Originally published December 6, 2011 at 11:50 a.m., updated December 6, 2011 at 4:09 p.m.
OSAWATOMIE, Kan. - President Obama brought a message of economic populism here Tuesday, delivering a speech that was well-received by an audience who endured bone-cold conditions to get in.
Obama, invoking Teddy Roosevelt, called for fair economic policies. The president reiterated that the wealthiest Americans should pay their “fair share” and that this involved raising tax rates on the richest.
Video
Highlights from President Obama's speech in Osawatomie
He also had tough words for Republicans about efforts to obstruct the mission of the Consumer Financial Protection Agency, which was created last year when Congress passed a financial reform bill.
“I want you to hear me Kansas; I will veto any effort to delay, defund or dismantle the new rules we put in place,” Obama said.
At times, Obama’s language was similar to the vocabulary of the Occupy Movement. With a row of American and Kansas flags behind him and a crowded high school gymnasium in front of him, the president framed fairness in the context of the wealthiest one percent of Americans, citing statistics that show a typical CEO now earns 110 times the wages of a typical worker.
“Inequality also distorts our democracy,” Obama said. “It runs the risk of selling out our democracy to the highest bidder.”
At its very worst, inequality creates a future where children born into poverty are less capable of climbing into the middle class, Obama said, but that a different vision of the future was possible.
“The world is shifting to an innovation economy and no one does innovation better than America,” Obama said.
The president emphasized the importance of education, noting that the unemployment rate for college graduates is about half the national average.
“We should be a country where everyone has a chance to go and doesn’t rack up $100,000 of debt,” Obama said, in a line that drew a standing ovation.
Along with education, research and investment in infrastructure is important to creating a better America, Obama said.
The speech, which lasted a little under an hour, was well-attended, with hundreds packing into the Osawatomie High School gym. Dozens of television cameras peppered the back of the gym, and journalists stood along the right side, notebooks and cameras in hand.
The audience, appearing comprised primarily of supporters, gave the president several standing ovations and numerous applause lines. Obama was not heckled during the speech.
Several University students were also in attendance. Chris Weber, a senior from Princeton, Kan., came to Osawatomie on Sunday for tickets before coming back Tuesday for the speech. He was not disappointed.
“He had a lot of good stuff to say, there were a few jabs at the Republicans though; it was good,” Weber said.
Matt Visser, a junior from Leavenworth, came with Weber. Visser, who held notes that he took during the speech, said that he expected to hear about broad policies that Obama could put into place, but that he really enjoyed the president’s message of fair play.
Visser is a supporter of Obama, but had not volunteered for the campaign.
“I probably will this coming year, though," he said.
From Earlier:
OSAWATOMIE — The sleepy streets of Osawatomie awoke Tuesday to a flurry of American flags and excitement.
People and press gather in the gym of Osawatomie High School in preparation of President Barack Obama's 1 p.m. speech. The president is expected to speak about the economy.
Ticket holders began standing in line at 5 a.m. to ensure a good spot to watch President Barack Obama’s speech.
As of 10:30 a.m., a line of at least 200 stretched outside Osawatomie High School. Inside, a large press contingent set up in the school’s gym, where a stage was lined with alternating American and Kansas flags.
The speech, which is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m., is expected to focus on the economy. Historians expect Obama to channel President Theodore Roosevelt’s New Nationalism speech, made in Osawatomie more than 100 years ago.
“We’re at a juncture in America,” Osawatomie historian Grady Atwater said. “The economy is at a point where there needs to be change and the President is speaking on that.”
Roosevelt’s speech touched on a number of progressive policies that are still debated today, including the influence of corporate money in politics and income inequality.
The visit will be the first time a sitting president has come to Kansas in five years when President Bush toured Topeka in 2006.
— Reporting contributed by Clayton Ashley, Adam Strunk
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Comments
Obama delivers speech in Osawatomie
Yep--just another CAREER politician flapping the lips..
Electric auto CAN be under 20k..can run 300+ before charge.can be charged by house current...EV1.ORG... They all lie to us..
