Capping off a boisterous four-day Party Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, President Barack Obama delivered an emotional but pointed speech in which he exhorted Americans to re-elect him for a second term if they wanted “a future where we reduce our deficit without sticking it to the middle class.”
The economic prospects of the U.S.’ ailing, recession-ridden middle class, it turned out, was the focus of not only Mr. Obama’s but also Vice-President Joe Biden’s speech. Both men spared no effort to also slam Republican rivals in the November elections, Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan, for asking “middle-class families to give up their deductions for owning a home or raising their kids just to pay for another millionaire’s tax cut..”
While critics argued that the President could have done more to outline specific policy outcomes that he would hope to achieve during a second term in office, Mr. Obama however took time to elaborate on his greatest successes during the last four years, including the auto bailout that saved companies such as General Motors and the boost to national security from the killing of al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden.
He also laid into what he suggested was Mr. Romney’s weak experience in matters of foreign policy and climate change. “My opponent and his running mate are new to foreign policy but from all that we’ve seen and heard, they want to take us back to an era of blustering and blundering that cost America so dearly.”
As examples Mr. Obama highlighted the suggestion that his rivals had called Russia “our number-one enemy,” adding, “You might not be ready for diplomacy with Beijing if you can’t visit the Olympics without insulting our closest ally.” He said that unlike his opponent, he would not let oil companies write the U.S.’ energy plan, endanger coastlines, or collect another $4 billion in corporate welfare from taxpayers.
Profound line
His most profound line, again focused on urging especially independent and undecided voters to support his campaign, came when he said, “So, you see, the election four years ago wasn’t about me. It was about you. My fellow citizens, you were the change.”
