Thursday, August 28, 2008
Obama Speech: Convention Address Makes Economic Populism Central Thrust of Election 2008 (7:49 pm)
If his convention speech tonight is any indication, Barack Obama has (finally) signaled that progressive economic populism is going to be the central thrust of Democrats campaign in the stretch run of the 2008 election.
The speech is probably the most populist national speech Obama has given.
Here are the key snippets:
“We measure the strength of our economy not by the number of billionaires we have or the profits of the Fortune 500, but by whether someone with a good idea can take a risk and start a new business, or whether the waitress who lives on tips can take a day off to look after a sick kid without losing her job - an economy that honors the dignity of work…
Change means a tax code that doesn’t reward the lobbyists who wrote it, but the American workers and small businesses who deserve it…
It’s a promise that says the market should reward drive and innovation and generate growth, but that businesses should live up to their responsibilities to create American jobs, look out for American workers, and play by the rules of the road…
I will make certain those [health care] companies stop discriminating against those who are sick and need care the most…
Now is the time to change our bankruptcy laws, so that your pensions are protected ahead of CEO bonuses…”
This is strong stuff - the kind of thing I was talking about when I wrote a newspaper column back in June entitled “Countering Race With Class.” That column said the only way for Obama to counter the GOP’s cultural populism is with a full-throated economic populist message.
For a while now, I have wondered why it has taken him this long to get back to this same economic language that he used in the Democratic primary. It probably is a mix of factors: The Wall Streeters whispering in his ear, Democrats’ typical (self-defeating) move to the right in general elections, and the virulent free-market fundamentalism that the New York Times says he embraced at the University of Chicago.
But now, he has to win an election - and he knows that Democrats have won red-states like Ohio not by pretending to be Royalist Republicans, but by being economic populists and tapping into the uprising that I described in my new book (in fact, as Obama himself said tonight, “change happens because the American people demand it – because they rise up.
That his newfound courage is partially rooted in election opportunism doesn’t negate its value. If he continues with this kind of posture, he not only will win the election, but will create a mandate that helps force an Obama administration to fulfill the economic promises it is making. And that more than anything would, indeed, mean real change.
posted by David Sirota
Reader Comments
It was a rip roaring economic populist speech. Looks like the trade off though, the bargain made, is with the oil, gas and nuke crowd. Let’s hope we get health care reform and employee free choice passed before the drilling gets going.
posted by FeralCat on 8-28-08 at 10:40 PM
I don’t know whether the promises to oil, gas, nuke will stick. If Obama gets the empathy movement going, we may become unstoppable.
posted by Eric Schechter on 8-28-08 at 11:00 PM
I would like to believe that we can stop them, but these are powerful forces who have ruled a long time. Hope in this horse trading, we don’t get the back end.
posted by FeralCat on 8-28-08 at 11:15 PM
He spoke right to me tonight. He spoke for JRE & EE too. I’m thrilled!
posted by epw4edwards on 8-28-08 at 11:24 PM
my verification word for this blog was “nuclear”... well, besides that, i was total drawn in by obama tonight and calmed by his populist message of hope and compassion. thanks for this magnificent blog, david; i’m very happy that so many progressives are in agreement that this could actually be a turning point for us. guess that means i’ll have to get off my butt now and start working! we’ve got to get this man elected.
posted by laura tattoo on 8-29-08 at 12:25 AM
His speech was spectacular! But also he has that illusive thing called charisma - he LOOKS like a president, too. Put it all together and I don’t see how he can miss. Especially against that Bush clone!
posted by Ken Bachtold on 8-29-08 at 12:32 AM
I may be easy but I latched onto the inspiration thing the first time I saw/listened to him in a cornfield in Illinois the spring of 2004. I had already picked a downstate candidate in the Senatorial primary and didn’t know one thing about him except that he was a sensation out of Chicago. I would lay claim to watching more footage of him than anyone else in America since that first meeting. (have also seen him in person 2X since) I have disagreed with some of his positions but I have never had one doubt that he has the “right stuff” to listen and make better decisions than any of the candidates we saw in the primaries. The inspiration is believable! I have had dark days doubting his ability to win, not because of any lack on his part but because of racism and the vicious attacks (lies) that have been made on him. Hearing him last night, I feel I can finally put my full faith in the power of his inspiration and truly believe that he not only can but will win. As much as I dislike constantly hearing God bless everything, I am moved to say, “God bless Barack.” We have become a nation of sheep under the heels of the Bush administration. I truly think Barack is the only one who could have brought us out of the deep funk we have been in the past 8 years. He won’t be perfect but he is, indeed, our only hope to salvage the wreckage George Bush has created.
