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'McCain doesn't get it'
August 29, 2008
'I don't know what kind of life John McCain thinks celebrities live, but this has been mine," he pointed out, after detailing the everyday shortcomings, hopes and dreams of his family, mentioning that his mother once received food stamps, but still managed to put her son in America's top schools.
He used this personal story to launch into a discussion of the future of the American Dream. Pointing to the failing mortgages, spiraling gas prices, job loss, outsourcing and general distrust of government afflicting average Americans, Obama said that John McCain 'just doesn't get it' if he thinks an income of less than $5 million dollars a year is middle-class.
External Link: Images: Obama seeks change
And in answering the critics who say he hasn't outlined any specifics, Obama promised to improve schools by invigorating the country's education infrastructure with better paid, more qualified teachers. He also pledged to reduce taxes on 95 per cent of Americans, saying that taxing the middle class during a period of economic stagnancy will only worsen matters. Then, in a point that drew one of the night’s largest cheers, he committed to an energy plan that would eliminate dependence on Mid-East oil in 10 years.
In a move sure to rejuvenate enthusiasm in the Democratic base of support, Obama went on the attack for the first time in recent memory. He directly and repeatedly criticised McCain for his continued support of President George W Bush, pointing to McCain's voting record of mirroring Bush's policies 90 per cent of the time.
"What does it say about your judgment when you think George Bush was right more than 90 per cent of the time?" Obama asked. "I don't know about you, but I'm not ready to take a 10 percent chance on change."
He said that McCain subscribes to the 'old discredited Republican philosophy' of trickle-down, supply-side economics, 'that rewards the rich and leaves others worse off'.
"It's time for them to own up to their failure," he thundered. "It's time for us to change America."
Image: Obama with his family.
Also read: 'Why I switched to Obama'
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