Democrats Hope for Future; Republicans Trickle On It

The most fundamental difference in how Democrats and Republicans view middle class Americans revealed itself inadvertently in speeches during the second night of the convention in Denver.

The keynote speaker, former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner, started it, and Sen. Hillary Clinton, kept it up - that talk of the future. Future this, future that.

"This race is all about the future," Warner said.

"This is a fight for the future," Clinton said.

Then they spoke of how they believe middle class Americans are capable of making that future great, of meeting any challenge, in science, in commerce, in battle.

"We need leaders once again who can tap into that special blend of American confidence and optimism that has enabled generations before us to meet our toughest challenges, leaders who can help us show ourselves and the world that, with our ingenuity, creativity and innovative spirit, there are no limits to what is possible in America," Clinton told a roaring crowd.

This stands in stark contrast with the Republican view of the middle class as extolled by their beloved Ronald Reagan and embraced by the party since, including presumptive Republican nominee John McCain who refers to Reagan with a certain slathering hero worship. Under Royal Reagan economic policy, government assists Republicans in amassing fortunes.

And, theoretically, any leftovers trickle down on the middle class. In other words, the middle class is something to be trickled on.

Since the Reagan administration, the rich did, in fact, get richer in this country, but trickle down hasn't worked so well for the middle class. Especially in the past eight years. Between 2000 and 2007, median income for working age households fell $2,176. During the Bush Administration, an additional 7.2 million Americans became uninsured. Unemployment, inflation and foreclosures are all rising at alarming rates.

Yet, John McCain, a man whose wealth is estimated at $100 million, had this to say in April about economic progress since Bush took office: "I think if you look at the overall record and millions of jobs have been created... you can make an argument that there's been great progress economically over that period of time." McCain also contended that a lot of economic problems were "psychological" and that the "fundamentals of this economy are strong."

That view of the middle class illustrates disdain. And maybe that's because it comes from people who never lived a middle class life - think Bush - never wanted to - think McCain - and never sympathized or even empathized with it.

That is certainly not true of the Democrats running for president. The vice presidential nominee, Sen. Joe Biden, came from a working class family and remains one of the poorest members of the Senate. And Sen. Barack Obama was raised by a single mother who, at times, was forced to rely on food stamps.

They know what it is to struggle. They know what it is to overcome. As a result, they believe we all can do it.

And that is what Clinton and Warner were talking about - that basic belief in the power of the middle class to seize the future - if given true opportunity and inspiration by their leaders in government.

The Democrats chose Warner, who founded a high-tech firm, the company that would become Nextel, before entering politics, to be their keynote speaker. The party whose candidate announced his vice president by text message went with someone who spent his career looking forward.

Both Warner and Clinton said resolving the difficult problems left behind by the Bush administration won't be easy. "Progress never is," Clinton said.

But, she warned, progress won't be made by trying to use the same tired old fixes, like off shore drilling, to solve our problems. That's a McSame solution, she said.

It is nothing but a reach back to the past from a 71-year old politician who admits he never bothered to learn how to use the internet: McCain.

The promise of Obama is a future that contains both renewable energy and the green jobs that it creates, Clinton pointed out. Those are jobs that struggling middle class families could use in these tough economic times. Democrats understand that.

The difference between Obama and McCain is the difference between hope for the future and continuing to be trickled on.

For more Huffington Post coverage of the Democratic National Convention, visit our Politics @ the DNC page, our Democratic Convention Big News Page, and our HuffPost bloggers' Twitter feed, live from Denver.

Comments

[easarsfield]

The majority of Americans are middle class. We struggle with the same issues, regardless of race, gender, place of residence, etc. We worry about how rising fuel costs are effecting our lives, affordable health insurance, college tuition, etc etc. We need a president that is sympathetic to that struggle.
John McCain is out of touch on so many levels; far too many to list.
This is a man that has had cancer four times, yet supports a health insurance plan that would create unimaginable problems for cancer survivors. I cringe when I see him standing on stage alongside Lance Armstrong, because John McCain doesn't know what it's like to be forced to turn down your dream job because it doesn't offer insurance to employees. As a cancer survivor, the only way I can get insurance is through an employer. Funny that McCain wants to punish employers that offer insurance to their employees. I'm sure he would be all up in arms if HIS EMPLOYER (ie the taxpayers) decided to quit paying for his!
And for the members of the population that want to vote for a pro-life canidate - how can you call a canidate pro-life when he supports policies that continue to line the pockets of the rich at the expense of the middle class' quality of LIFE?
If McCain is elected President, members of the middle class will continue to slide into poverty. We need to stop this unnecessory hemorraging immediately, before it creates even larger problems.

[maxwellinformed]

It has been easier to understand McSame's thought process once he admitted that he believes middle class starts at about 5 million dollars. Easier to understand when you understand how difficult it is to decide which kitchen table you want to eat at tonight. Easier to understand, once you realize that Cindy handles all of the finances in the McCain family. Maybe Cindy can handle America's finances too?

[maxwellinformed]

It has been easier to understand McSame's thought process once he admitted that he believes middle class starts at about 5 million dollars. Easier to understand when you understand how difficult it is to decide which kitchen table you want to eat at tonight. Easier to understand, once you realize that Cindy handles all of the finances in the McCain family. Maybe Cindy can handle America's finances too.

[BrighterStar]

I thought Democrats viewed the middle class as victims who cannot survive without the benevolent aid of the federal government.

[billkarwin]

That's a fallacy. You're only posting a comment like that to troll for a reaction. Get real.

The Democratic Party understands that when the middle class is strong, the economy is strong, and the country is strong. Every time the U.S. has economic health and growth, the middle class has led the way. Not through handouts -- but by government policies that enable more Americans to make ends meet through their own hard work.