President Obama Cannon Falls Town Hall

President Obama made it clear during his Town Hall that he has no problem with the term "Obamacare." The President said the word is fine with him because he DOES CARE!

Beautiful background scenery of trees and a lake made for a great place for President Obama to address Minnesotans at Lower Hannah's Bend Park located in Cannon Falls. Although a bit of technical difficulty caused C-SPAN to lose its broadcasting for a couple of minutes or so as the President was thanking the Governor and a few other notables; transmission resumed as the President began talking about how to handle difficulties when tough choices are necessary to move the country forward.

President Obama spoke about brinkmanship and why it is necessary to break out of this type of behavioral pattern in order to move the country forward. He noted that we ended up creating more uncertainty to an already weak economy during the debt ceiling debate because of this type of adverse behavior. The President said our representatives need to show the same amount of respect regarding their responsibilities as the American people show regarding
theirs. Our biggest challenge right now, said the President, is putting people to work  and growing the economy.

President Obama said that he added over 2 million jobs to the market over the last 17 months. He also mentioned some of the things we can do right now to add more jobs more quickly; and then noted some specifics just as he has been doing as of late. The President said that he has been pushing these plans for several months now.

Noting that no one has been hit harder than construction workers, the President said we should be rebuilding roads, schools, and committing to other infrastructure types of projects that could put hundreds of thousands of people back to work right now. He talked about veterans and the skills and abilities they possess when leaving the service; and how we should be using their skills when they come back home adding that Congress can move to put these returning vets to work right now. We don't mind Hyundais and Kias but we want made in America cars and Congress can implement plans for this right now; added the President noting that we do not have a shortage of ideas on how to put people to work right now but that Congress needs to put political games aside and take action.

The President also talked about finding ways to make government live within its means such as getting rid of programs that don't work by not funding them anymore and by eliminating areas of government that hamper progress by implementing too much red tape.  We can cut approximately three trillion dollars over the next 10 years if everyone does their part, noted the President. This includes taking on high costs of health care in addition to millionaires, billionaires, and big corporations doing their part. The President mentioned that Warren Buffet pays about 7% of his income in taxes which is lower than his secretary pays. The President also reminded his listeners that getting the economy going again is not that complicated if we invest in education, our infrastructure, and other means of this type that put people back to work.

President Obama said the American people must send a message to Washington that it is time for the games to stop and it is time to put country first. He said that he was in Minnesota to enlist the people in a fight; not just to enjoy the beautiful weather. Then, the President took questions from the audience.

My Take:  I like that the President said he has no problem with the term "Obamacare" because he does care!

I also like that the President said he was in Minnesota to enlist the people in a fight; not just to enjoy the beautiful weather.

Also, I think President Obama was a bit more direct with his push for Congress to implement his jobs plans. Although the push for explaining his plans has been forthcoming as of late, however, I would like to know more about these ideas. At one time, I thought the plans were actual bills. If they are bills, I would like for President Obama to call them bills.

In addition to this, I would like it if President Obama pointed out specific structures that need rehabilitating as he travels from one state to the next during his reelection campaign. Chris Matthews, for Hardball on MSNBC, says the President should utilize some sort of displays that point out structures that could use improvement. I totally agree with this idea. Utilizing props and speaking directly about particular projects, especially projects located in Republican neighborhoods, would be a great tool for forcing the GOP to move the President's plans [or bills] through the House because he would make it more clear to the people how the Republican Congress is NOT doing its job! Without the Congress pushing bills through that will produce jobs, the President's hands are virtually tied!