"We may be the first generation to pass on an America that is a little poorer than the one we inherited from our parents and grandparents." (Barack Obama at a fundraiser last night)Today, Barack Obama kicks off a week of "economic security" town hall meetings across the country. He will use the events to inject what his campaign considers some "realism" into he presidential race. The economy is in considerable peril, and Americans will be called upon to sacrifice.
"We're going to have to work our way out of the pickle we've been put in."
The town halls will always begin with a real person telling a real story. And Obama will intersperse his policy proposals with a teensy bit of tough love.The people I've met during this campaign in town halls and living rooms; on farms and front porches - they know that government can't solve all their problems, and they don't expect it to. They're willing to do their part - to work harder and study more and replace the remote controls and video games with books and homework. They believe in personal responsibility and self-reliance. They don't like seeing their tax dollars wasted."Economic security" is a phrase that has polled well for Democrats but otherwise doesn't mean much to real voters. Consultants like it. It suggests a certain sobriety that you don't often find at Obama events -- not this one, where the entire crowd seems to be the chorus.
Obama will use his prepared remarks to try and recast the debate about taxes.
If Senator McCain wants a debate about taxes in this campaign, that's a debate I'm happy to have. Because while we're both proposing tax cuts, the difference is who we're cutting taxes for. Senator McCain would cut taxes for those making over $3 million. I'll cut taxes for middle class families by three times as much as my opponent. Let me be clear: if you're a family making less than $250,000, my plan will not raise your taxes - not your income taxes, not your payroll taxes, not your capital gains taxes, not any of your taxes. And unlike my opponent, I'll pay for my plan - by cutting wasteful spending, shutting corporate loopholes and tax havens, and rolling back the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans.NB: Heck has no rebuttal like a Time Magazine reporter misinterpreted. Michael Scherer of Time sticks by the context of a quote attributed to McCain adviser Douglas Holtz-Eakin. His headline: Why Obama Offers A Net Tax Cut
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