Obama delivers speech in Osawatomie
Our president is the truth. He is fighting for ALL of us while the GOP congress fights for the super rich and obstructs our president thus America. If some folks want to remain willfully ignorant that is their business. As far as myself... I read, I educate myself, I do not listen to DC beltway media far left or far right corp news. Some folks should do the same.
Obama delivers speech in Osawatomie
Was he in Kansas yesterday or Texas? Do you know? Does he know which of the 57 states he was in?
I guess you have to be in Obama's league to run up 100,000 dollars of debt getting an education. Can anyone at KU say that it cost them 100,000 dollars to get their undergrad degree? I say KU and Obama says Princeton, Georgetown, or Harvard. We are just not worthy I guess.
Would someone tell the constitutional scholar that we do not live in a democracy, this is a representative republic.
Question for anyone; what is the definition of "fairness"?
Lincoln is given credit for saying you can fool some of the people all of the time and all of the people some of the time. Obama is proof that some people (55%) can be fooled all of the time.
How is Obama fighting for us? Who is us anyway? The people who create jobs or the people who need a job? The people who serve their country or the people who live off their country? The people carrying their own weight (and many others) or the people who are being carried?
Obama fights for unions but I am not in a union like 80% of the country. Obama fights for his cronies but I am not one of his cronies. Obama fights for special interests like radical environmentalists but I am an active environmentalist and not an environmental activist. Obama fights to be a citizen of the world but I am an American.
You have to laugh at ksha1; "I educate myself" but I do not listen to opposing view points. What a card.
ksha1; most the super rich in Congress are in the democratic party. So goes the list of the richest Americans; Gates, Buffet, the late Jobs, Soros, etc. Please get educated next time.
Obama delivers speech in Osawatomie
"Obama fights for special interests like radical environmentalists." Source?
"Obama fights to be a citizen of the world(,) but I am an American." America is no longer part of the world?
"Would some tell the constitutional scholar that we do not live in a democracy, this is a representative republic." Democratic republic, actually; representative republic is kinda Department of Redundancy Department.
"Question for anyone(:) what is the definition of 'fairness'?" Corporations not being considered equivalent to people would be a start; this country is designed to serve the welfare of the public, not the corporate sphere. And yes, that means not bailing out companies, not without breaking them up, anyway. But there are worse things to do than keep unemployment from ballooning to 20% by failing to bail out anyone.
"Obama is proof that some people (55%) can be fooled all of the time." Source?
"Does he know which of the 57 states he was in?" Now you're just being a "card."
Obama delivers speech in Osawatomie
The EPA: 900 new regulations most without merit. The Keystone XL pipeline. BP oil spill and the loss of thousands of jobs in the Gulf of Mexico,
Oh before I forget; most of us know that politicians lie and that Obama will say anything to be loved and reelected but here is one serious lie. Obama said that in 1910 the extremely rich only paid a measley 1% in tax. The federal income tax was ratified in 1913 and the top tax rate was 1% on only the top earners in the country. So there was no federal income tax in 1910 (a lie), the top rate was 1% for everyone involved (a half lie), and only the top 10-15% paid this tax in 1913.
So you agree that this is not a democracy and Obama (the constitutional scholar) was wrong. The rest is semantics.
That is hardly a definition of fair. Yours is a political definition of questionable value. A real definition would be all encompassing and without serious question. I like the way you said that companies shouldn't be bailed out but then they should be bailed out to prevent high unemployment. Two diametrically opposite thoughts at the same time. See what Ann Coulter said about the mob and the ability to have to two diametrically opposing thoughts.
My bad, rounding error. The popular vote for Obama was 53% so there are your "some people".
Hey, the president of the United States said there were 57 states "plus Alaska and Hawaii". I can't make this up. A real American won't have made that mistake. Except of course Raquel Welch thought she had visited 52 states and a few other celebutards have said similar things. No wonder that show "Are you smarter than a 3rd Grader" is some popular. The Hollywood people must be sitting around trying to guess the answers.
Obama delivers speech in Osawatomie
Calvin. I like your comments. We should go on date sometime. jhammons@ku.edu
Let me show you the world.
Obama delivers speech in Osawatomie
Tell me that you're asian, petite with long black hair and FEMALE.
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