On Monday, Senator Barack Obama and Senator Hillary Clinton came to Pittsburgh for substantive dialogue about their trade policies and, particularly, how they plan to address China's unfair trade practices. The Alliance for American Manufacturing, a labor-management, non-partisan partnership, hosted the forum and rightly put the candidates on the spot about their plans to get tough on trade.
In the aftermath of the AAM forum on Monday, scores of media reports in the mainstream press and the blogosphere, as well as a new television ad by Senator Obama, focused on a few jeers that Senator Clinton received at the event for her response to the well-publicized "bitter" remarks Obama previously made. As the convener of that forum, I'm disappointed that this exchange has been blown far out of proportion. But I'm not surprised.
It's much easier for the media and the blogosphere to comment on the inevitable back-and-forth, which amounted to a mere fraction of the time that both candidates spent with us, than to focus on the substance. For those media elites and bloggers who do not understand the economic challenges facing every day people, and who may be too uninterested or too lazy to actually do some research and real reporting, the back-and-forth became the story.
Few in the media or blogosphere have bothered to report that both candidates received lengthy standing ovations for their remarks on international trade and the economy, and that both candidates were frequently interrupted with applause. (The Obama ad didn't mention that aspect, either.)
The fact that both candidates outlined detailed agendas on how to get the manufacturing economy back on track and reform the country's flawed trade policies also received scant attention. The important news for Pennsylvanians on Monday was that both candidates committed to a new direction on trade -- one that won't allow countries like China to cheat, and one that won't encourage further outsourcing of manufacturing jobs.
In Pittsburgh we had an audience of blue collar workers, white collar workers, CEOs, retirees, Democrats, Republicans, and Independents. We expected about 1,000 to attend when we finalized the event about ten days ago. We were blown away on Monday morning --1,600 manufacturing workers, managers, and retirees came through our doors. Of those 1,600, maybe 50 or so offered a few jeers. The overwhelming majority offered positive responses to both Senator Clinton and Senator Obama.
Our audience came to the forum to learn more about what the candidates would do to grow manufacturing, crack down on China's unfair trade practices, and reform our own trade policies to benefit more Americans. And they came away from the forum pleased they had that opportunity. It's a real shame that the media and the blogosphere didn't give more people that opportunity through responsible coverage of the event. As for the Obama ad, I'm convinced that more people would respond to his plan to crack down on China's cheating, but then again, I'm an idealist, not a political consultant.