President Obama's Florida town hall meeting

By GottaLaff

I shall try once again to take my patented, internationally acclaimed, award-winning quick notes. I guarantee nothing.

Please refresh to see frequent updates. This is an open thread. Say whatever you want, because we're liberal like that.

Charlie "I'm Married! To a Woman!" Crist is up there with our president. He's very tan... Crist, I'm referring to Crist. He wants to rise above partisan politics.

Prez O is up.

He's giving a special thanks to Governor Crist. Great segue into the economic crisis, saying it's the governors (and mayors) who get what it's all about. "It's a mission that transcends parties."

He's describing the jump in unemployment in Elkhart, Indiana (yersterday's town hall meeting location). And he's comparing Ft. Myers' rate that jumped also. 12,000 jobs lost in the past year in Fr. Myers.

"I will not forget" my promises that I made to Florida while campaigning. "We must act immediately... We cannot afford to wait. I believe in hope, but I also believe in action."

He's talking about the old ways not working, we've tried them... Tim Geithner addressed the challenges this morning. We have to help homeowners, not just banks.

Change has to start from the bottom up. We have to put people back to work, too. Our plan: We put people back to work doing the work that America needs done.

Extend unemployment benefits. If you don't have money, you can't spend it. So, the plan includes tax relief. Plus a tax credit for students. ... Direct investments in health care, infrastructure. 90% of jobs created will be in the private sector... that will give us a lasting economic boom... jobs in clean energy.. reduce our dependence on foreign oil... jobs that will help our schools... computerizing our health care system... jobs constructing broadband lines that connect to schools... jobs rebuilding roads, bridges, dams, levees, so we don't face another Katrina...

There are critics... always critics... who say we can't afford this. But we've neglected them for too long. Our health care still costs too much, our schools still fail our children... We cannot afford NOT to take on these tasks.

I won't tell you this plan is perfect; I mean it was produced in Washington... But doing nothing is not an option. You didn't send me to Washington to do nothing [standing O for this line] We've had a good debate, but the time for talk is over.

Even with this plan, our economy will be measured in years, not weeks or months. [Someone yelled out, "You had 8"... I think... which got a huge reaction and a laugh from Prez O... I got a phone call during this] You've done your part, it's time Washington did it's part, too.

Q and A:
Q: (works in state college) How much is in plan for higher education?
A: We put a huge emphasis on education. There is a tax credit to help students go to college/afford it. Also, money for school construction includes colleges and public universities. That would improve the facilities, but also will upgrade, over time, the skills of the work force. Including training... This is how to use a crisis and turn it into an opportunity.

Q: Loss of equity in property... how do you change that?
A: Geithner announced a lot about our restructuring plan. No more huge bonuses for companies. We have to provide direct relief for homeowners. I'll be announcing what our overall housing strategy will be, in the next couple of weeks. For some the mortgage is worth more than the value of the home... they still make payments, but it's harder to do. So we need to design a system where the banks see it's in their interest not to foreclose. Both sides need to give a little bit to avert foreclosure.

Q: What's your priority with health care reform?
A: Health care is the biggest component of our economy, and when it's broken, it affects everything. Premiums have doubled. People are losing their health care along with their jobs. We will subsidize people with health care even if they lose their jobs. [Breaking news about recovery plan passing in the Senate made me lose one point of his health care plan... apologies] Convert to electronic data system. Emphasize prevention, make sure people get regular check-ups. We passed SCHIP.

Q: Other than unemployment insurance, we have no other government assistance. Can government assistance like this become automatic, in addition to unemployment insurance?
A: Unemployment insurance is not ideal. But we are bumping up unemployment insurance, many will get an extra $100 a month.. that's not a lot, but it's one more bill you can pay. But we can't bump it up drastically... so we must concentrate on job creation. One other point: The recovery package is just one leg in the stool. We have to deal with foreclosure crisis.

Plus, get banks/financial institutions to lend again, which is what Geithner talked about today. We need a clear, transparent credit process... it will take time. The banks borrowed a lot of money, risked it on bad investments, and unwinding that will take time. It's frustrating for taxpayers... seeing guys make millions, and we have to clean up the mess. It makes you mad. But credit is the life blood of our economy, like it or not. If you can't borrow for a car loan, then cars don't move out of the dealership... then Detroit won't make cars... and on and on it goes.

Q: Stimulus package: Any provisions that will give back to the taxpayers, individually, checks?
A: Yes. Yes. I said during the campaign that we had to give tax breaks to the middle class. So, in the package, we have money for working families, $1000 that will start flowing right away, to offset payroll taxes. It may not sound like a lot, but it can make a difference. Plus, other tax cuts targeting small businesses. But tax cuts to the middle class is the best way to invigorate the economy, not cuts that trickle down from the top.

The Senate just passed our recovery bill. That's good news. I want to thank all the members of the Senate who moved it forward. It's a good start. It passed 'cause they didn't want folks in Fort Myers mad at them.

Q: Nobody's listened to us in the last 8 years [huge applause] I'm a contractor here, building schools. How does the money get into the states for this kind of thing?
A: The fact that there's a program in place makes it easier. We'll work with the governor, county gov'ts, school superintendents. If a school needs repair, we'll repair it. But not just paint. We want to build state of the art science labs. Modify buildings, redesign classrooms. That's a gift that keeps on giving.

Q: Please help... we need a kitchen, a bathroom. Please help. [she's in tears] [Laffy Note: She lives in her car]
A: [He went over to her and hugged] I'll have my staff talk to you after the town hall. We'll help you.

Q: You said we have to be patient. We're notorious for not being patient. How will you deal with that problem?
A: People understand that we didn't' get into this overnight, can't get out of it over night. It's a big, complicated problem. We'll have to try a bunch of different things. My hope is that the American people expect that every day, we are thinking about you and your lives, talking to the most knowledgeable people, making the best decisions for working families, not just the well-connected, open to any idea, no matter who it comes from, and we'll work as hard as we can. That is how I judge myself every day... Do I do all that, and admit mistakes. I won't lie to you: If it turns out that we're still having problems in a few years, then you guys won't applaud me next time I come down here. There may be a couple of die hard Obama folks... [applause], but if I didn't get things to work, you'll have a new president. But I think Americans understand these are tough problems, and it takes time. I have faith in their wisdom

Q: I'm on a city council... Cities are having a tough time, mortgage crisis, and we can't keep up with road work, water projects... infrastructure... If we ran out of oil today, we couldn't move. But we don't want to drill. How do we get transportation going again? I'm worried about dependence on foreign oil.
A: We have targeted billions on infrastructure spending. We get a D in infrastructure across the country. We also have to plan for the future, though. Turn crisis into opportunity, a wake-up call for us. China's high speed rail puts ours to shame. Their airports too... This is America! We always were willing to invest in the future. Lincoln, in the middle of the Civil War, moved the intercontinental RR. You have to keep your eye on the future. We can't just fix our old systems, but manage new ones. Invest in mass transit, energy efficient. We have to think regionally now. We can't build sprawl forever, those days are over.

Q: [This guy is going nuts, thanking God for Obama, a college student] I've worked at McDonald's for 4 years. Can we receive better benefits?
A: One: The fact that you're working so hard at a job that doesn't pay that well is a source of pride for you, doing the right thing. 2: You'll benefit from the tax breaks. I assume you're not getting health care, so we want to reform that so you'll get some. But you're going to school... we want to make it easier to afford college with tax credit for tuition. We want to give you a pathway.