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Will Obama's promises hold up?
Sen. Barack Obama's acceptance speech Thursday night was a good indication of just what the Republicans and John McCain are up against. Most viewers knew when he spoke at the 2004 Democratic National Convention that he would be a force to be reckoned with in the years to come.
We won't pretend to offer a learned political analysis of Obama's speech, but it was interesting to go through a printed version with a highlighter to mark the candidate's specific promises.
Obama called for government to "provide every child a decent education, keep our water clean and our toys safe, invest in new schools and new roads and new science and technology."
Anyone who paid their property taxes or their water bill or gasoline bill this month knows that it's not government that provides education or clean water or roads, it's taxpayers and consumers.
While we agree with the senator's statement that America believes that "I am my brother's keeper; I am my sister's keeper," we don't agree with the assumption that government is always the best vehicle for putting that belief into action.
Obama calls for cutting tax breaks to businesses that "ship jobs overseas and giving them to companies that create good jobs right here in America." He doesn't say, however, how that will help the companies provide the profits they need to stay in business and provide the dividends and value that make workers' 401K's and retirement investments worthwhile.
We laud Obama's vow to "set a clear goal as President: in 10 years, we will finally end our dependence on oil from the Middle East." While we should do that, how does he propose to ease the financial pain for low-income workers who already can't afford the price of gasoline, let alone investing in new, efficient vehicles?
He also needs to explain how he'll make it possible for auto companies to overcome high labor prices to build new fuel-efficient cars in America while at the same time making it "easier for American people to afford these new cars." How does he propose to make it possible for American cars to compete with those produced by cheap labor over seas, in places like China, for instance?
While investing "150 billion dollars over the next decade in affordable, renewable sources of energy -- wind power and solar power and the next generation of biofuels; an investment that will lead to new industries and five million new jobs that pay well and can't ever be outsourced," is a great idea, where is the investment going to come from?
The same for investing in early childhood education, and "an army of new teachers" paid higher salaries and with "higher standards and more accountability."
Most of that property tax bill many of us paid this week already goes to education; and challenging teaching contracts will be difficult for a party that traditionally finds much of its support in teachers' unions.
How does he propose to pay for the promise of a college education in exchange for national or military service?
How does he propose to lower everyone's health care premiums, as well as providing "the same kind of coverage that members of Congress give themselves" to those who don't have coverage?
While he promises to "go through the federal budget, line by line eliminating programs that no longer work and making the ones we do need work better and cost less," to pay for his proposals, that process would take decades, not the four or eight years he may have to accomplish it.
And, doing it responsibly in regard to the federal deficit, while still easing taxes? Good luck.
Yes, Obama is an inspiring speaker, and the ability to inspire should not be underestimated. But like all candidates, he made many promises that, in the harsh light of reality, will be difficult or impossible to achieve.