Transcript of Obama’s Primetime TV Infomercial Program (aired: Wednesday, October 29, 2008) at “Say Cheese”

On Wednesday, October 29, 2008, Senator Barack Obama used his prime-time half-hour paid TV program to make what was effectively a closing argument to a national audience of millions. The 30-minute program, which was broadcast at 8:00pm EDT / 7:00 pm CDT, was the first time in 16 years that a presidential candidate has bought network air, in prime time, for an extended-length campaign commercial. The Obama TV program (a.k.a., “Obama Primetime TV Infomercial”) was shown on NBC, CBS, Fox, Univision, BET and TV One (on 10/29.08).

Here is a rush transcript of Obama’s Primetime TV address, which aired on Wednesday, October 29, 2008.

Obama begins:

For the past 20 months, I’ve traveled the length of this country and Michelle and I have met so many Americans who are looking for real and lasting change that makes a difference in their lives. Their stories are American stories, stories that reflect the state of our union. I’d like to introduce you to some of those people tonight.

I’ll also lay out in specific detail what I’ll do as president to restore the long-term health of our economy and our middle class, and how I’ll make the decisions to get us there.

What struck me most about the stories you’ll see tonight, is not just the challenges these Americans face, but also their resolve to change this country.

Share your digital photos from the campaign trail at photoprez.com.

Story 1: a view of a gasoline pump being used, and the high price at the pump.

Obama: Rebecca Johnston is all about her family.

Johnston: Brian, me, Nathan, Marlie, Ethan, Gabriela, Tulula and Jake (the last two pets).

Johnston lives in North Kansas City, Missouri.

Obama: Ten years ago, she bought a house outside the city so she could send her children to good schools. Now, with rising costs, it’s getting tight. Her husband Brian works at a tire retread plant and needs to stand all day.

Johnston: He has a torn ACL and miniscus that he walks around with every day. He was going to have the surgery in June, but we couldn’t really afford for him to get the disability pay.

Obama: And so they put off the operation, to take care of other things.

Such as food, which is shown. Trying to make ends meet.

Johnston: OK, how much are we bringing in this week? How much is the car payment. When, roughly can we pay this bill.

Obama: All across the country, I’ve met families just like Rebecca’s, getting their kids to school, meeting their mortgage payments, fighting for their families.

Johnston: It just keeps going up and up and up and I can remember a time when I didn’t have to worry about this stuff.

At this point, they cut to an Obama speech, where he says:

We measure the strength of our economy not by the number of billionaires we have or the profits of the Fortune 500, or by whether someone with a good idea can take a risk and start a new business, or whether the waitress who lives on tips can take a day off and look after a sick kid without losing her job.

An economy that honors the dignity of work.

What happened in the financial markets was the final verdict on eight years of failed policies and we’re now going through the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. A few weeks ago, we passed a financial rescue plan. It’s a step in the right direction, and as president, I’ll ensure that you, the taxpayers, are paid back first.

But we also need a rescue plan for the middle class, starting with what we can do right now, that will have an immediate effect. As president, here’s what I’ll do.

* Cut taxes for every working family making less than $200,000 a year.
* Give businesses a tax credit for every new employee that they hire right here in the U.S. and eliminate tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas.
* Help homeowners who are making to pay their mortgages by freezing foreclosures for 90 days
* And just like after 9/11, we’ll provide low-cost loans to help small businesses pay their workers and keep their doors open.

None of that grows government; it grows the economy and keeps people on the job. This is what we can do right now, to restore fairness to the American economy and keeps people on the job.

Fade to a town hall meeting, where an elderly man is speaking.

The company I worked for went broke. Before they went down they used $19 million of the retirement, and when they closed up, I should have gotten about $1500 a month retirement. I only ended up with $379 a month.

Obama: You earned your pension. You earned it. It wasn’t a gift. You gave up wages so that money could be set aside for your retirement. Time and time again what we’re seeing is companies that owe their workers, retirements, pension, shedding those obligations. But when you make a commitment to workers at a company, those aren’t idle promises. Those are promises that should have the force of law.

Elderly man: Thank you.

Ted Strickland, Governor of Ohio said:

Think of this. Barack Obama is going to be a Democrat in the presidency who cuts taxes. But he’s going to cut taxes for the people who really need a tax cut. He’s going to cut taxes for the struggling families, and he’s going to that while holding accountable companies that take advantage of tax breaks in order to send jobs offshore and to other countries.

Other governors spoke as well, Kathleen Sebelius (Kansas), noting that Obama has “Kansas roots,” saying he has a plan (unlike McCain, who has been roundly criticized for his rather panicky moves during the financial crisis), and Deval Patrick (Mass.) who notes that big challenges need big solutions, a problem solver like Obama.

Story 2: A couple entering their silver years. Larry Stewart and his wife Juanita in Sardinia, Ohio.

Juanita: We’ve lived in this home for 10 years.

Larry: A lot of work on this house, I did it myself.

