David Sirota: Obama Speech.....Makes Economic Populism Central Thrust of Election 2008

[marmar]

from HuffPost:



David Sirota
Obama Speech: Convention Address Makes Economic Populism Central Thrust of Election 2008
Posted August 28, 2008 | 10:51 PM (EST)




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. .......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-sirota/obama-speech-convention-a_b_122272.html

[Larkspur]

1. Yep, it will be up to us to keep the pressure on Obama to stay on the economic

populist path. Rubin will do his best to get Obama to go corporate after Obama takes the White House. That's what he did with Bill Clinton.