John Kerry Addresses American Competitiveness

[kerrygoddess]

John Kerry Addresses American Competitiveness
September 26th, 2005

BOSTON — In remarks today to business leaders at the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, Senator John Kerry addressed America’s ability to compete in the global economy. In his remarks, Senator Kerry emphasized that the current approach is only making the U.S. more beholden to countries like China and Saudi Arabia without giving American businesses any advantage in the global race to success. Kerry laid out a national strategy that offers Americans building blocks — skills in science and math, affordable college education and a national research and development strategy — while removing road blocks to competitiveness like soaring energy and high health care costs.

Senator Kerry’s remarks as prepared for delivery follow:

In the last weeks America has experienced the consequences of the failure to heed warning signs of impending or potential disaster. The nation has been painfully reminded of the price we pay - all of us - in lives and in dollars - for waiting too long to address critical challenges that are right before our eyes if we bother to look.

Sometimes these warning signs are so big and bright and alarming that they just can’t be ignored. I’ll never forget as a teenager standing in a field in October of 1957 watching the first man made spacecraft streak across the night sky. The conquest, of course, was Soviet - and while not everyone got to see that unmanned craft pass overhead at 18,000 miles per hour that night - before long every American knew the name Sputnik. We knew we weren’t competing hard enough. We knew we had been caught unprepared. And we knew that failure to maintain our supremacy in science and technology was not simply a blow to our pride and prosperity; it was a blow to our strength and security as a nation in a dangerous world.

MORE - http://blog.thedemocraticdaily.com/?p=688

[Mass]

1. AP report describing the speech and the Q& A session afterwards.

Here is the link to the AP report. There was a Q& A session afterwards,

http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050926/APN/509260911&cachetime=3&template=dateline

Hurricane Katrina exposed the nation's lack of preparation for a natural disaster, Sen. John Kerry said Monday, and the 2004 Democratic presidential nominee is worried the United States is similarly unprepared for global competition with the likes of India or China.

...

Why are we doing things that don’t make sense?” the Massachusetts senator asked. “Politics? Ideology? Favoritism? Special interests?”

Kerry said Katrina laid bare “a pattern of willful negligence” by the Bush administration and its aftermath laid bare “the philosopher’s stone, the alpha and omega of American Republican politics, the answer to every question: never stop cutting taxes on the wealthiest individuals and the most powerful corporations, come hell or high w
...

He said Monday he is preparing another speech laying out a timetable for Iraqis to regain control of their country
….
In response to questions from an audience of about 500, Kerry said the nation can only afford to pay for the Iraqi war as well as the cleanup of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita if it forgoes tax cuts the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans are slated to receive next year and also considers a windfall tax on recent oil profits.

“I think you’ve got to take some in order to put it against the needs of the country right now,” the senator said of the windfall-tax proposal.

He also called on Harvard and MIT to spend some of their endowments to support U.S.-born math and science students.

“They’re doing some; I’m not suggesting they’re not,” Kerry said. “But I think we have to up it.”

Too bad there is no video or audio of the speech. This would allow us to know what he actually said. Sometimes, Kerry adds some things that are great spontaneously when he speaks.

[whometense]

2. They just showed a clip

on NECN, and talked about him afterwards. I caught only his last few words, but the reporter was saying Kerry was speaking with a lot of passion, and that he reminded her of - ACK - Howard Dean in 2003.

[karynnj]

3. Did you feel that was meant in a good or bad way?

Dean scream vs the idealistic version of Dean as the one to give the power back to the people. If the reporter thinks he's speaking with lots of passion maybe they can compare him to that guy back in 1971. Dean 2003 is when Dean got good press.

[whometense]

4. I think it was meant

in a good way. It wasn't snarky - she was searching for a way to describe his tone.

[TayTay]

5. Found the video

It was generally very positive. http://www.boston.com/news/necn/
Scroll down until you see the line: Kerry: Nation needs to keep up with China, India

I agree Whome, it was meant in a more positive way. The Den reference was not a knock, it was comparative and it favored the Senator's speech-making in Sept. I liked the report.

[karynnj]

6. Thanks for the link

It does sound pretty positive. It also sounded like at the end she was say he didn't go as far out as Dean. He sounded good - and he's spelling out real problems.

[Mass]

7. Thanks for posting that.

I have been watching the local news, but have not seen anything. I am always amazed at how they do not report political events happening in their town.