INDIANAPOLIS, Oct. 23, 2008
Obama Goes On Offense In Indiana
Before Trip To Hawaii, Democrat Says McCain Is "Putting Corporations Ahead Of Workers"
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Play CBS Video Video Exclusive: Obama On Campaign Harry Smith sat down with Sen. Barack Obama to discuss his break from the campaign to visit his ailing grandmother with the election drawing closer.
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Video Obama Gets Candid "CBS News Exclusive": Barack Obama sits down with Harry Smith and talks candidly about, among many other things, the passing of his late mother.
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Video Harry's Blues: Bipartisan Hit Harry Smith's musical debut currently on the country/blues charts, "Red State, Blue State Blues," got a key endorsement from Sen. John McCain last week, and now this week from Sen. Barack Obama.
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Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill. speaks at a rally on the American Legion Mall in Indianapolis, Thursday, Oct. 23, 2008. (AP)
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CBS Evening News Where They Stand The CBS Evening News provides an in-depth look at the issues facing the 44th president.
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Photo Essay Obama On The Trail Sen. Barack Obama campaigns for the presidency.
Looking out at a sea of 35,000 people who crammed a downtown park on a chilly day, the Democratic presidential candidate noted blue-collar and manufacturing workers in the audience who waited hours to see him. They face disappearing jobs in this traditionally Republican state which has both a Rust Belt economy and rural areas.
"That's whose president I want to be," he yelled, getting rousing cheers in response.
With stock markets diving, unemployment rising and Indiana alone losing 4,500 jobs in September, Obama argued that the country cannot afford a President McCain who "thinks the economic policies of George W. Bush are just right for America."
"He made kind of a strange argument that the best way to stop companies from shipping jobs overseas is to give more tax cuts to companies that are shipping jobs overseas," Obama said of his opponent. "More tax cuts for job outsourcers. That's what Sen. McCain proposed as his answer to outsourcing."
Over recent days, McCain has kept up a drumbeat of criticisms of Obama's tax plans. He's said the Democrat would hand out "welfare" because even people who pay no taxes would receive a $500 tax credit. He also has said Obama's entire plan amounts to socialistic tax redistribution policies.
Though Obama has appeared to gain an edge in the race for the White House amid the economic turmoil, some polls show McCain could be gaining ground with his aggressive message.
In response, Obama has been devoting more and more of his campaign stump speech to point-by-point rebuttals of McCain's criticisms. He notes his tax proposals would reverse cuts passed during the Bush administration for the wealthiest taxpayers and use the revenue to cut taxes for workers earning less than $250,000 a year. Obama says that means a tax cut for 95 percent of taxpayers. McCain wants to extend all the Bush-era tax cuts, including those for wealthier Americans, and says allowing any to expire would amount to a tax increase.
On Thursday, keeping up a schedule that has had him exclusively in states that voted Republican in 2004, Obama continued defending his plans - but also unleashed a sharp counterattack against McCain over corporate taxes.
McCain proposes cutting the corporate tax rate to 25 percent from 35 percent, while Obama would raise corporate taxes to help pay for tax cuts for everyone earning under $250,000 a year.
Obama referred to comments by McCain in a CNN interview on Wednesday that "it's simple fundamental economics" that American companies would shift operations to other countries with lower tax rates.
"Well, Indiana, my opponent may call that "fundamental economics,"' Obama said, "but we know that's just another name for Wall Street first, Main Street last. That's the kind of economic philosophy we've had for the past eight years and that's just fundamentally wrong."
He went on to say that McCain is wrong on free-trade policies that would "protect the profits of multinational corporations" and on a tax code influenced by corporate lobbyists. "That's the system he wants to preserve," Obama said. "He wants to keep on putting corporations ahead of workers."
Read the latest news from the campaign in Indiana from CBS News and around the Web
Indiana, which has 11 electoral votes, hasn't backed a Democrat for president since 1964. But polls show a tight race between McCain and Obama.
After the rally, Obama was scheduled to fly to Hawaii to see his ailing grandmother, 85-year-old Madelyn Payne Dunham, who helped raise him. Dunham was recently released from the hospital and was said to be gravely ill after breaking a hip.
Obama was to spend Thursday night and most of Friday with her before resuming campaigning Saturday in Nevada.
Obama said the decision to go to Hawaii was easy to make, telling CBS News that he "got there too late" when his mother died of ovarian cancer in 1995 at age 53, and wants now to make sure "that I don't make the same mistake twice."
"My grandmother's the last one left," he told Harry Smith on The Early Show.
Read more from The Early Show interview.
© MMVIII The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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See all 315 CommentsPosted by Darkangel421 at 11:04 AM : Oct 24, 2008
Funny how you only look at one side of the coin.
What/where would small business and large corporations be without the middle class consumer to buy their goods and services? Every year before Christmas we hear businesses worrying about whether or not they''ll have a good retail season. What do you think the answer to that will be this year?
The other flaw in your argument is that there is no guarantee that businesses will use those breaks to create jobs or even that they will crete jobs for Americans. Corporations still make layoffs when they are turning a profit. They still pay CEOs multi-million dollar salaries and bonuses even when the CEOs are doing a lousy job. And how many jobs have been shipped overseas? Your argument is weak.
When someone convinces you that the wealthy need even MORE money just so you''ll have a job--honey, you''ve been played.
