Obama's Flint Speech

[BeatleBoot]

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080616/METRO/806160424

Here is Barack Obama's speech, as prepared for delivery to a crowd of nearly 2,000 at Kettering University in Flint Monday:

It's great to be at Kettering -- a university that is teaching the next generation of leaders, and training workers to have the skills they need to advance their own careers and communities.

For months, the state of our economy has dominated the headlines -- and the news hasn't been good. The sub-prime lending debacle has sent the housing market into a tailspin, and caused a broader contraction in the credit markets. Over 360,000 jobs have been lost this year, with the unemployment rate registering the biggest one month jump since February 1986. Incomes have failed to keep pace with the rising costs of health insurance and college, and record oil and food prices have left families struggling just to keep up.

Of course, grim economic news is nothing new to Flint. Manufacturing jobs have been leaving here for decades now. The jobs that have replaced them pay less, and offer fewer, if any benefits. Hard-working Americans who could once count on a single-paycheck to support their families have not only lost jobs, but their health care and their pensions as well. Worst of all, many have lost confidence in that fundamental American promise that our children will have a better life than we do.

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[grantcart]

1. He attacks McCain 14 times

http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0608/Going_at_McCain_in_Flint_14_times.html


From Ben Smith


One thing about Obama's current national tour: He sure likes to talk about John McCain. Many Democratic strategists believe the GOP nominee is less clearly defined than the media imagines, and Obama's working hard to paint him as an out-of-touch Bush clone.

In his speech in Flint, MI today, the prepared remarks have him mentioning McCain 14 times, and attacking on trade, taxes, the environment, and educaiton.

Also, three mentions of Google, perhaps an attempt to draw a contrast with a rival who doesn't use a computer.

[FrenchieCat]

2. Too bad the media is not interested in issues enough to

have shown the speech live.

Instead, we get whatever soundbyte they choose to offer us in 10 second "showings". :(