Obama Lashes Out At Clintons Over Attacks

Statements From Bill And Hillary Clinton Drawing Criticism From Friends And Rivals

(CBS)  On the surface, Barack Obama may have looked like he was enjoying himself.

"All right, I'm having too much fun here," he said at a campaign event. "I need - I need to do some business."

But that business has his campaign privately seething because much of it involves fighting back against what he calls the Clinton political machine, CBS News correspondent Dean Reynolds reports.

"If people are making false assertions about our record then we answer them - period," Obama said.

At issue is a Clinton advertisement accusing Obama of various transgressions, including being a big fan of Ronald Reagan and his Republican policies.

Today, Obama released a rebuttal that essentially called Clinton a liar.

"Hillary Clinton will say anything to get elected," the ad declares.

Obama said it was self-defense. "All I'm concerned about is making sure my record does not get distorted," he said.

The Clinton campaign pulled the ad in question from the airwaves today. But Obama's camp sees it as part of a Clinton strategy which combines distortions with low-ball expectations - all the while working as hard as possible to win South Carolina.

None harder than the former president, whose attacks on Obama's integrity are drawing headlines, but also drawing attention away from the candidate he favors.

Today she unveiled an economic stimulus package but wound up vying for attention because of the focus on her husband.

Clinton's former Labor secretary Robert Reich described the ex-president's behavior as "demeaning to the office" and "disingenuous."

"Until about a day or two, you could have gotten some people to say, whether deliberate or not, this is serving the Clinton campaign well by pushing Barack Obama off his central message that he can transcend the political arguments of the 1990s, that this 'he said, she said' fight is actually disturbing him," CBS News senior political correspondent Jeff Greenfield said.

"You've had editorials really coming down very hard on the Clinton's for distorting Obama's record. Some of his supporters like Claire McCaskill, the senator from Missouri, and former Senate majority leader Tom Daschle are invoking some very harsh notions of dirty Washington tricks."

Possibly more telling was the staff members' efforts to limit his contact with the news media today.

It's a sign of what sources tell CBS News is the growing annoyance among supporters of the Clinton who is running with the actions of the Clinton who is not.

[candide777]

Back to the main point: I am a lifelong Democrat but that may change soon.
Posted by EddyNewHope at 06:21 PM : Jan 26, 2008

Anyone who purports to care about freedom, justice and human rights, and then votes for a republican, has no credibility at all with me. The republican party is nothing more than a dishonest and intentionally deceitful front for a small group of insatiably greedy americans who favor corporate welfare and totally unchecked capitalism, which anyone knows leads to harmful monopolies. If you fall for their scam, you are part of the problem. And if you preach the above about Clinton and then vote for McCain, you are a hypocrite. Republicans don''t hate blacks, jews, Mexicans, gay_s, etc. They just use them when they can to get poor white people to vote for them, and they have done that flawlessly year, after year, after year. Talk about divisive. I''m sorry, but I can''t begin to respect your views here at all.

[eddynewhope]

Sorry Candide77 - I do respect your opinion but I am literally a lifelong Democrat. It may be easier to put me in the GOP pigeonhole but I, at one time, was a big Clinton supporter. I agree that Bill did many good things for this country. I''m not denying that. But you have to admit that the country has never been so divided as it was when Clinton left office, and that has been reaffirmed but the divisive tactics that the Clinton''s have brought to this campaign. Uniting the people is part of being a good leader, and Bill was an abysmal failure on that point. Beyond that, I think Bill gets a lot of undeserved credit for the Internet boom the huuuuge influx of money that resulted from it. As far as humanitarianism, he did nothing while Rowanda devolved to genocide, he walked out of Somalia which is still run by warlords, and Bush (who I loath even more than the Clintons) did more in the fight against AIDS and poverty than Clinton did. Bush also started this nightmare war but the Clintons supported him in spite of their recent claims to the contrary. Obama REALLY opposed the war - when it mattered - when it was hard. Back to the main point: I am a lifelong Democrat but that may change soon.

[eddynewhope]

LOL. Hillary could be the SECOND Clinton to get impeached should she effectively sleaze and lie her way into the White House. Check this out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xq8aopATYyw

[candide777]

I will gleefully turn my back on the Dems if another scumbag Clinton is the best they can do, and I know that I''''m not the only one. The Dems have become the GOP, and the Clintons will go down in history as the George W. of the Democratic party.
Posted by EddyNewHope at 04:00 PM : Jan 26, 2008

LOL -- Bill Clinton was the most effective and most humanitarian president this country has had since JFK. I love it when you republicans get on here and try to slam the Clintons with your false accusations and lies. The truth is you are running scared again because you know the Clintons know how to confront the republican''s dirty tricks. Kerry and Gore were easy targets, but you know that Hillary is way too smart. She won''t roll over the way Kerry and Gore did, and that''s what scares you most! You should be very afraid of Hillary, and it does my heart good to see how low you are willing to stoop!

[eddynewhope]

samrlin - You''re a sucker. The Clintons sold you the "race-baiting Obama" at the same time Hillary sheds a well-timed, gender baiting tear for the camera. The Clintons are the same people that claimed they''ve "been against the war since the beginning". That is a bold faced lie. Obama spoke out against the war when it mattered. The Clintons supported the war, until now, and now they simply resort to lying about it. Obama walks the walk. The Clintons lie, cheat, and steal to win at all costs - even at the cost of Dem party cohesion. Don''t buy the Clinton line that Obama brought race into this. That was a tactical Clinton maneuver and sadly, it just might work. If so, no prob. I will gleefully turn my back on the Dems if another scumbag Clinton is the best they can do, and I know that I''m not the only one. The Dems have become the GOP, and the Clintons will go down in history as the George W. of the Democratic party.

