Rhetoric and Reality Part I

Last night in North Carolina Senator Obama made a speech explaining why he thought the terms of the debate the night before in Pennsylvania were wrong. His rhetoric is often lofty, but when you examine the substance of what he has to say, it falls far short. He seems prone to criticize the debate format. He is also able to get in some real digs at Senator Clinton and wrap them in a rhetorical sandwich which seems to say this is not the usual politics, all they while getting his digs in.

Last night he said the following after criticizing the format of the debate which he argued spent too much time on personal stuff he said "How we are going to solve the real problems that face the American people? The problems that matter in their lives. How are they going to pay the mortgage? How are they going to save for their child’s college education? How are they going to make sure that they can pay those health care premiums? How are they going to make sure that they don’t lose their job? How can they save for retirement? How can we make sure that Social Security is there so we can count on it? How can we make sure that their loved one doesn’t get sent on the third of fourth rotation to Iraq? How can we make sure that that loved one is properly cared for when they come home? Those are the questions that the American people are asking."

As I read through the list I saw many issues which I believe the federal government either cannot or should not address and many (like college savings) where the federal response is fundamentally pretty good and to which Senator Obama has not offered any new and substantive proposals.

The polls for Tuesday seem to point to a Clinton victory in Indiana and Pennsylvania and an Obama one in North Carolina. Neither candidate showed well in these exchanges.