Wednesday, March 18, 2015

President Obama in Cleveland to deliver major address at City Club on middle class economics

The marvels of communication are on display at Cleveland Convention Center this afternoon where anticipation is building for President Obama's speech to a City Club audience. 

The program is expected to start about 3pm with the President likely to begin his talk shortly thereafter. He is expected to focus on middle class economics at the sold out event.

The President's remarks will be streamed live at www.whitehouse.gov/live .

Air Force One touched down at Cleveland Hopkins Airport shortly after one o'clock this afternoon. Obama stepped from the plane about 1:10 p.m. with Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown (D), and Reps. Marcia Fudge (D-Warrensville Heights) and Marcy Kaptur (D-Toledo) following behind. All three lawmakers traveled on AF1 to Cleveland from Washington.

The President is scheduled to stop at Cleveland MAGNET [Manufacturing Advocacy and Growth Network] near Cleveland State University's MAGNET Center before heading to the Convention Center.

Moulthrop has announced, in keeping with club tradition, that the President will take unscripted questions from the audience for the second half of the program.

Attendance at this ticketed event is limited to City Club members and guests [one each]. The club saw its membership spike by 100 new members as soon as the arrangements for today's event were announced.

Members of the press are everywhere, cable is strewn all around, mobile studios are outside. Every convenience has been put in place to make sure the media can broadcast, transcribe, blog and tweet the President's remarks instantanously.  

Stevie Wonder is rendering "Higher Ground" on the audio system. Feels almost like a party to this newbie on the global reporting scene.

Walking over here from Euclid I passed a torn up Public Square, in the demolition phase of its $32 million configuration slated for completion before the elephants arrive next summer [Republican Convention].

The Central Division leading Cavaliers play the Brooklyn Nets tonight at the Q and the Cleveland International Film Fest starts today. Sometimes Cleveland feels like a big city.

Hey! Just saw Rep. Kantur being greeted by PNC bigwigs Paul Clark and Michael Taylor, so it's clear the program will begin shortly.

Hmmm, how would this scene be different if the President was coming to talk about the forgotten Americans? 

Times have sure changed as the "War on Poverty" has long since been supplanted by the "War on the Middle Class". Care to guess who's winning?