Obama Criticizes GOP's "Tired Philosophy" of Tax Cuts as Problem Solver

From CBS News' Maria Gavrilovic:

GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- Barack Obama accused Republicans of trying to solve “all problems under the sun” by cutting taxes in a speech at the North Dakota State Democratic Convention tonight.

“You got a problem with health care: tax cuts. You got problem with education: tax cuts. You got a problem with the economy: tax cuts. Poverty: tax cuts. That’s not a policy, it’s a dogma, a tired and cynical philosophy,” Obama told a crowd of over 17,000.

Both Obama and Clinton were scheduled to speak at the North Dakota convention, a state which Obama won in the Feb. 5 contests. He told the crowd that he is not worried about the length of the primary, saying that Democrats have “policies that America needs right now.”

“We know our ideas are better. We know our policies are what America needs right now. And that’s why no matter how long or heated this primary contest gets, I believe that either Senator Clinton or I would do a far better job of leading this country over the next four years than John McCain.”

Obama ended his remarks by noting the Martin Luther King assassination anniversary, saying that King would have encouraged American’s to continue working towards justice.

“40 years later, he would look out over this audience, he would look out at me standing here, he would look at the progress that’s been made in America and he would say, you see – that arc is bending towards justice. We’ve become a more just society, a more equal society, a more fair society. But he would also remind us that that arc doesn’t bend on its own. It bends because each of us are willing to put our hand on that arc and bend it in the direction of justice.”

Obama was introduced by Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., who presented him with a hockey stick from the University of North Dakota. The school will be participating in the “Frozen Four” hockey tournament this weekend.