody-ism. The L.A. democratic politicans have been working very hard at raising taxes from the few remaining middle class and campaign contributions from billionaire developers. The tax and spend Democratic politicans have applied the Robin Hood theory of economics and have created possibly the worst big city in the country.
Time for a “Change” in Los Angeles, bring in the woddyists to teach personal responsibily, family values, moral, ethics and a little religion.