Letters to the Editor
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Too Bad I Already Voted
This one speech convinced me to support Obama over Clinton. He's right about the problems, and his ideas for remedies are excellent. I was of the opinion that reducing national debt, especially short-term debt, was of the highest priority, as the economy could only continue to grow through the stabilization and reduction of long term interest rates. However, I now see that radical reform of market regulation is the most important step our government must take to repair the situation. Nothing will change unless a framework for stable growth is first constructed.
Go Obama. You've turned me.
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The real problem is that the US has to go broke first
The only way the US will change is after it collapses and there is mass disruption in the economy up to and including massive depression, hunger even. The only solution is for the US to slide to second or third world status.
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Why this guy rocks
"What was bad for Main Street was bad for Wall Street. Pain trickled up."
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capitalism is, in fact, based on taking all you can get.
regulation is impossible, if secrecy is possible. 'transparency' must be more than a new buzz word, it must be the label on doing business in public, in the light of day, in the glare of law.
communication now makes it possible to publish commercial activity immediately. the law should make it necessary. this will bring real market forces to play on financial activity, actual value will perforce replace shady deals.
it ain't gonna happen. "socialism!" they'll cry, and pollies will defend the right of slickers to cheat and steal. obama isn't going to change anything, except the important change of putting his bod in the oval office.
you want government 'for the people'? demand government 'by the people'.
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If I could vote
This one speech - alone - would have me choosing Senator Obama. Its erudition, its scope, its historical perspective. Hell, even, its culturally-evocative setting...
First, "A More Perfect Union", now "Make Visible the Hand." What a brilliant communicator.
Those too young to remember should watch the video of Bobby Kennedy's extemporaneous announcement of Dr. Martin Luther King's assassination to a shocked, heartbroken crowd. He dared use poetry and made it a moment of shared mourning and national loss.
Words matter.
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This is what and whom we need
This speech says so much about the virtues of Obama on so many ways, just as his "More Perfect Union" speech did.
He actually treats the audience, and America as intelligent. I hope he gets away on that risk.
He takes a basically liberal position, as he usually does, but frames it as good for everyone -- Wall Street and Main Street.
What makes him great is that he sees the interconnectedness of those that are usually divided by the political wedges, and proposes his solutions as wins for all.
The total superiority of that approach to that of the usual "win-lose" mindset so prevalent today is exactly what we need to address our huge national problems. And Obama is whom we need.
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i'll take your word for it, Mister C
i "read" the speech too, though it was too difficult for me to really understand, HOWEVER from the FIRST time i heard Obama speak i KNEW he was REALLY REALLY smart and i was 100% for him. that is a type of intelligence too - and one i hope a lot of citizens have.
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Another Spot-On Speech
How long have we waited for a candidate who can not only speak truth to power, but speak truth to US? I'm getting my contribution in before the cynics here and elsewhere chime in, And we know they will, regrettably.
I think we are at a point in our recent history where it's pretty plain for all to see that the GOP's vision of "free markets" more closely resembles the tactics and strategies of the robber barons of nearly a century past. Those tactics squelched competition and created monolithic companies that imposed their will on the rest of us. Right now, the biggest monopoly is the oil market. We all drive cars (or SUVs or Hummer tanks), and the oil market monopoly has us all by the short hairs. The economy ground to nearly a halt in Q4 2007 in part because no action was taken to regulate this monopoly so that it doesn't hurt people's pocket books in the short term as we transition to alternative sources. Other than President Bush begging the Saudis to increase production (which is a significant retreat from "jaw-boning" them into doing it), nothing more was even imagined. Now we're paying for it. Bottom to Top. Obama is correct. The pain is trickling UP. Bush's and McCain's "solutions" are without any foundation in reality.
And all Hillary can seem to do is lob cynical asides at Obama for not having "specifics". If memory serves, her husband's speeches about the economy of 1992 lacked "specifics". But he, like Obama did lay out a broad vision. It would take longer than the 31 minutes Obama spoke to lay out the details, let alone implement them. This jibe about "specifics" misses the point. It's another knee-jerk, cynical response.
This is not to say we don't need specifics, but if you were to lay that out in a campaign speech, which this was, just as the speech about his former pastor was, our eyes would glaze over and we would want to go back to our lives. It takes too long to enumerate all the things that would have to change for the goals to be met and the vision to be realized. That's not what a campaign speech is for.
But my point is that there is FINALLY a recognition from our leadership that there is not only a significant problem, but also that what has become the classic response to the problem is tragically flawed. I was also struck by Obama's breadth of comprehension of how our economy should work, as well as his ability to speak to our unique history, and make this another teaching moment. All this spoke of a vision, which is ultimately what brings us together to solve problems. "Supply-side" or "trickle-down" economics has proven three times now to be a recipe for disaster for everyone. And the Republican presidents who largely oversaw the most recent versions of these theories have been catastrophically dumb-struck and bereft of ideas every time they've blown up and proven that they aren't worth the paper they were printed on. I can't speak for anyone else, but I appreciated Obama's sane, balanced, and sober analysis as well as the even-handedness of his proposals. He's not talking about re-rigging the game, but changing it entirely, re-imagining it, and that's what's needed.