If we hope to meet the challenges of our time, we must make difficult choices, Obama declared. As president, I will go through the entire federal budget, page by page, line by line, and I will eliminate the programs that dont work and arent needed.

As with all of his speeches, Obamas remarks were pitched simultaneously to two audiences. In an appeal for popular support, he laced his speech with demagogy about addressing not just the crisis on Wall Street, but the crisis on Main Street along with condemnations of greedy CEOs and unethical lobbyists.

But for what constitutes his most important constituencythe banks, Wall Street finance houses and corporations that have contributed lavishly to his campaignthe thrust of his remarks was clear. Obama is casting himself as the champion of fiscal austerity and defender of the fundamental interests of finance capital.

Given this orientation, and his backing for the bailout, the feigned concern about Main Street is so much hypocritical rhetoric. The decision to shower money on Wall Street precludes any significant spending to improve social conditions for the broad mass of the population and renders Obamas extremely limited and vague promises of reforms meaningless.