Apple is Everywhere, Even the Presidential Debate

 Forget about GM and GE—Apple is now the American company that has pride of place on the national stage as a bellwether for the state of the economy.

The Silicon Valley tech giant even made its way into the townhall-style presidential debate at Hofstra University in Hemstead, N.Y. on Tuesday night. Moderator Candy Crowley of CNN referenced the "iPhone, Mac, and iPad" when issuing her final direct question to President Barack Obama and his challenger, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, asking the pair how they might get the manufacturing of such American-designed devices, currently assembled in China, back on American soil.
Romney, who replied first, took the tough line on China he had been hewing to all night, suggesting that his presidency would be more aggressive about currency manipulation by the Chinese government that he said helped their exports to the detriment of the United States.
Showing a pretty good knowledge of recent technology news, Romney also mentioned the sale of counterfeit Apple products in China, talked about the threat of hacking from China, and may have been referencing Apple's patent battles with Chinese companies when he said China had been "stealing our intellectual property; our designs, our patents, our technology."
Romney finished his response with a pledge to make the U.S. more attractive to entrepreneurs.
Obama addressed Crowley's far more directly, saying bluntly that "there are some jobs that are not going to come back," specifically low-wage, low-skill jobs like factory work in China. The president stressed the need to invest in advanced manufacturing and "to make sure that we've got the best science and research in the world" to equip American workers, not for jobs on iPhone assembly lines, but for higher paying work.
The president then returned to his disagreement with Romney over their respective tax plans.
"And when we talk about deficits, if we're adding to our deficit for tax cuts for folks who don't need them, and we're cutting investments in research and science that will create the next Apple, create the next new innovation that will sell products around the world, we will lose that race," Obama said.
---From PC Magazine