The speech today at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh was billed as just your everyday speech on the economy by the President... but it has turned out to be much more than that!
The President has used this opportunity to articulate the philosophical differences between Progressives & Conservatives - Democrats & Republicans... the No Government versus Some Government camps.
It's the speech I personally have been longing to hear for quite some time. If you missed it the first time, please have a listen: LINK
While the President has touched on these themes before, I can't recall a speech where the message was so clear: We tried it your way. It didn't work. We've been trying it our way for a little bit and it seems to be working. Lets focus on what's important!
Times like these help me remember that the guy is a pretty smart politician. This speech is perfectly timed. The campaign season is heating up. Congress is out of session. And according to the President, we have another positive jobs report coming soon.
I have long believed that part of the "Hope & Change" mission has to be changing the way people think about government. It's a two step process. First you have to do things that help improve people's lives. Then you have to explain that a pro-government philosophy is the only reason that improvement was made possible.
I think the Administration is definitely headed in that direction. I don't remember all of Bill Clinton's speeches, but this was not a "Era of Big Government is Over" kind of moment. This was a direct assault on the B.S.C.W. promulgated by the Right every since Barry Goldwater. It's nice to see some fight coming out of the White House!