[one_american]

WASHINGTON (CNN) %u2014 John Kerry, the Democratic Party''s 2004 nominee for president, took aim at Bill Clinton Friday, telling the National Journal the former president does "not have a license to abuse the truth."

The Massachusetts senator, who endorsed Barack Obama''s White House bid earlier this month, said Clinton''s criticisms of the Illinois senator have been "over the top," and suggested the former president is getting "frantic."

Targeting Clinton''s recent spate of attacks on Obama, Kerry said, "I think you had an abuse of the truth, is what happened. %u2026I mean, being an ex-president does not give you license to abuse the truth, and I think that over the last days it''s been over the top.

"I think it''s very unfortunate, but I think the voters can see through that," Kerry added. "When somebody''s coming on strong and they are growing, people get a little frantic, and I think people have seen this sort of franticness in the air, if you will."


What John Kerry is REALLY trying to say is what everyone else has known for a long, long time - THE CLINTONS ARE PATHOLOGICAL LIARS.

[samrlim]

SENATOR OBAMA, STOP CRYING FOUL! IF YOU CANNOT HANDLE THIS THEN GET OUT - YOU STARTED THIS BY PLAYING RACE ISSUE. You are in the ARENA OF POLITICS what do you expect that is part of the PROCESS. FOCUS ON THE ISSUE, PRESENT YOUR CASE TO THE AMERICAN VOTERS! AT THE END OF THE DAY THE VOTERS WILL DECIDE.

[candide777]

I''m glad to see Obama so far can handle the kid gloves with which he''s been treated by the Clintons. What do you think the republican sleaze machine will do to him? If you want a real candidate to run against the republicans, you better hope the Clintons step it up a notch. If Obama can''t handle it, he needs to step aside and let someone run who can. I have a feeling he CAN handle it, but I want to see him hang tough instead of crying foul before he has my vote -- whoever gets the nomination needs to be a pit bull, not a crier. No matter how good you are, Americans won''t vote for a crier.

[eddynewhope]

No worries Tex2Deomcrat. The Clintons will be recognized as the Rovian, lying, thieving, hypocrites that they are. They managed to polarize the country in the 90s, and now they have done the same to the Democratic party. And should the Clinton dynasty sleaze their way to the nomination, I''m sure there will be a very promising Independent candidate who the other half of the Democratic party will be happy to vote for. Oh well, no more Bill humping interns in the oval office.

[eddynewhope]

The Clintons are extraordinary hypocrits: Here they are palling around with Mr. Rezco himself: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=4192372&page=1 Never mind Whitewater, Norman Hsu, the China connection, etc. etc. etc. Liars.

[tx2democrats]

But Obama''s camp sees it as part of a Clinton strategy which combines distortions with low-ball expectations - all the while working as hard as possible to win South Carolina......

sounds like Obama was counting on the fact that the black folk would be voting for him.

Obama can expect for Hill and Bill to go deeper next time, we''re actually looking forward to it, it will be personal and it will definitely leave a scar. Mama said, "stay out of the kitchen if you can''t take the heat", we wish you luck sir and hope it heals quickly.

[tx2democrats]

gender is alot easier to deal with - there''''s no more hate in gender - in America that is - some countries haven''t caught up.

[tx2democrats]

can anyone tell us if there are more woman in the Senate than there are black men?

[tx2democrats]

we''ll take gender over race anytime....race is self-reflecting and everyone is racist but hates to admit it, gender is alot easier to deal with - there''s no more hate in gender - race is a different story.

[tx2democrats]

John Edwards entered the race assuming that he had the nomination in the bag - one reason only - he is white, he really thought it would work well against a black man and a woman, this country has changed, way to many foreign influences to keep thinking "white man here, I own everything because I''m white". Obama injected "race" into this issue the minute he stepped into the running, it was a good thing for Hill, makes gender not so much the issue anylonger, this use to be just a white-man''s race, Go Hill, Madame President, for being the first to throw her hat in this race, she''s always ahead of the game.

[libra127]

"Because I''''m seeing the same "drug-dealer, muslim, white hater" stuff from the Clinton campaign"

EddyNewHope - I certainly have seen nothing like this "from the Clinton campaign". Don''t you mean that you have seen "someone" say this and then assumed they were a Clinton SUPPORTER ? That is VERY different from saying it comes from "the Clinton campaign".

[logicgal1]

hopetrumps - Quit flaming your message. We''ve read it, it''s boring, move on.

[eddynewhope]

Johnfrost''s racism is "exclusively Republican"?? Really? Because I''m seeing the same "drug-dealer, muslim, white hater" stuff from the Clinton campaign, as well as the same strong-arm election manipulation in NV as the GOP in 04. But I guess you''re right - the Clintons really are more like Republicans than Democrats.

[ioweign]

Actually, Johnfrost is right-wing lunatic who nobody takes seriously. If you really think he''''s a Clinton fan, you haven''t been paying attention. His form of racism is exclusively republican.

Posted by Candide777 at 03:17 PM : Jan 25, 2008


Hoc est verum et nihili nisi verum

(The Truth and Nothing but The Truth)

[eddynewhope]

Many blacks are voting for Obama for many of the same reason many whites are voting for Obama - he brings a new, unifying approach to leadership that the United States desperately needs. To suggest that blacks are only voting for him "because he''s black" betrays your ignorance. I''m white and I''m voting for Obama. What "knee-jerk" reaction am I motived by? Beyond that, if the best candidate the Dems can put forth is another round of Clinton divisive politics, the Democratic party is in for a rude awakening in November.