Obama Goes After Hillary Voters

By: Maria Gavrilovic
Topics: Barack Obama

(CBS)

From CBS News' Maria Gavrilovic:

CINCINNATI -- Barack Obama wooed Hillary Clinton's key constituency today: women over the age of 50. He hosted a roundtable on retirement security, where five women spoke of their struggles.

One undecided voter, Colleen Hunninghoff, told Obama that she understands why young voters are jumping on the "Obama bandwagon," but wants to know what the real differences are between him and Clinton.

"We've been doing well amongst more experienced voters as well," Obama chuckled, going on to explain that he is more capable of unifying the people and ending the "political bickering" in Washington. "I'm a Democrat but there are people out there who are Republicans and we've got to be able to cross the aisle in order to get things done," he said.

He also accused Hillary Clinton of taking money from special interests and not taking the issue of lobbyists seriously.

"I think I take it a lot more serious than Senator Clinton does," Obama said. "She doesn't mind taking money from those sources and I don't see that as central to the changes that are needed."

Obama said his critics suggest that his supporters are delusional and are being duped into believing in hope.

"The basic argument is that if you talk about hope, and if you are engaging the American people in thinking hopefully, that somehow you are duping them, that you are playing a trick on them. That all of you here are infatuated with these pretty words but you don't have a real good sense of how the world works, you're not hard headed, you're not tough minded, that you're romantics, that somehow being hopeful means that you are just passive and sitting back waiting for good things to just happen to you," he said. "But hope is looking at things clear eyed, and saying despite the hardship, I'm going try to do something."

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by kenbomc February 26, 2008 12:41 AM EST: Obama''s doing a great job as usual. Nice article Maria. CBS has certainly stepped in the right direction hiring cute, talented reporters like yourself.; Reply to this comment


by zavatchen February 25, 2008 11:07 PM EST: I am astonished and ashamed at the backlash from some women to Hillary. My only comment is that these women are not aware of their own deep rooted abasement of themselves and really deep down feel a women''s place is in the home.; Reply to this comment


by user168-2009 February 25, 2008 10:56 PM EST: "It%u2019s about time. I%u2019m glad that more and more women are realizing that Obama is a better choice for everybody.

I found this story about a case where Hillary used her knowledge of child abuse to get a man off of rape charges to be very sad and disturbing. Of course, it was her job as a lawyer to provide a competent defense, but it seems like she may have crossed a line by aggressively attacking the 12 year old girl%u2019s character.

http://www.newsday.com/new
s/nationworld/ny-usark2455899 97feb24,0,2670956.story

She seems to have carried that tactic with her when she actively participated in smear campaigns against the credibility of the victims of her husband%u2019s harassment, even after he was caught lying under oath in a court of law. Making women terrified to report sexual harassment out of fear of being publicly humiliated and having their careers destroyed is a terrible role model for women, as is attacking the character of 12 year old rape victims.

Tenacity can be a desirable trait in a leader, but ruthlessness, a trait that Hillary conflates with tenacity and cultivates in abundance, is not."

Posted by g english

Thank you g english. Hillary is a very very very scary woman!; Reply to this comment


by papapaw February 25, 2008 10:50 PM EST: Mr OBAMA has good manner''s, but I still tend to interpret his choice of words and inflection of his voice, the timing of his deliveries, when it comes to Sen. Clinton.. as subtle putdowns that try to paint a sexist view of her as irrational and displaying the rant of a angry female.

Not good Obama. NOT AT ALL GOOD.; Reply to this comment


by rosebuddy4 February 25, 2008 9:49 PM EST: I don''t see myself as a disciple of Mr. Obama. I support him based on his accomplishments. We need leadership in this country and Mrs. Clinton just doesn''t have that gift. People that are for Mrs. Clinton are close-minded about Mr. Obama and feel the need to put him down, but he doesn''t do that to her. Have you noticed that after the debates, he has brought her around to being nice to him, to nodding in agreement with him about many things and she was "thrilled to be on this stage tonight with Senator Obama." He has a way with people that would help with foreign policy (Yes, I could see him sitting down with leaders of foreign countries instead of sending his staff) and help within our federal government. I hope that he can at least make a start on the issues with the special interests, the corporations that are presently running this country.
At any rate, although I am an Obama supporter, I will still be ok if Hillary wins. Both would be able to beat McCain easily. This country is tired of basing its votes purely on the abortion battle. It never changes anything. And the people and things that really need the attention and care of our government are shoved aside because the republican candidate is pro-life. Well, you know what? I am pro-life too, but I will not base my vote soley on that stance. Not this time.; Reply to this comment


