ALLENTOWN, Pa., April 1, 2008
Obama Frames Race As Match With McCain
On The Stump In Pa., Illinois Senator Criticizes GOP Candidate, Largely Ignores Clinton
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Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama D-Ill., speaks at a town hall meeting at Wilkes University in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., Tuesday, April 1, 2008. (AP)
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Even though Hillary Rodham Clinton was campaigning just down the Northeast Extension in Philadelphia, Obama criticized the likely Republican nominee's policies on the U.S. troop presence in Iraq, trade and tax cuts. In his town-hall session Tuesday, and in other campaign appearances in recent days, Obama has sought to frame the race as a general election matchup between him and McCain.
Of course, there's the little matter of a Pennsylvania primary on April 22, and Clinton's double-digit lead in recent state polls.
The extended presidential nomination contest has resulted in an odd political triangle, with each candidate taking alternate turns criticizing one or both of their competitors.
“He's on a biography tour right now,” Obama said of McCain. “Most of us know his biography, and it's worthy of our admiration. My argument with John McCain is not with his biography, it's with his policies.”
Obama argued that McCain would merely be another four years of President Bush on economic and military policies. McCain has criticized Obama as being inexperienced on national security, and the Illinois senator answered back.
“Meanwhile Senator McCain has been saying I don't understand national security, but he's the one who wants to keep tens of thousands of United States troops in Iraq for as long as 100 years,” Obama said.
The McCain and Obama camps have been feuding for days over remarks McCain recently made when he said the U.S. could end up having a long-term military presence in Iraq, similar to the more than 50-year presence of U.S. soldiers in Germany and South Korea.
“One hundred years in a country that had nothing to do with 9/11 may make sense to George Bush and John McCain but it is the wrong thing to do. It is not right for our national security. It is not right for our economy,” Obama said to applause at a town hall.
McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds said Obama's remarks show his “complete lack of preparedness to be commander in chief.”
“His attempt to paint McCain's position as something else is nothing but the disingenuous, old-style politics that he claims to reject,” Bounds said.
Though the primary contest has heightened tensions among Democrats fearful it will hurt their chances of winning the general election in November, Obama told the crowd not to worry.
“I don't buy this whole thing that people are super-divided,” he said in response to a question. “We are going to come together and focus on the fact that John McCain wants to continue the war in Iraq, I want to end it, John McCain wants to continue George Bush's economic policies.”
For all his complaints about McCain, Obama also talked tough on international trade issues - a sensitive subject in a state with plenty of blue-collar Democratic votes to be won.
An Iraq war veteran asked the senator's opinion of a recent decision by the Pentagon to award a $35 billion Air Force tanker contract to a consortium led by Airbus, located in Europe, over a bid led by U.S.-based Boeing.
Obama said he had concerns about the deal but an investigation was warranted to find out more.
“I don't mind the Pentagon procuring from other countries but when you've got such an enormous contract for such a vital piece of our U.S. military arsenal, it strikes me that we should have identified a U.S. company that could do it,” he said, though he added that he might conclude the decision was justified if it turns out Airbus' bid was 10-15 percent better than Boeing's.
McCain has faced questions about the contract because some of his current advisers lobbied last year for the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co., the parent company of plane maker Airbus. EADS and its U.S. partner Northrop Grumman Corp. beat Boeing Co. for the lucrative aerial refueling contract.
McCain has said his inquiries into the contract were designed to ensure evenhanded bidding and denied they were motivated by lobbyists who are close advisers to his presidential campaign.
Obama cautioned that just protecting jobs won't be enough, that the government must do more to nurture workers and businesses that can thrive in the global economy.
“Those who want to draw a moat around America, it's not going to work, with the internet with technology with automation we've got to compete,” he said.
© MMVIII The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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See all 292 CommentsI''LL VOTE McCAIN BEFORE i PUT HIM AND HIS RACIST WIFE IN THE PEOPLE''S HOUSE!!!!!!
