President Obama’s speech to the AFL-CIO yesterday was part of an aggressive new effort to sell his health care overhaul to the public.
President Obama touched on Pittsburgh's labor history at the AFL-CIO convention.
Sen. Arlen Specter is joined by President Obama at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia.Obama's appearance came nearly five months after Specter, a five-term incumbent, bolted from the Republican Party and became a Democrat, in part to avoid a looming GOP primary rematch against former congressman Pat Toomey. Instead, Specter faces a tough fight on the political left from Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.) for the Democratic nomination."Arlen is not someone who came to Washington to fight for a particular ideology," said Obama, at the Philadelphia Convention Center. "He came to fight for the working men and women of Pennsylvania. That's why you should send him back for another six years, because you know he's going to fight for you."
------
President Obama said his administration has "stopped the economic free fall
President Obama told the AFL-CIO yesterday that his administration has “stopped our economic free fall’’ and is determined to seal a recovery while revitalizing America’s middle class.Obama spoke for less than half an hour in front of several thousand people at the David Lawrence Convention Center for the AFL-CIO, a national and international network of labor unions. Its annual convention also featured Sens. Bob Casey,D-Pa., and Arlen Specter, D-Pa.
“One of the fundamental reasons I ran for president was to stand up for working families,’’ Obama said on a day of campaign-style, populist events designed to appeal to politically active union members, who helped put him in office and whose support is crucial to his domestic agenda.
“When our middle class succeeds, that’s when the United States of America succeeds. That’s what we’re fighting for,’’ he said.
The appearances were part of Obama’s aggressive new effort to sell his health care overhaul, following a speech last week to Congress and a slew of interviews and appearances the White House has arranged.
Earlier yesterday, he toured a
Pledging to stand firm with autoworkers, Obama told them his administration had no choice but to intervene and prevent the collapse of automakers. He told GM employees that their company has retooled itself and is heading back to a solid business, in part, because of its workforce.
“Your survival and the success of our economy depended on making sure that we got the US auto industry back on its feet,’’ Obama said, standing near a production line where compact Chevrolet Cobalts are produced.
He said those small cars were among the most popular under his temporary “cash for clunkers’’ program, which offered drivers up to $4,500 to buy fuel-efficient autos.
While Obama acknowledged that recovery would not be simple or swift, he said the nation cannot allow towns like this one - a major employer in a region that has seen steel furnaces go cold as globalization moved jobs abroad - to crack under the economic pressure.
“As long as you’ve still got an ounce of fight left in you, I’ve got a ton of fight left in me,’’ he vowed. “I’ve said it before: I’m skinny, but I’m tough.’’
----------
--------
0 comments:
Post a Comment