Transcript and video below. Story and pics from someone who was there.
Obama's remarks:
This event should be live streamed at cnn.com or barackobama.com.
Community Gathering
with Barack Obama
Schwarzman Stadium
Abington High School
900 Highland Ave.
Abington, PA
Friday, October 3rd
Doors Open: 9:00 a.m.
Program Begins: 11:00 a.m.
The event is free and open to the public; tickets are not required but an RSVP is encouraged. Space is available on a first come, first served basis.
For security reasons, do not bring bags and please limit personal items. No signs or banners permitted.
Obama's remarks:
Remarks of Senator Barack Obama
As Prepared for Delivery
Abington, Pennsylvania
Friday, October 3, 2008
How about that debate last night. Didn’t my running mate Joe Biden – a fellow some people call the third Senator from Pennsylvania – didn’t he do a great job? I was so proud of Joe. America, I think, saw clearly why I felt he’d be such a great Vice President, especially during these difficult, challenging times.
You know, there were a lot of noteworthy moments in that debate, but there’s one that sticks out this morning. It’s when Governor Palin said to Joe Biden that our plan to get our economy out of the ditch was somehow a job killing plan.
I wonder if she turned on the news this morning.
Because it was just reported that America has experienced its ninth straight month of job loss. Just since January, we’ve lost more than 750,000 jobs across America, 7,000 in Pennsylvania alone. This is the economy that John McCain said – just two weeks ago – was fundamentally strong. This is the economy that my opponent said made great progress under the policies of George W. Bush. And those are the economic policies that he proposes to continue for another four years.
So when Senator McCain and his running mate talk about job killing, that’s something they know a thing or two about. Because the policies they’re supporting are killing jobs every single day.
Well, Abington, I am here to tell you that we cannot afford four more years of this. Because where I come from, there’s nothing more fundamental than having the sense of meaning and purpose that comes with showing up at work in the morning. There’s nothing more fundamental than being able to put your kids through college, or having health care when you get sick, or being able to retire with security. There’s nothing more fundamental than a good paying job.
That’s why we’re here today – because we need to do what we did in the 1990s and create millions of new jobs and not lose them. We need to do what we did in the 1990s and make sure people’s incomes are going up and not down. We need to do what a guy named Bill Clinton did in the 1990s and put people first again. That’s why I’m running for President of the United States of America.
We’ve tried it their way. It hasn’t worked. And it won’t work now. But let me tell you what will work.
What will work is investing $15 billion a year over the next decade in renewable sources of energy like wind and solar – an investment that will generate five million new jobs that pay well and can’t ever be outsourced. And by the way, we can end our dependence on foreign oil in the process, and nothing will help our economy more than that.
What will work is making an investment in rebuilding our crumbling roads, schools, and bridges. That will mean jobs for two million more Americans.
My opponent supports giving tax breaks to companies that ship jobs overseas. But what will work is giving those tax breaks to companies that create jobs here at home.
My opponent supports tax havens that let companies avoid paying taxes here in America – tax havens that cost $100 billion every year. But what will work is shutting those tax havens and closing corporate loopholes.
What will work is giving tax breaks to the small businesses that are the engine of economic growth in this country, and cutting taxes – hear me now – cutting taxes – for 95 percent of all working families. Under my plan, tax rates will actually be less than they were under Ronald Reagan.
That’s what will work. And that’s the kind of change Joe Biden and I are going to bring to Washington.
Now, let me be perfectly clear. The fact that our economy is in this mess is an outrage. It’s an outrage because we did not get here by accident. This was not a normal part of the business cycle. This did not happen because of a few bad apples.
This financial crisis is a direct result of the greed and irresponsibility that has dominated Washington and Wall Street for years. It’s the result of an economic philosophy that says we should give more and more to those with the most and hope that prosperity trickles down to everyone else; a philosophy that views even the most common-sense regulations as unwise and unnecessary. Well, this crisis is nothing less than a final verdict on this failed philosophy – and it’s a philosophy that will end when I’m President of the United States.
That’s what this election is all about.
Because despite my opponent’s best efforts to make you think otherwise, this is the philosophy he’s embraced during his twenty-six years in Washington. And it shows just how out of touch he really is. How else could he offer $200 billion in tax cuts for big corporations at a time like this? How else could he propose giving the average Fortune 500 CEO a $700,000 tax cut at a time when millions of Americans are struggling to pay their bills? How else could he come up with an economic plan that leaves out more than 100 million middle class taxpayers?
Senator McCain just doesn’t get it. Well, Abington, I do get it. And I think all of you get it too. Read the rest
