Aizle wrote:
Obama knows that we can't compete with overseas labor, nor should we try. However, he's also smart enough to know that he can't tell those folks he's addressing that they are going to be slowly replaced by machines who can do their work twice as fast and twice as good for half the cost. So he has to approach it through their children (i.e. the future) and show how he's working to make things better for their kids.
IMHO, the smart people at those plants will see that is the subtle message, and the ignorant will get a "rah rah" speech.
This doesn't address the fact that the culture overseas is completely different. People who work white collar as well as blue collar jobs put in hours many of us don't even come close to experiencing; on average I work 40-55 hours a week, with excepting circumstances such as right now pushing us closer to 70. However, this is a professionalism expectation over there. That is why their ability to push the evenlope with manufacturing surpasses our own.
The fact is, there isn't any level which we can compete at because of the dedication we lack to hone our craft, whether you consider it skilled, technical, professional or whatever.
My point, and I'm not sure where you concluded such a thing, is not exclusive to unskilled labor.