Posted by Jed Lewison on Mon Jun 16, 2008 at 3:25 PM Pacific

Obama on the economy

Update: I'm bumping the post with video of Barack's speech in Flint today. It's long, almost 50 minutes, but I think it's worth watching when you have the time.

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Original post:

I still haven't seen Barack Obama's speech on American economic competitiveness today in Flint, Michigan, but I've now read it, and I'm very pleased. It was actually much better than I thought it would be.

Going into the speech, there were two things I was hoping to see. First, would it offer a credible vision for long-term job growth and expanded opportunity? Second, would the speech convey Barack's personal commitment to making that vision become a reality?

I think he nailed it on both fronts, at least on paper. Substantively, the speech was coherent. He made a case for his economic plan, explaining not just what he wants to do but why he wants to do it. It wasn't a list of promises; it was an argument for how the United States economy can thrive in a global marketplace.

Rhetorically, the speech avoided the clinical language that has plagued earlier speeches. In past speeches, it sometimes sounded as if he was saying what he would do for us; today, he broke down that artificial barrier by talking about what we all must do together.

You should read the complete speech, but in just a few words, the key points were: education, energy, and infrastructure. He also talked about the importance of health care reform, sound fiscal and tax policy, and investment in research and development.

The passage on energy security was particularly strong.

 

In the past, America has been stirred to action when a new challenge threatened our national security. That was true when German and Japanese armies advanced across Europe and Asia, or when the Soviets launched Sputnik. The energy threat we face today may be less direct, but it is real. Our dependence on foreign oil strains family budgets and saps our economy.  Oil money pays for the bombs going off from Baghdad to Beirut, and the bombast of dictators from Caracas to Tehran. Our nation will not be secure unless we take that leverage away, and our planet will not be safe unless we move decisively toward a clean energy future.

 

The dangers are eclipsed only by the opportunities that would come with change. We know the jobs of the 21st century will be created in developing alternative energy. The question is whether these jobs will be created in America, or abroad. Already, we’ve seen countries like Germany, Spain and Brazil reap the benefits of economic growth from clean energy. But we are decades behind in confronting this challenge. George Bush has spent most of his Administration denying that we have a problem, and making deals with Big Oil behind closed doors. And while John McCain deserves credit for speaking out against the threat of climate change, his rhetoric is undercut by a record of voting time and again against important investments in renewable energy

 

It’s time to make energy security a leading priority. My energy plan will invest $150 billion over the next ten years to establish a green energy sector that will create up to 5 million jobs over the next two decades. Good jobs, like the ones I saw in Pennsylvania where workers make wind turbines, or the jobs that will be created when plug-in hybrids or electric cars start rolling off the assembly line here in Michigan. We’ll help manufacturers – particularly in the auto industry – convert to green technology, and  help workers learn the skills they need. And unlike George Bush, I won't wait until the sixth year of my presidency to sit down with the automakers. I'll meet with them during my campaign, and I'll meet with them as president to talk about how we're going to build the cars of the future right here in Michigan.

 

And when I’m President, we will invest in research and development of every form of alternative energy – solar, wind, and biofuels, as well as technologies that can make coal clean and nuclear power safe. We will provide incentives to businesses and consumers to save energy and make buildings more efficient. That’s how we’re going to create jobs that pay well and can’t be outsourced. That’s how we’re going to win back control of our own destiny from oil-rich dictators.  And that’s how we’ll solve the problem of $4 a gallon gas – not with another Washington gimmick like John McCain’s gas tax holiday that would pad oil company profits while draining the highway fund that Michigan depends on.
 

This passage not only offers a compelling, believable vision for long-term economic growth, but it also places the discussion in the context of our national interest .

In fact, perhaps the strongest aspect of the speech was that it was a clear statement about what the United States of America should do. It was patriotic, but without the divisive, imperialistic tone of Karl Rove. Rather, it was a more progressive brand of patriotism, unifying in spirit, focused on making America stronger rather than putting others down.

In the past, I've been concerned that Barack may sound a bit clinical when talking about jobs and economic growth; that when he says "we" it's like listening to a doctor talking to a patient.

There was none of that in this speech; by placing the discussion in a historical framework, and by using the word "our" as much as "we," he made it clear that when he says "we," he means all of us.

Aside from the substance of what he had to say, that is perhaps the most important and impressive accomplishment of the speech. For Barack Obama to have credibility as a communicator, we must see him as part of us.

During his best speeches, we are right there with him; we don't feel like we're being lectured to, or that we're being told what he's promising to do for us.

For the most part, his economic policy speeches and message have fallen short of that standard, but today I think he met it.

If I'm right about that, and if he's able to sustain it, then the speech he gave today will prove to be a turning point in this campaign, because Barack Obama will have just developed the tool he needs to begin expanding his coalition in a meaningful, lasting way.