Obama Hopes Edwards Supporters "Will Gravitate Towards" His Campaign

By: Maria Gavrilovic
Topics: Barack Obama

(CBS)

From CBS News' Maria Gavrilovic:

MINNEAPOLIS, MINN. -- Barack Obama continued to praise John Edwards and compared him to late Sen. Paul Wellstone, D-Minn., at a rally today in Minneapolis.

"John ran an outstanding race - he elevated poverty, talked about the working class. He was true to the Paul Wellstone tradition. I am proud of the work that he did and he is going to be working alongside me and everybody else to make sure that we bring about the kind of future we believe in," Obama told a crowd of over 10,000 people.

Yesterday, Obama told reporters in Los Angeles that he is seeking Edwards' endorsement and is going after his supporters. "It's my hope that a lot of them will gravitate towards our campaign," Obama said.

Although he had kind words for Edwards, Obama made several veiled references to Hillary Clinton at the Minneapolis event.

"Now that we have started winnowing down the field, you know, we are hearing all the usual stuff. You know, there's the negative attacks," Obama said.

"There are folks who were arguing, 'Well, he's a follower of Ronald Reagan,' despite this week they are saying, 'Well he's too liberal because he's got a liberal voting record.'"

He also said that the "status quo" argue that he is "a little too black, well he's not black enough."

"There are all sorts of reasons being offered by the purveyors of the status quo as to why we can't bring about change," Obama said.

Obama also said that some expected him to just win everything after the Iowa caucus.

"People thought that, you know, you just win one election and suddenly the status quo gives in, and, you know, elect Barack, you know, immediately we will have racial reconciliation, poverty will be over," he joked, "Nobody will argue any more, your teenage children will listen to you."

"It was useful for us to recognize that this isn't easy," he said.

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by akona2 February 5, 2008 5:55 PM EST: D-emocrats and independents should ask themselves
I-s barack HUSSEIN OBAMA a MUSLIM or NOT?
S-eek for the truth, is that you say
A-ll of you who thought you knew
S-eek for a DNA test and you will know
T-he father is a MUSLIM, the brother and sister are MUSLIMs.
E-ducated in MUSLIM school
R-ight under our nose that we might not know...

DISASTER is spelled out if we get the FIRST MUSLIM PRESIDENT.; Reply to this comment


by ExiledLady February 5, 2008 2:35 PM EST: Considering that Obama has been mocking John Edwards and thereby both the issues that he championed and the supporters who cared about those issues, I don%u2019t see why in the hell we should support him. As the Politico reported today, Obama has been mocking John Edwards%u2019 response to a debate question from Tim Russert. Russert had asked him, %u201CWhat%u2019s your biggest weakness?%u201D John had answered %u201CI sometimes have a very powerful emotional response to pain that I see around me.%u201D

The Politico reports:

%u201CAnd he says, %u2018Well, I am just so passionate about helping poor people,%u2019%u201D Obama said dryly.%u201D

According to Jeff Zeleny, this wasn%u2019t the only time. In The New York Times, Obama is reported to have added %u201CIf I had gone last, I would have known what the game was. I could have said, %u2018Well, you know, I like to help old ladies across the street. Sometimes they don%u2019t want to be helped. It%u2019s terrible.%u2019%u201D

Those comments are not amusing. What it shows is an incredible lack of compassion for Americans living in poverty.

He wants John%u2019s supporters to vote for him? Now that%u2019s funny.; Reply to this comment


by linda4jre February 4, 2008 9:59 PM EST: Sorry, Obama, I''ve researched your contributor list and Hillary''s, and I see oil, HMOs, drug companies, banking, nuclear power, coal, etc. I will not select between corporate hack A and corporate hack B. John Edwards is the only candidate I will vote for on Feb. 5th and in November.; Reply to this comment


by jenny126 February 3, 2008 8:34 PM EST: Edwards has my vote in the Washington State 2/9 caucus.; Reply to this comment


by r3t5smith February 3, 2008 8:33 PM EST: It is imperative for John Edward''s supporters to vote for him on Feb. 5th to let the Democratic Party know that the issues which he has championed can not be ignored. It has been a long time since the Democrats had such a genuine candidate who always told it like it is!; Reply to this comment


by r3t5smith February 3, 2008 8:31 PM EST: It is imperative for John Edward''s supporters to vote for him on Feb. 5th to let the Democratic Party know that the issues which he has championed can not be ignored. It has been a long time since the Democrats had such a genuine candidate who always told it like it is!; Reply to this comment


by r3t5smith February 3, 2008 8:29 PM EST: It is imperative for John Edward''s supporters to vote for him on Feb. 5th to let the Democratic Party know that the issues which he has championed can not be ignored. It has been a long time since the Democrats had such a genuine candidate who always told it like it is!; Reply to this comment


by r3t5smith February 3, 2008 8:26 PM EST: It is imperative for John Edward''s supporters to vote for him on Feb. 5th to let the Democratic Party know that the issues which he has championed can not be ignored. It has been a long time since the Democrats had such a genuine candidate who always told it like it is!; Reply to this comment


by r3t5smith February 3, 2008 8:25 PM EST: It is imperative for John Edward''s supporters to vote for him on Feb. 5th to let the Democratic Party know that the issues which he has championed can not be ignored. It has been a long time since the Democrats had such a genuine candidate who always told it like it is!; Reply to this comment


by r3t5smith February 3, 2008 8:25 PM EST: It is imperative for John Edward''s supporters to vote for him on Feb. 5th to let the Democratic Party know that the issues which he has championed can not be ignored. It has been a long time since the Democrats had such a genuine candidate who always told it like it is!; Reply to this comment