Juanita: We had our home paid for, so we just knew that retirement would be great.

Obama: But with her rheumatoid arthritis and other ailments, the medical bills have been rising.

Juanita: I take 12 different medications per day. When Larry was working, all of that was covered. When he retired, I did not have medical insurance, and each year it just got worse and worse and worse.

Obama: To meet their payments, they’ve had to take a loan on their house, and they’re losing equity.

Juanita: Larry is retired a total of 10 years, but 5 of those years, he had to go back to work. You just wonder, where am I going from here?

This is where Obama brings in his longer-term ideas: health care, energy independence, lost jobs. Stop talking, and start doing, he said.

Obama’s infomercial continued with him talking about clean energy, creating jobs, tax credits for fuel efficient cars, tapping natural gas reserves, clean coal technology, expanding domestic oil production — and conservation, which is what is the best way to reduce our dependence on foreign oil.

Eric Schmidt, CEO, Google:

When I read his economic plan, and I saw the people endorsing it, and all the new ideas, Warren Buffett and others, I thought, this is the right plan for America.

Tim Kaine, Governor of Virginia:

Barack has looked at the small business side of the American economy, and says look, that’s where most innovation and entrepreneurship is, let’s give them the rocket fuel to really accelerate, rather than giving tax cuts to the Exxon-Mobils or big oil companies that need not one ounce of help from government to be very, very successful.

Obama then said who he’s worried about: not CEOs or the rich corpations, but the middle class:

I’m worried about the couple that’s trying to figure out how they’re going to retire. I’m worried about the family that’s trying to figure out how they can save for their child’s college education. I’m worried about the single mom that doesn’t have health insurance. I’m worried about guy who’s worked in a plant for 20 years and suddenly sees his job shipped overseas. That’s who I’m worried about. That’s who I’m going to be fighting for and thinking about every single day that I’m in the White House.

Story 3: A widow with two children and a mortgage. Juliana Sanchez, Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Sanchez: I work at a school for at risk kids. At lot of the families here go through extreme financial hardships.

Obama: At the end of the school day, her work is only half done. She works a health care company, taking care of Shelley, a 7 year old with special needs.

Sanchez: Most of us that are educators, we all have second jobs. Financially the pressure is just to keep your head above water, so that you don’t feel like you are drowning all the time. Health care, food, electric, gas, it takes out so much out of my paycheck. People buy a gallon of milk, and you’re like going, OK is it a gallon or a half gallon. What can I afford? You feel like you can’t breathe even though you need to breathe.
Fade to an Obama speech where he stresses real family values, working with your kids.

Now is not the time for small plans. Now is the time to meet our moral obligation, to provide every child a world-class education. I’ll invest in early childhood education. I’ll recruit an army of new teachers and pay them higher salaries and give them more support. And in exchange I’ll ask for higher standards and more accountability.

He outlined his education plan, including a tax credit for their tuition if they volunteered in their community or for their country.

He then talked about Healthcare.

Speaking of his mother, Obama said:

I know what it’s like to see a loved one suffer, not just because they’re sick, but because of a broken health care system. And it’s wrong.

Speaking of family values, they showed Obama and his family, how he read Harry Potter to his daughter and how he calls them every night.

Obama wants to unite America:

There is not a liberal America and a conservative America. There’s the United States of America.

Other legislators, like Joe Biden and Claire McKaskill then spoke of how much change he’s already made in the Senate.

Story 4: Louisville, KY, a 3rd gen Ford employee. Mark Dowd and his wife Melinda.

Obama: Recently the plant cut back Mark’s work to every other week, and they’re struggling to make ends meet. In July, Melinda was laid off after 8 years on the job.

Mark: If the plant shut down in Louisville, it would just be devastating. I felt like we’re all in the same boat. We’ve all got to pull together, and if we don’t, we’re gonna lose America as we’ve once known it.

Obama then spoke of his foreign policy.
As commander-in-chief, I will never hesitate to protect our country. As president, I’ll rebuild our military to meet 21st century challenges. I’ll renew the tough, direct diplomacy that can prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, and curb Russian aggression, and I’ll refocus our efforts on finishing the fight against Al-Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan. But I’ll also never forget that when I send our armed forces into battle, I’m sending sons and daughters and fathers and mothers.

John Adams, Brig. Gen. US Army (ret.):

As a retired General officer from the US Army, it makes a difference to me how a potential commander-in-chief thinks about war and peace. That’s what we’re looking for in a president, somebody that understands the stakes and has the courage and the judgment to approach them, rationally (let’s not forget McCain’s famous temper) and with a sense of duty to the Constitution and the people of the United States, and that’s why I think he’s going to be a good president.

Obama:

I’m reminded every single day, that I am not a perfect man. I will not be a perfect president. But I can promise you this, I will always tell you what I think and where I stand; I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you when we disagree, and most importantly I will open the doors of government and ask you to be involved in your democracy again.

H/T to Belle!