Obama's speech on the economy at Cooper Union today was no Philadelphia address on the state of race relations in America. It's harder to stun people with rhetorical fireworks when you're talking about "new and complex financial instruments." But it had its moments. His overall message was that we need 21st century regulations to deal with Wall Street's current penchant for screwing around with fake money. Full video of the speech here. Some highlights:
-He reviewed our current, dismal economic situation. Boldly commits to the term "recession."
-Emphasized the linked fates of Wall Street and Main Street. Recently, he says, "pain trickled up." Big applause.
-Said McCain has no plan but to watch this economic crisis unfold. This, Obama says, is consistent with McCain's determination to run for "Bush's third term." Here's McCain's "pre-buttal".
-Proposed a $10 billion foreclosure prevention fund.
-Unveiled an interesting, if slightly vague, six-point plan to update our regulatory frameworks.
-Promised to "put Americans to work [by creating] millions of new green jobs." Sounds like an eco-WPA. We didn't know the economy was Depression-era bad.
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