From Denny: The 2010 Midterm Election Shellacking was all about jobs creation or shoring up jobs teetering on the edge of going away. So, Obama hopped a plane, went to visit the folks in India to let them know how important a nation of one billion people are to America and is coming home with a basket full of jobs for Americans. Nice job, Mr. President, now you are on to something. These jobs are the result of more than 20 trade deals between India and American corporations.
India's SpiceJet Airlines is buying 33 American 737's as part of this trade deal. General Electric is selling aircraft engines to India's military. Another trade deal in the works is for Boeing to sell 10 of their C17's to the Indian Air Force. Currently, even as large as India is, it is only America's 14th largest trading partner.
Of course, the Boo Birds from the wingnut aisle are loudly complaining about the cost of the President's trip to India. Where were these same Boo Birds when President Bush went on his visit to India? Yeah, quiet and nowhere in sight, that's where. This is the usual juvenile misdirection from the Republicans who want to direct Americans' attention away from what their President is doing for them: creating and supporting current jobs from disappearing. And corporations continue to whine about how this President does not help them in their trade deals? How disingenuous of them.
The President is on a ten day trip to Asia where he is working feverishly to create jobs for Americans. The $10 billion trade deal investments from India creates 54,000 jobs FOR Americans. The President is announcing new export rules to make it easier for American companies to do business with India.
India is known infamously as the American home of outsourced call center jobs to which many Americans are unhappy. Well, turnabout is fair play and now India is sending us jobs. Great start, Mr. President.
What else is the President doing to create jobs here in America? He is busy selling American goods not only to India but also to emerging markets throughout Asia. The way I look at it, world trade has to work both ways. If America accepts their products they need to accept ours equally too. No more should America continue to get the short end of the stick like during the Bush years. Bush had the absolute worse trade negotiators that left America holding the bag constantly. Hopefully, Obama will be mindful of the trade inequities and bolster America's standing for a bigger share of the trade pie.
On this visit, Obama has been well received in India both by the people and the Indian government. We all have seen on the news the tough questions handed to Prez Obama by Indian students asking about his midterm shellacking. He held the Indian version of a town hall meeting at St. Xavier College in Mumbai, India, just like here in America when he goes out to talk to the American people or campaign.
Gibbs protecting press rights to cover the President's meeting with the Indian Minister while arguing with Indian security trying to pull a fast one
The only wrinkle during this trip was a heated exchange of Senior Advisor and Press Secretary Robert Gibbs with the Indian security. The word is that the Indian security demanded the American press stay out of the room while only the Indian press was allowed to attend the Obama-Indian Prime Minister meeting. That did not go over well with Gibbs who shouted at the the Indian security. Gibbs threatened to call off the meeting with Obama unless the Indian security relented and allowed the American press to cover the event. The Indian security eventually relented. Good going, Gibbs! That Southern Ala-Damn-Bama anger served the freedom of the press well this week! :)
Aside from that incident the Indian press has covered Prez Obama's three-day stay in India on 200 channels and in 26 languages. There are 1.2 billion in India yet they live in a geographic area only one-third the size of America.
To say things are intense is an understatement. It's a media frenzy where they hang on every word uttered by the President along with 24/7 streaming news. The President has kept his usual demeanor of cool in the situation. One news network even sent out reporters to cover the American reporters and report back on all their doings. Now that's intense news coverage when you cover the news reporters of a visiting President as much as the visiting dignitary. I have got to visit India one of these days as these guys sound like a lot of fun because they don't miss a beat and not much gets past them. :)
On the final day of his visit, Prez Obama spoke to India's parliament. In what is currently only a diplomatic and symbolic gesture, since revision to the United Nations Charter would be required, Obama called for permanent membership of India on the Security Council.
"The just and sustainable international order that America seeks includes a United Nations that is efficient, effective, credible and legitimate," President Obama said. "That is why I can say today - in the years ahead, I look forward to a reformed U.N. Security Council that includes India as a permanent member."
His gesture was met with enthusiastic approval and the loudest applause of his speech. Unfortunately, it could take years to revise the U. N. Charter before India could take a rightful permanent seat on the U. N. Security Council as a nation of 1.2 billion people.
At the moment, India is concerned about two pressing issues for them besides permanent membership on the U. N. Security Council: the high negative of India viewed by resnetful Americans as the place to visit their outsourced jobs and the huge funding funneled into their arch rival, unstable Pakistan.
Aside from those thorny issues of perception and political strategy because of the war in Afghanistan, India and America have finally forged an improved relationship over the past decade.
"I don't think there's an area of human endeavor in which we do not actually cooperate," said Shivshankar Menon, India's national security adviser. "We work together in innovation. We work together in technology. We create jobs in each other's economy. When you look at the political military side as well, we work together on national security, on counter terrorism, defense."
Because of India's increasing rise of importance in the world, this White House traveled to India to highlight the rise of India on the world stage. National Security Adviser Tom Donilon said, "Obama intends the trip to be a full embrace of India's rise." Said Donilon: "There's no more powerful way to do that than a presidential trip."
John Dickerson talks to senior political producer, Rob Hendin, about President Obama's visit to New Delhi; Plus, Lynn Sweet on Obama's reception in India & what happens when he returns home; Also, Oscar-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney on his latest, "Client 9."
*** Also in the news:
Obama Backs India Seat on U.N. Security Council
Obama Announces $10B in Trade Deals With India
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