Say Anything Blog

Recently during a speech at the Sturgis motorcycle rally McCain told the crowd that he’d rather talk over the roar of 50,000 Harley Davidson motorcycles than the roar of 200,000 Berliners.  Now Obama is quietly (he hasn’t released it to the national media) running a radio ad in Wisconsin (where Harleys are made) criticizing McCain for not requiring that the government buy only American-made motorcycles.

Here’s the audio of the ad.  Here’s a transcript:

(Motors revving)

Announcer: Listen to John McCain speaking to motorcycle enthusiasts in Sturgis, South Dakota, on Tuesday.

McCain: Not long ago a couple of hundred thousand Berliners made a lot of noise for my opponent. I’ll take the roar of 50,000 Harleys any day…

Announcer: But when it comes to his record, American-made motorcycles like Harleys don’t matter to John McCain. Back in Washington, McCain opposed the requirement that the government buy American-made motorcycles. And he said all buy-American provisions were quote “disgraceful.” Surprised? You shouldn’t be. This is the same John McCain who supported billions in tax breaks for companies who ship American jobs overseas.

(More motors revving)

Announcer: It’s time to hear the roar of the strong American economy again—and stop John McCain from shipping our jobs overseas.

Obama: I’m Barack Obama, candidate for president, and I approved this message. Paid for by Obama for America.

Obama’s point is that it would be better for the economy for the government to buy only American-made products.  But is that really true?

Think about it: Why does the government, or anyone for that matter, buy foreign products rather than domestic products?  Typically there are two reasons: Cost and quality.  Often a foreign made product is cheaper than an American made product. Or it’s of better quality.  Or both.

Mandates requiring the purchase of only American-made products remove often cheaper, often better quality alternatives to the nation.

So what Obama’s suggesting is that we create a situation where America’s tax dollars are often spent on products that are more expensive and/or of lower quality than what they could be spent on otherwise.

And we’re supposed to believe that this less efficient, less effective expenditure of tax dollars is good for our economy?

Also, how is Harley Davidson supposed to feel about this?  What Obama is effectively saying is that their product can’t compete with foreign products without mandates.  Which, coincidentally enough, is the same line liberals feed to farmers about subsidies and minorities about affirmative action.