posted by Barbara Minich on 8-29-08 at 4:52 AM
I felt Obama’s speech was great! He addressed a lot of the factors that will determine how i vote and who i vote for. Even though i thought his speech was good, sometimes he, beat around the bush so to speak, on some other topics that are very important to me. Not only does he some of the main topics right on the head, he acts like a president should! He can speak like a president, not like Bush who sounds like he never took a speech class in his life! I think Obama is ready for the job and will represent out country well!
posted by Ethan Kitchell on 8-29-08 at 5:11 AM
Half of our Country screwed us all in 2000, again in 2004, we can’t let the ignorant do us in again.......There is just no comparison ..... but, the ignorant have a big voice, along with some vote cheating, we could be screwed again. I have to wonder if we will ever have an honest election again...We have a choice.....a man, or a joke. Like Dennis Kucinnich,I say WAKE UP AMERICA....WAKE UP.....
posted by ratface on 8-29-08 at 6:16 AM
After watching Obama at Mile High Stadium last night, all I can say is WOW! WOW!!
posted by GOPHater on 8-29-08 at 7:21 AM
I was so happy for Barack last night. He was wonderful and the people responded. He has been my choice since the start and I’ve hoped that the Repugs and media didn’t destroy his chance to be come our next president. He may be our last hope and will certainly have his hands full getting America back to what she should/can be.
posted by Stephanie King on 8-29-08 at 7:24 AM
Change is a common election year slogan.I hate to be the fly in the soup but voting for the new FISA law, getting Bush and his fellow criminals off the hook, is NOT change I can believe in. Talk is cheap.Also ,playing it safe and picking a 36 year insider is another indication that it’s going to be same o , same o. in Washington. Like Pelosi, there is going to be great disappointment with Obama. But what is the alternative?More criminality?
posted by Arthur J Caputo on 8-29-08 at 7:51 AM
Obama is not the Second Coming of Freedom and Liberty, as others in this thread have pointed out. He is still a flawed and damaged champion in the pocket of the very corporate nationalist structure he claims to be taking on. The fact that he isn’t as bad as Bush McCain is hardly a palliative to the pain the nation is suffering.
No matter how loudly Obama orates, his actions must speak louder. His actions to date scream “More of the same corporate-friendly fascism.” Did he address domestic surveillance in his acceptance speech? Did he denounce the modern-day Gestapo, Homeland Security? No. And he won’t He thinks he can dance with the devil and not get scorched. Ask not what the devil will do for you, ask what Obama will do for the devil.
posted by Realist on 8-29-08 at 9:13 AM
The typical Democratic pattern in the last few decades of presidential elections has been to pander left in the primaries, then tack hard to an imagined center once the nomination was secure, alienating activists along the way and incurring charges of flip-flop while failing to pick up any meaningful “centrist” votes. Only after squandering goodwill and popular leads have candidates rediscovered, in the waning days of the campaign, the ghost of Harry Truman. It is to Obama’s credit, as well as smart politics, that he has given voice to the dynamics that should make economic populism a cornerstone of Democratic campaigns from the presidential level on down, and that he’s done it now rather than in mid-October.
posted by Jeff Smith on 8-29-08 at 11:12 AM
"Combat troops” redeployed from Iraq to Afghanistan (Code for permanent bases, occupation troops and mercenary presence in Iraq; escalation of war in Afghanistan).
Countering “Russian aggression.” (a falsification of facts as basis for war. Sound familiar?)
Threaten Pakistan
Shake the stick at Iran.
Nukes on the table.
“Protect Israel” (a terrorist nation, like the USA now).
. . . welcome to Obomber’s World.
Kool-Aid drinking required.
posted by Tenzing on 8-29-08 at 1:52 PM
How can any indiviual, with any common sense or even an iota of intelligence,not realize we NOW have hope for America.
Of course this eliminates George,Dick,Rush,Doug,Ann and everyone at FOX.
A very inspiring jump off for the “good guys”.
posted by phred on 8-29-08 at 3:04 PM
Somebody made mention of the fact that Bush couldn’t have taken many speech classes. I say that, the problem with George Bush and public speaking (other than the obvious idiocy) is that there are only so many different ways you can spin the lies when you’re trying to avoid legal repercussions. That’s why they can’t let Bush “ad lib” anything without the teleprompter. Look at what a laughing stock he made of himself with such things as “Mission Accomplished”, “I’m the Decider”, “I’m the Commander Guy”, “Bring ‘em on”, “Heckuva job, Brownie” .... we could go on and on.
Yes, I agree entirely. We knew Obama could do a speech like this one; we’ve seen it in his earlier speeches. The only surprise was when he veered away from this posture a few weeks ago. I’m so glad to see him returning to it; I hope he’ll stay with it now.
Most politicians are merely followers, but Obama is one of the few who is capable of giving some leadership, some inspiration. By speaking of empathy, he moves the country toward empathy, which is a better place to be. It also makes his election more likely.
posted by Eric Schechter on 8-28-08 at 10:30 PM