It took only a couple of days, after SecDef Gates punted the tanker decision to the next administration, for Sen. Barack Obama to boil the USAF's need for tankers down to a simple issue of American-labelled jobs. In a by-satellite appearance to a machinists' union convention in Florida, Obama strongly criticized rival Sen. John McCain for his actions in the tanker deal - while, at the same time, echoing McCain's support for a competition.
But according to Reuters, Obama accused McCain of favoring policies that hurt American workers, saying that McCain "just doesn't get it. Just ask your brothers and sisters at Boeing."
So Obama, like Boeing's other buddies in Congress, is in favor of a free competition as long as Boeing wins it - and that, one assumes, is what McCain doesn't "get". So if Obama wins, and the competition resumes, how much money are EADS and Northrop Grumman likely to invest this time around? And given the Boeing's been virtually guaranteed a win, do we expect their next bid to be cheaper?
Clearly, the Democratic candidate didn't read the editorial in April's DTI, much less accept the succinct advice in the first paragraph.
not of course that Boeing would ever do that Cough* A-10 wing's *cough :)
The domestic content, at least not counting senior management bonus packages, is probably about the same, and McCain was right about the lease deal being awful, even a stopped clock is right twice a day, but this is politics, you attack your opponent for doing the right thint.