With half of the country being fully energized by “hope” and “change”, no wonder our demand for gasoline is down almost 9% from last year.  On Thursday, August 28th, 2008, Barack Obama accepted the nomination for president from the Democratic Party.  Still a relatively young and strapping gent, Obama worked hard to get his name on the list of all time great orators.  Churchill, Kennedy, King, and now Obama are remembered for speeches that their people could get behind.  The problem was with Obama’s speech on Thursday, he sold out.I don’t normally care about these types of politics, other than what John Stewart covers on The Daily Show.  It’s gas filled speeches given by people who you don’t care about, and have never heard of.  Naturally the people that go to these conventions are the type of person that can just leave their job for a week to go play in politics, or worse, a stupid schmuck that actually buys into all this crap.  However, the head honcho over at Jalopnik, a car blog, wrote a great little bit about Obama’s proposed energy policy from his speech.  This honcho, Ray Wert should not be dismissed as merely a muscle car loving greesemonkey with an English degree, he also reviews sedans and crossovers.  Anyway, Ray’s point was valid enough that I followed his link to a Market Watch provided text version of Obama’s speech.

After skimming the speech, I was really disappointed in the message.  Its probably more moving to watch him read, but then again with his voice and facial expressions I might miss the message he’s really sending.  Here’s a few of the things that bothered me:

“How else could (John McCain) offer a health care plan that would actually tax people’s benefits, or an education plan that would do nothing to help families pay for college, or a plan that would privatize Social Security and gamble your retirement?”

His speech spent too much time bashing McCain, a classic politician move, and something I though Obama was better than.  Specifically, above Obama bashes McCain’s healthcare plan that would actually reduce the cost of healthcare.  At least he’s got a plan, Obama only preaches “Universal Healthcare” but we’re yet to see any details.  I know nothing of McCain’s education plan so ignore that.  But, damnit Obama, you shot yourself in the foot by pointing out the privatization of Social Security.  If you ever compare investing in the stock market to gambling while trying to prop-up the bull$#!+ pyramid scheme you call Social Security without offering an alternative again, you’re going to lose the support of the Republicans that don’t like McCain.  That is something you need.

“We measure progress in the 23 million new jobs that were created when Bill Clinton was President - when the average American family saw its income go up $7,500 instead of down $2,000 like it has under George Bush.”

Why do presidents take credit for creating jobs?  Those 23 million jobs under Clinton were the result of the INTERNET, you know that “dot com” thing..  Clinton didn’t do anything to help create those jobs.  The business owners and investors get credit for those jobs.  Those same 23 million jobs were merely temp positions though, because when the bubble BUSTED in 1999, we were left in a big recession when Bush took office.  He’s spent the past 8 years cleaning up the mess.  He might need a helmet to ride a Segway, but if Clinton gets credit for creating those jobs, he should get credit for blowing them up while playing hanky-panky in the Oval Office.

“I’ll help our auto companies re-tool, so that the fuel-efficient cars of the future are built right here in America.”

This was perhaps the worst thing he could say.  Joe Idiot America cruising down eight-mile in his leased Chevy with his Obama bumper sticker loves it.  This is a promise to the workers of Detroit that as president he will bail out their failing companies.  Nevermind that Joe America’s labor union ruined it for him already in the 80’s with their outrageous wages and healthcare plans.  Obama just promised to prop up a failing company.  His reasoning is for jobs to stay in America and build fuel efficient cars.  First, never bail out a private company, it failed because it was supposed to.  Second, most auto manufacturers already build small, efficient cars in the US and don’t need your help.  Hyundai builds their mid-size sedan in Alabama.  Honda builds just about every car in Ohio, including the fuel efficient engines they are so well known for.  Toyota builds their popular Camry, along with their 4 cylinder engines, Camry hybrid engine, and award winning V6 engine in Kentucky.  Toyota has various other plants around the country.  Subaru has the first manufacturing facility in the country to receive “zero landfill” status, a great thing for the environment.  Again they make small cars too.  Just a couple of months back, Volkswagen decided to build their first plant in Tennessee, at least one of the cars their building will be a midsize sedan, a hot market for fuel efficiency.

So tell me Obama, with all these international companies manufacturing fuel efficient cars in the United States, why are you going to bail out GM, Ford, and Chrysler, three companies that despite grants and government money will be under no obligation to move their production facilities back to the US?  Yes, BACK to the US.  About the only plants left in the US from these three are for the big vehicles, trucks and SUVs that aren’t selling well.  Their going to get government money to develop fuel efficient cars (something all the other companies have ALREADY done) and then they’ll put them together in Canada and Mexico while the international companies actually make the cars in the US.

There are plenty of other things to pick on from the speech.  But there are plenty of good points too.  I’ll make you read the transcript to find them though.  Once you read the entire plan he’s outlined I think you’ll discover the classic mistake Obama has made.  Don’t promise the world to appease your entire party.  You’ll be remembered like Carter.  Promise one thing, then do it.  Promise another, then do it.  Kennedy promised the moon, and he did it.  We remember him.  Carter promised the world, and we remember a peanut farmer.

Read Ray Wert
Read Obama Transcript

Related posts:

1. Weakonomics Best of 2008 Awards
2. General Motors and the BS Marketing Blitz
3. The Weakonomist Endorses a Candidate: Part I
4. CNN Money’s 21 Dumbest Moments In Business 2008
5. Why GM, Ford, And Chrysler Deserve NOTHING!

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