Barack Obama: We Can't Afford The Bush-McCain Economy

This was awesome -- Barack Obama tying John McCain and George Bush together on economic issues and framing the election as a choice between a new direction and the Bush-McCain status quo. The best part of this is that he hit a populist note, but it didn't feel forced. This was authentic Barack Obama, hitting on the issues the Americans care about most.

This is exactly what I've been looking forward to seeing. Here's the video, from a town hall event on the economy in Springfield, Missouri:

YouTube link

Here's my transcript of the key passage:

So we've got a choice in this election. We can either choose a new direction, or we can keep on doing the same things we’ve been doing. Now my opponent, John McCain, thinks that we’re basically on the right track. [Boos from audience.] He does. He’s said our economy has made great progress in the last eight years. [Laughter.] He’s embraced the Bush economic policies and promises to continue them. Same policies as George Bush -- he wants to continue the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy, and he wants to put another $300 billion in tax cuts on the table for corporations. [Audience member yells: "why not small businesses?"] Well, why not small busineses? Because he thinks it's okay the way things are going right now. Let me tell you, we can't afford to keep on doing more of the same and that's why I'm running for President of the United States of America. [Standing ovation.]

Update (4:40PM): The Obama campaign has posted the full video here. I am in the process of a posting a larger segment, including Barack Obama's hilarious Wild Bill Hickok story.

Update 2 (6:20PM): I have now posted a new version of the video in this post. (It's a bit longer and includes the Wild Bill Hickok story.) If for some reason you want to watch the original video, you can find it here.

Original here