Barack Obama, clearly a gifted speaker, was in rare form in St. Paul last night. The contrast - between McCain's subdued crowd, uncomfortable delivery and Obama's raucous arena and professional oration - could not have been more stark. But some of the content of Obama's speeches feels unchallenged, presumably because it sits comfortably in the middle of such rousing rhetoric.
"From the snows of Cedar Rapids to the sunshine of Sioux Falls."
This has just got to stop. It is not as elegant and poetic as the Obama campaign seems to think it is: we all know he has travelled the country and that people have voted across the continent. We’re also familiar with the geological/topographical variety that defines America so the sooner we could stop talking about the campaign moving from snow to sunshine, from wheat fields to streets, from mountains to coasts, ad infinitum the better.
This has just got to stop. It is not as elegant and poetic as the Obama campaign seems to think it is: we all know he has travelled the country and that people have voted across the continent. We’re also familiar with the geological/topographical variety that defines America so the sooner we could stop talking about the campaign moving from snow to sunshine, from wheat fields to streets, from mountains to coasts, ad infinitum the better.
"It’s not change when he offers four more years of Bush economic policies that have failed to create well-paying jobs, or insure our workers, or help Americans afford the skyrocketing cost of college — policies that have lowered the real incomes of the average American family, widened the gap between Wall Street and Main Street, and left our children with a mountain of debt."
Growing income disparity may well be an issue worth exploring (as long as we don’t devolve into talking about “literally” two Americas). But describing the Bush economic policy as failing to create jobs is empirically false. Setting aside the fact that fifty-two months of job growth – the longest uninterrupted streak ever – ran from August 2003 through January 2008, isn’t it possible that Presidents shouldn’t “create” jobs?
"While we spend billions of dollars a month on a war that isn’t making the American people any safer."
How is this responsible or acceptable rhetoric from a man who hopes to be commander in chief of the US military? I would say killing al-Zarqawi made America safer. I would think that occupying the attention of al Qaeda with an offensive effort makes it harder for them to attack us. But I don’t know for sure. How does he? And since he does know for sure, could he enlighten us with the metrics and data he uses to make this sweeping statement?
"A college education should not be a privilege for the wealthy few, but the birthright of every American."
This is absurd. Taken at face value, the logic here is classic entitlement utopian socialistic nonsense. Why not make law school the “birthright” of every American? Not everyone can do college-level work and not everyone should feel they’re supposed to. Further, if a college education existed only for the “wealthy few,” what would we label government grants and, indeed, the thousands of merit-based scholarships? (Not to mention the “free” US Naval Academy, West Point, AFA, etc).
