President Obama just finished his Labor Day speech in Milwaukee. I haven’t found any transcripts yet, and I’m not part of the elite media that gets advance copies that are embargoed. But the content I saw on TV was no surprise.

Thumbnail sketch: If you thought he was engaged in class warfare before, grab your socks because he’s going to double down. Everything he did was great. Never mind that taxing, borrowing, and spending money that we don’t have didn’t work. We’re going to do more of it. But watch out, cuz there are nasty people from another party that keep trying to stop Barack.

We got to hear about “targeted” tax cuts again. “Targeted tax cuts” is code for government picking winners and losers. Do what we want, we’ll let you keep a little of your own money. Don’t play ball and we’ll paint a target on your back.

The class warfare rhetoric was expected. The 50 billion dollars of pork spending for incumbents to take home and show off was in the papers this morning. It seems pretty tone deaf when people are upset about spending and no real job creation, but that’s the president’s tactical decision to make. The same old bit about the car being in the ditch was expected. The half truths to smear Republicans was expected.

But one thing did strike me: Barack Obama found the passion and rhetorical skill that was missing last week.

The president can muster passion and the rhetorical skills he became famous for during his campaign for class warfare. Too bad he couldn’t find them for real warriors.

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