I believe out of the remaining 10 states Hillary will have a net gain of 21 as she will lead in PA, IN, WV, KY and PR because of the Wright factor. This will give her 292 delegates and Obma will have additional 271 delegates. Now let us look at remaining superdelegates and uncommited delegates and delegates commited to Edwards. That is a total of 462 delegates mostly super delegates.Clinton has gotten 9% more superdelegates than Obama. Using the same margin, Hillary will gain 252 delegates and Obama will get 210 more superdelegates (+others) and that will not happen till the convention. Thus Hillary will get 2233 total and Obama will get 2181. No matter how you look at it , the fight will continue till the convention with Clinton being the eventual winner.
Monica Lewinsky,Juanita Broaddrick,Kathleen Willey
Paula Jones,Gennifer Flowers,
Whitewater, Castle Grande, Peter Paul, Johnny Chung
Donations From China, Vince Foster, The MacDougals
not to mention..."Opposing" Iraq when you voted for the President''s Authorization For Use Of Military Force
"Opposing" NAFTA when your husband signed the agreement.
and...The latest debacle to add to "Clinton''s Greatest Scandals, Lies, and Embarrassments"........Snipergate
v
Where is your candidate Tax returns
Where is your candidate donor list for Clinton Foundation and Clinton Library
ummmm
We, as tax payers are waiting. Its April 2nd, is there not a Kinko''s close by?
The AA community needs to heed Bill Cosby when he addresses this instead of calling him a ''cracker''. You can not get a good job without an education or if you have a criminal record.
About 90% love Obama, and the other 10% can only get posted if it is trivial stuff that is negative about Obama or sort of positive Hillary or McCain. Everyone should go there and register and post something like, %u2018Obama is dreamy%u2019 and flood them with dumb short comments about how handsome and brilliant Obama is to make them look really ridiculous. Notice they don%u2019t have many posts as at least 50% don%u2019t make it
Poor, pathetic, racist!!!
Don''t worry - someday you get the mental professional help that you obviously need.
I predict that it won''t happen until after next January. You know, once Obama is sworn into office and overhauls the health care system.
HAHAHAHA!!
Posted by easttx390 at 08:08 AM : Apr 02, 2008
You can prove the "obvious" fact, that Obama has won 95% of the black vote, right?
NOBAMA 08
Posted by gslinger3 at 06:54 AM : Apr 02, 2008
Yeah that''s smart - "Remember a dead non-issue!"
That kind of intelligence will get you far in life - at least through the 8th grade anyway.
Northrop Grumman? Hmmm, where have I heard that name before....
Ah Yes!! It''s Don Rumsfeld''s old company!! All in the family - as usual. The only question is, how much did the kickback pay out?
Posted by NonayaBiness
We were without a President for months because of the lies that Democrat Atheist Slimee Lawyers told, under oath, to the Supreme Court. Democrat Lawyers and most Democrats in Congress belong to the Trial Lawyers Association, one of the Largest CASH contributors to DNC. They did not want the stupid American People to decide who would be President. The Rock Dwelling Slimee Snakee Democrat Trial Lawyers Claimed voter fraud in Florida, Which is why the Supreme court heard the case, not hanging chads. But on three separate trips to the Supreme Court, Democrap Lawyers could not produce a single piece of evidence for voter fraud. The Supreme Court threw out the case and the rightfully elected person became president even though Democrat Lies, Perjury, Cheats and lack of Morals or Ethics, held up the process. And these are the people who want to run the country?
NOBAMA 08
Unless it is an inconvenient truth that you don''t want to hear, then those who take a position contrary to yours are JIHADIs.
Posted by dumbshun
When your parents chastised you when you did something stupid as a kid, you probably thought they did it because they hate you, and given your present positions vis a vis "race" relations, I can''t really say I would blame them if it turned out you were correct.
I make no apologies for what I post, I consider what I post before I hit the submit button, unless someone shows where I am in error with supporting facts, and you have yet to do so.
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