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Here comes the beef

James Forsyth

Tuesday, 29th January 2008

If Barack Obama is to win the Democratic nomination he is going to have to add some beef to his fine words and in a speech today in his grandparent’s town in Kansas began to do this. Here are the specifics in the speech, which should help him appeal to lower income voters:

“I’ll put a middle-class tax cut into the pockets of working families. This tax cut will be worth up to $1000 for a working family. We’ll provide struggling homeowners some relief by giving them a tax credit that would cover ten percent of a family’s mortgage interest payment every year. And we’re also going to give seniors a break by eliminating income taxes for any retiree making less than $50,000 a year, because every single American should be able to retire with dignity and respect.
That also means helping Americans save for retirement when they’re still working. When I’m President, employers will be required to enroll every worker in a direct deposit retirement account that places a small percentage of each paycheck into savings. You can keep this account even if you change jobs, and the federal government will match the savings for lower-income, working families.
It’s also time we had a President who won’t wait another ten years to raise the minimum wage. I will raise it to keep pace every year so that workers don't fall behind. I’ll institute a Credit Card Bill of Rights that will ban credit card companies from changing the agreement you signed up for, changing the interest rate on debt you’ve already incurred, or charging interest on late fees.”
...
And it means providing every American with a $4,000 a year tax credit that will finally help make a college education affordable and available for all.”

There were also some more general words about healthcare. However, by far the most memorable passage of the speech was this section:

“Our family’s story is one that spans miles and generations; races and realities. It’s the story of farmers and soldiers; city workers and single moms. It takes place in small towns and good schools; in Kansas and Kenya; on the shores of Hawaii and the streets of Chicago. It’s a varied and unlikely journey, but one that’s held together by the same simple dream.
And that is why it’s American.
That’s why I can stand here and talk about how this country is more than a collection of Red States and Blue States – because my story could only happen in the United States.”

One wonders whether Obama, perhaps, isn’t too good at delivering this kind of uplifting rhetoric. By which I mean that this is the clip that will most likely get played on the local news overshadowing his attempt to push forward some specific policy proposals to counter the idea that his message is made up of noble sentiments and little else.