Obama: McCain "Earned" Cheney Endorsement
(PUEBLO, COLO.) - Barack Obama ripped into John McCain for the Dick Cheney endorsement today, saying that he "really earned it."
"That endorsement didn't come easy. Senator McCain had to vote with George Bush 90 percent of the time and agree with Dick Cheney to get it," Obama told the crowd of thousands who lined the downtown streets.
"George Bush may be in an undisclosed location now, but Dick Cheney's out there on the campaign trail because he'd be delighted to pass the baton to John McCain," Obama added.
"He knows that with John McCain you get a twofer: George Bush's economic policy and Dick Cheney's foreign policy – and that is a risk that the American people cannot afford to take."
After the event, McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds responded to Obama's criticism by linking him to Cheney.
"Barack Obama and Dick Cheney aren't just cousins, they've shared support for the Bush energy policy and the out-of-control spending that John McCain has fought to oppose," Bounds said in a statement.
Obama's wife Michelle and their daughters, Malia and Sasha, were also at the event today. The family was reunited on the airport tarmac when Obama flew in from Las Vegas.
At the rally, Michelle Obama called on the crowd to help elect her husband. "I told him that you have gotten us 85% of the way there, but the other 15% it's on us. It's on all of us. If we want Barack Obama in the White House, then we have to vote for him," she said.
After the event, the Obamas stopped by Jorge's Sombrero Mexican restaurant for dinner on their way to the airport. They are all headed to Springfield, Missouri for the last event of the day.