Clinton Hits Obama on Oil Money
BLOOMINGTON, IND. -- During a campaign rally at the University of Indiana, Hillary Clinton said Barack Obama takes more money from big oil companies than any other candidate.
"My opponent puts up an ad that says he doesn't take money from oil company PACs [Political Action Committees]. In March, he took more money from oil company executives than any candidate - Republican or Democrat. So I think it's important for you to know the facts," Clinton told the crowd of thousands.
The recent attacks between Clinton and Obama have focused on language used by the Obama campaign that says he does not take money from oil companies. However, Clinton, and others, point out it is illegal for candidates to take money from oil companies, but it is not illegal to take money from people who work for oil companies. The Los Angeles Times reported this week that Obama took in $46,000 from oil company executives and employees in March, more than Clinton and John McCain last month. However, she conveniently left out the fact that she has taken in more overall since they announced their candidacies: her $336,000 to Obama's $263,000.
Later, Clinton made an argument that seemed to backfire when she pointed out to the crowd that Obama had voted in favor of what she calls "the Dick Cheney energy bill" in 2005, while she voted against it. Clinton pushed the issue claming that the best way to determine what type of president you will get, is to see what they have done or how they have voted. Clinton said that looking at votes "is always the way to figure out where somebody completely stands, like my father used to say 'watch what they do, not what they say, actions speak louder than words.'"
But following that logic raises the issue on why Clinton voted for policies she no longer supports like the war in Iraq and No Child Left Behind. When asked about this contradiction, a Clinton campaign spokesman said the comparison was different because Clinton has already addressed her vote for the war and for No Child Left Behind, while Obama has not given a clear explanation about his vote for the energy bill.
Clinton went on to hammer her opponent saying, "When it came time to stand up against the oil companies, to stand against the 'Dick Cheney energy bill', my opponent voted for it and I voted against it. That bill had billions of dollars of giveaways to oil companies. That was the best bill the energy companies could buy."
Clinton's visit to IU shows she is not willing to concede any vote.
Traditionally, Clinton has not fared well with younger voters, a demographic from which Obama draws a lot of support. Speaking at center court inside Assembly Hall where the Indiana University Hoosiers play basketball, Clinton asked students to consider her as their candidate.
"I know you have a tough decision, and I know that on campuses like this my opponent has a tremendous amount of support and I respect that. But I want you to think about this as a hiring decision," she said to applause.
"This is a game we can't afford to lose."