USF Bulls Radio

The line that stretched through North Boulevard on the campus of the University of Tampa could have been for a Black Friday sale. Or to see the latest pop sensation live in concert.

But this line was for President Obama, fresh from his State of the Union address the night before and kicking off a nationwide town-hall meeting tour right here in Tampa Bay.

The President and Vice President Joe Biden came to the Bob Martinez sports complex at the University of Tampa yesterday with an agenda ranging from health care to high-speed rail.

President Obama’s State of the Union signaled a change in focus to the economy, something his most vocal critics had accused him of ignoring.

“Creating jobs has to be our number one priority in 2010,” he said at the University of Tampa yesterday.

President Obama indicated that while his efforts may be shifting, he has not given up on health care reform.

“If you are serious about reducing our deficit and debt, you cannot do it without reforming our healthcare system,” he said. “I’m not going to walk away from these efforts and I’m not going to walk away from you.”

Though much of the president’s speech was a reiteration of his State of the Union delivered just hours earlier, the town-hall meeting shed more light on the future of high-speed rail in both the Sunshine State and the rest of the nation.

Vice President Biden was first to speak and quickly announced $1.25 billion in federal money for a high-speed rail system from Tampa to Orlando.

“These are the investments that will allow us to lead the 21st Century,” Biden said.

When President Obama first spoke of the high-speed rail system and its impact on the Florida economy it elicited a standing ovation from the thousands in the sports complex.

The proposed system linking Tampa and Orlando will utilize rail cars that can reach speeds up to 110 mph. Under such a system, a trip from downtown Tampa to Disney World would take just over half an hour. Though there has been no public disclosure of ticket pricing, off-the-record sources working for the City of Orlando indicate such a trip would be priced in the $30 range.

Other proposed future routes include extending the rail line from Orlando to Miami, but this addition would largely hinge on the success of the first high-speed system.

The $1.25 billion in stimulus money earmarked for Florida is just part of the $8 billion in total federal allocations for high-speed rail in America that President Obama announced today.

St. Pete Mayor Bill Foster thinks the proposed system in Florida is a great idea.

“It’s money well spent with that Tampa-Orlando connection,” Foster said. “I’m here to make sure that St. Pete isn’t lost in the mix.” Foster said he will continue to fight for federal assistance for both the high-speed rail and the light rail systems being considered in the Bay Area.

Orange County Commissioner Bill Segal is happy at the thought of creating a “super region” with this high-speed rail system.

“The synergy is great between Tampa and Orlando,” Segal said. “We’re got to learn to be more complementary and less competitive with each other.”

President Obama also spoke of his administration’s other plans for 2010, including student loan forgiveness, greater tax benefits for small business and more regulation for big banks.

"We need rules of the road for Wall Street," the president said, referring to the less-than-frugal spending of federal loans by banks like Lehman Brothers and AIG.

During the question and answer session, one Clearwater resident expressed his frustration with the president’s plan to move $30 billion from TARP funds to new loans for small businesses.

“I have the means to hire two thousand more employees…but the banks won’t lend,” he said.

President Obama explained that entities like the Small Business Administration do not have the means to handle those loans.

“We have set aside money to the banks with criteria to make the money more accessible to small businesses,” he said.

President Obama’s and Vice President Biden’s visit yesterday reassured the citizens of the Bay Area of their commitment to high-speed rail in the region. Though many questions remain, including how to raise the remaining $1 billion to fund the project, a more connected Florida may be a very near possibility.