Clinton, Obama Agree To Bury Racial Spat

At Nevada Debate, Democratic Rivals Blame Campaign Supporters For Controversy

(AP)  Democratic presidential rivals Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama blamed aides and campaign surrogates Tuesday night for fueling a campaign controversy over race, jointly pledging on the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. to put the matter behind them.

At a debate in which the two sparred almost cordially, Obama suggested Clinton had taken a page from President Bush's political playbook with an earlier statement that the next president could expect to be tested quickly by terrorists.

"When Senator Clinton uses the specter of a terrorist attack with a new prime minister during a campaign, I think that is part and parcel with what we've seen, the use of the fear of terrorism in scoring political points, and I think that's a mistake," he said.

Asked by NBC's Tim Russert whether she had meant to say terrorists would test Obama more than her, she replied, "No, of course not," before adding, "it matters who's president."

Clinton, Obama and former Sen. John Edwards, the only white man among the candidates on stage, settled in for their debate as the former first lady won a meaningless Michigan presidential primary, a contest held in violation of party rules.

The debate also unfolded four days before the party-sanctioned Nevada caucuses, the next for-keeps contest in the wide-open race for the party's presidential nomination.

Race dominated the debate at the outset, after several days of back-and-forth that left many Democrats worried about an adverse impact on the party's prospects for the general election.

Obama said "not only in hindsight, but going forward," he regretted that his staff had prodded reporters to pursue the issue.

"Our supporters, our staff, get overzealous. They start saying things that I would not say," added the most viable black candidate in history.

"We both have exuberant and sometimes uncontrollable supporters," Clinton said in the opening moments of a two-hour, round-table debate televised on MSNBC. "We need to get this campaign where it should be," said the former first lady, seeking to become the first woman to occupy the White House.

She said comments by black businessman Robert Johnson over the weekend were inappropriate, but sidestepped when asked whether she would bar him from playing a role in her campaign. Johnson made an evident reference to Obama's youthful drug use - although he denied that was his intent.

Obama won the kickoff Iowa caucuses less than two weeks ago, and Clinton countered with an upset victory last Tuesday in the New Hampshire primary. Edwards is winless. After Nevada, the South Carolina Democratic primary is Jan. 26, then the campaign explodes with nearly two dozen contests on Feb. 5.

There was a political reason for the pleasantries, underscored when Edwards was asked whether he and Obama had teamed up to attack Clinton in a debate just before the New Hampshire primary.

"I don't think it was that way," he said. "My job as a candidate for president is to speak the truth as I see it."

Clinton won the primary in an upset three days after the debate, carried to victory over Obama by an unexpectedly large turnout by women voters.

At the same time, there were limits to the comraderie, and Clinton, in particular, took several opportunities to challenge her rivals.

Asked whether Edwards and Obama were prepared to sit in the White House, she said "that's what the voters have to decide."

Later, Clinton asked Obama to back her legislation to prevent Bush from unilaterally extending the United States' presence in Iraq beyond the end of his term next January.

"I think we can work on this, Hillary," he replied.

On an issue of particular interest in Nevada, the former first lady stressed her opposition to a plan to develop a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain in the state. She said Obama's campaign drew financial support from a company that favors the project, and in a rare campaign jab at Edwards, said he had twice voted for it.

Obama countered, saying that even though his home state of Illinois has more nuclear power plants than any other, his opposition to the controversial project was unequivocal.

Edwards said he had changed his mind on the issue, citing new scientific evidence about its risks.

Edwards, given a chance to question his rivals, pointed out the huge sums that Clinton and Obama have raised from drug and insurance companies. "Do you think these people expect something or are they just interested in good government?" he asked.

Obama quickly replied that he did not accept donations from federal lobbyists or political action committees, and Edwards just as quickly pointed out that applied to him as well.

All three also agreed they would not seek creation of a national gun registry, a shift in position for Clinton.

The Michigan primary was an election in name only, where Clinton was the only major candidate entered. She faced competition principally from the "uncommitted" line on the ballot, an option that some supporters of Edwards and Obama advocated to embarrass her.

Returns from 87 percent of the state's precincts showed her with 56 percent of the vote, and uncommitted gaining about 39 percent.

Pre-caucus polls in Nevada make it a close race among the three, an event spiced by a lawsuit filed by several Clinton supporters hoping to challenge the ground rules.

Their objective was to prevent several caucuses along the Las Vegas Strip, where thousands of Culinary Workers Union employees - many of them Hispanic or black - hold jobs.

The rules were approved in May, when Clinton was the overwhelming national front-runner in the race. But the union voted to endorse Obama last week, and the lawsuit followed.

Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich had hoped to have a seat at the table, but the Nevada Supreme Court ruled shortly before the debate began that MSNBC was legally entitled to prevent him from participating. It promptly did.

[realpatriot1]

johnfrost is a crack baby.

[johnfrost-2009]

Sen. Obama is running on a platform of "Change"(Baloney 100%)
Senator, what are you running on?
a.- On a platform of Change.
Change fom what to what?
a.-We have to change it to Hope
Hope from what?
a.- We need Change.
Change from what?
a.- We need Hope.
Hope from what?
a.- We need Change.
Change from what?
a.- A policy of Hope
How do you do that?
a.- With Change.
Change from what?
a.- To a change to Hope.
moving on senator, did you smoke and sold crack to others?
a.- Next question.
Did you answered 139 times Present to yes or no questions in the senate floor?
a.- Next question.
Did you smoked crack in the senate floor?
a.- Next question.
Are you a Muslim senator?
A.- Next question.
Did you ever went to rehab for crack cocaine addiction?
A.- Next question.
And Chameleon Obama walks away smiling having fooled the infidel forever.

[tbweb]

The only people affected by race are racist and every culture has them! Many racist have learned how to mask or cloak their racism but if you look close enough you can still see the racism just the same. Real Americans are not racist, don''t see race, just see people and you can usually spot a real American because even when race is talked about you have to smack them in the face with it for them to tune in! Many colleges and universities who denied Blacks in the past and who were opposed to Affirmative Action to remedy the problem are now facing an embarrassing situation and about to have their racism exposed! Many are reporting an imbalance in enrollments favoring women 70% to 30% for males. Now colleges are accepting males with lower grades than females to restore the balance to 50/50 and justifying all kinds of excuses to do it, females are outraged being left out of top schools as a result. If its not ok to do this for race then it should not be ok for gender either!

Have you Northerners ever been around Southern people long enough? I have, and I swear that Southern drawl/twang rubs off on you pretty quickly. Same thing with ebonics. It''s definitely catchy. So, I can understand how that happened.

[l8c6]

Right Wing neo con global corporate libertarians housed in the the Republican party have built institutional elitism. In the world of right wing elitism, the wealthy global corporatists know best, they in their minds own all the shares so like Wall Street believe themselves entitled to all the votes. What a scam the right wing has initiated, implying a populist government is for the weak. Their corporate enclaves is for their special interests and are against the best interests of people all over the world.

The right wing scam is destructive and dangerous for humanity. The hubris of the anti-socials beyhind the scam comprise the dark side of the universe.

Rise up people, wake up to the dirty right wing before with the callous of a reptile progress toward a better humanity is consumed.

[l8c6]

a.-Obama has been addicted to crack cocaine for at least 10 years by his own admission.
Did Sen. Obama sold crack cocaine to other students?
a.- Likely,most users either resort to stealing or selling crack cocaine to pay for
their use and addiction.
Did Sen. Obama went to a rehabilitation program for his addiction to crack cocaine?
a.- There is no record anywhere Sen.Obama went to rehab or treatment for his addiction to cocaine.
Why is Obama so skinny and spaced out at times?
a.- Possibly, Loss of weight, and ashen color skin are telltales of drug addiction.

Posted by johnfrost


Inquiring Fox Friends would like to know.

I''d say, check your next issue of the Globe.

[slpdisk]

I love the one sided corrupt elections you would think there were only 2 candidates running. The media has finally fallen. So sad, and you had the gall to talk about Aljazeera being censored.

[denn034]

Good to see that that nonsense, the blame for it belongs with slick Hilly, has finally ended.

[candide777]

You just can''''''''t get over your pregnant chads from Florida...
Posted by Hwy71So at 12:55 PM : Jan 16, 2008

P.S. If you had even an ounce of common sense, you''d realize that neither the democrat nor the republican party is a friend of this nation. They are both apparently necessary evils that we as citizens should be trying to tame, not falling into line to kiss their a$$es, like a bunch of brainless twits who actually believe what any of these scoundrels say. Comprende?

[candide777]

Candid
Powell has a thousand times the backbone you could ever muster.
You dems. You just can''''t get over your pregnant chads from Florida...
Posted by Hwy71So at 12:55 PM : Jan 16, 2008

Guess what, you brainless twit? I''m not a democrat. Nor am I gullible enough to fall for the BS that republican party has sold this country since the days of Ronald Reagan. It''s all been a complete fraud committed on Americans, like yourself, too vapid and stupid to know when you are being lied to.