by papapaw February 25, 2008 9:34 PM EST: Ok, everyone. So the photo is meaningless. So what if Obama''s Grandmather is a Muslim, she''s just a step Grandmother [hey, wait a minute, I am a step mother]. And his middle name is Hussein, but don''t mention that either. Hush , hush , shh , shhh. Let''s not talk about Obama''s early education where he didn''t learn to cross his heart for Our Pledge or Allegiance.

The publication of the Pledge, and its wide redistribution to schools in pamphlet form lead to a recitation by millions of school children, starting a tradition that continues today. The original text is: "I pledge of allegiance to my flag and the Republic for which it stands - One nation indivisible - with liberty and justice for all."

Obama brushed it aside by saying everyone at a football game would be guilty of the same thing...but, wait a minute, don''t we hold our President up to a higher standard?

I want to see the pictures. And I want Obama to be open and proud about his early education as a Muslim. There is nothing wrong with it but he is being too candid.

Tina FEY says it best

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xh0pTFQNi9g; Reply to this comment


by jerryz7936 February 25, 2008 9:27 PM EST: A low point for Hillary now. She has a very high rating when it comes to being not trustworty. Now again she''s going after his race.

She''s done. How can you trust someone like that.; Reply to this comment


by dothemath3 February 25, 2008 9:24 PM EST: I have been surprised at the people who try to frame Hillary Clinton''s candidacy as a feminist issue. As an older (white) woman myself, I thought the point of the women''s movement was for women to have equal rights and to be judged by their abilities and actions rather than their gender.

Why would I be impressed with a woman who defended and stayed with a man who publicly humiliated her? Why would I be especially inclined to vote for a woman who is running for President on the basis of her husband''s reputation and, in fact, counts his experience as her experience?

Barack Obama''s Senate record is much more impressive than Ms. Clinton''s. He also has accomplishments in the Illinois legislature to his credit, and he helped the poor in the inner city at a time when he could have been making a lot of money as a corporate attorney, which is the route Ms. Clinton took for a while.

I trust Obama''s judgment, his ability to lead, and definitely his ability to manage the economy (look at his campaign!) much better than I trust Ms. Clinton in any of those areas. In my opinion, my ability to make a well-informed, rational decision makes me a much more liberated woman than if I voted for Ms. Clinton on the basis of her gender.; Reply to this comment


by jsmith891887 February 25, 2008 9:11 PM EST: The disciples of Obama terrify me. They are becoming more and more millitant in their hatred for the Clintons because they can not stand the thought that she could win TX and OH. Make no mistake about it, this hatred will be turned towards the half of the country that will vote for McCain if and when Obama gets the nomination. This is scary because it will be happening under the guise of brining hope, unity, peace, joy, and love to the country. I personally will probably not vote, because I already have a strong faith and don''t need Obama''s religion, and because I would be afraid of the Obama disciples.
PLEASE WAKE UP America!
America is a democracy for a reason, our president does not serve the role as our country''s SAVIOR, moral compass, or pastor. They are simply a tool to assist in the running of our government. If you people want a savior, go to church. It infuriates me that the Obamanites insist on forcing their Obama religion on the rest of us through the elected office of President. They don''t care about running effective government. If they did, Hillary would have already secured the nomination. I just hope people start waking up out of their Obama-trances before its too late.; Reply to this comment


by hillaryis44 February 25, 2008 9:07 PM EST: Given two candidates with almost identical policies, why would someone vote for Hillary when she is already disliked by half the country? I do not like her "us versus them" mentality or the tactics she is resorting to lately. Her inability to lead her campaign in a competent manner - particularly its finances - hasn''t been very inspiring either. I''ll take Obama as the nominee, and Kathleen Sebelius as the VP.; Reply to this comment