Posted by Darkangel421 at 10:03 AM : Oct 24, 2008
1-Campaign donation are required to be spent either on the campaign or go back the the paty''s National Committee
2-You assume that his campaign contribution have only come from black people. That''s a sad commentary on YOU
3-He wants to decrease taxes on middle class people. Without middle class people having money to spend, there can''t be any business profits. What do you think will happen to jobs then?
What do you have to say about that Liberals? More to come..
Posted by StopSocialis at 12:41 AM : Oct 24, 2008
Berg is a Hillary supporter with a grudge and a history of filing frivolous lawsuits.
The birth certificate is legit.
http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/born_in_the_usa.html
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2008/jun/27/obamas-birth-certificate-part-ii/
He was so biased in his leftist rhetoric that his history books are useless to fair-minded people.
He got awards from his native Canadian government and from Democrats when they were in power, but he was held in distain by others for his extreme Dem Party political partianship.
Posted by gctomajtom at 12:26 AM : Oct 24, 2008
Galbraith cautions: ''The world of finance hails the invention of the wheel over and over again, often in a slightly more unstable version.'' Crucial to his analysis is the assertion that the common factor in boom and bust is the creation of debt to finance speculation, which ''becomes dangerously out of scale in relation to the underlying means of payment''.
Sound familiar?
You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.
You cannot lift the wage earner up by pulling the wage payer down.
You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.
You cannot build character and courage by taking away men''''s initiative and independence.
You cannot help men permanently by doing for them, what they could and should do for themselves.
--Abraham Lincoln
Posted by spotter444 at 10:46 PM : Oct 23, 2008
Problem is, Lincoln NEVER said that--it was a hoax. Try again.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_J._H._Boetcker
Its architect,under Regan, admitted it does not work. He came to this conclusion several months after it was implemented by the Regan administration. Why do the republicans refuse to accept this? Maybe because most of them, like McCain, are the ones reaping the benefits. Most jobs are created by small businesses that make less than $250,000 a year.
Remember GH Bush, "Just read my lips, no new taxes". The republicans love to scare people about the tax and spend democrats. Look what Bush has done to the deficit.
One last thing to think about. If you do not pay taxes where is the money going to come from to support the troops?
The poor dears - mischa128 - we must lighten up or no-one will debate with us....;)
Posted by KeepOnTopic at 11:19 AM
You may have a point.
Posted by Darkangel421 at 11:11 AM
The fairness issues around taxation used by tradition in this country for years indicate at times the workers and smaller business to varying degrees based on conditions deserve greater breaks than others. The Republicans have already in the wisdom provided by their own choice temporary and significant breaks to the upper bracket taxpayers for 8 years. The voters in this election have a clear choice to continue that policy or change direction. The voters will decide on Nov 4th.
The poor dears - mischa128 - we must lighten up or no-one will debate with us....;)
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Posted by misha128 at 11:11 AM : Oct 24, 2008
Umm. Covertly? Maybe? You think? Wow. You are stupid. I''''m done with you. Good bye.
Posted by Darkangel421 at 11:13 AM
One means for very limited purposes normally. Too great a risk for too little reward to be applicable to for majority of the desired information.
Posted by Darkangel421 at 11:04 AM
Well no one here bemoans the corporations making profits - ah profit$$$ - in a silibant hi$$$.
Seriously - not jealous about the profits just incensed about the obscenely huge CEO payouts and the lack of integrity in corporations attempting to evade paying fair and due taxation.
Also this is another example of control by fear "You give us the things we want and we will give some jobs in return, but we wont guarantee you anything - even keeping your job." and also "Just dont worry about our taxation as we employ alot of folks right?"
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Posted by misha128 at 11:08 AM : Oct 24, 2008
Why do you try to twist everything I say. Absolutely the worker earns his paycheck and the owner earns a tax break for keeping people employed. Your jealousy is blinding you.
Posted by Darkangel421 at 11:11 AM
Perhaps that was just another means of determining your true beliefs -- allowing you to tell us -- also called intelligence gathering.
Posted by misha128 at 11:03 AM : Oct 24, 2008
What intelligence opportunity? You think these maniacs are going to give us anything. They only take from us. You are sooo nieve. You''''ve been watching too many movies.
Posted by Darkangel421 at 11:08 AM
If you believe intelligence cannot be gathered during discussions of subjects and the reactions of the participants you are the naive individual. How do you think intelligence is normally gathered?
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Posted by misha128 at 11:01 AM : Oct 24, 2008
Business and corporations give jobs to the citizens. They should get some kind of benefit. What/where would we be without small business and large corporations? On welfare, that''''s where. These jobs are what keep our economy going! Wake up. Give them all the breaks they need as long as they keep people employed and the money flowing. Stop your jealousy about the rich getting richer.
Posted by Darkangel421 at 11:04 AM
Traditional thinking is business GIVES nothing people; the people EARN it -- your thinking is representative of the elitists Republicans falsely complain about.
Posted by misha128 at 10:58 AM : Oct 24, 2008
McCain was not the president of the united states was he?
Posted by Darkangel421 at 11:01 AM
So potential issues with the Logan act are unimportant such as McCain''s Blustering interference during the Georgian crisis?
Posted by Darkangel421
Actually it goes beyond that to also include a good education. Anyone with good history knowledge would have understood. You missed the nuance about Churchill and conservatism, Churchill and great leadership etc....
What is it with GOP and lack of nuance on policy? - you folks are just so rigid and fixed....
A wise leader sets aside his political agenda, surrounds himself with competent staff and executes the will of the people for the people.
Guess Who?
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Posted by misha128 at 10:58 AM : Oct 24, 2008
Why are you talking Reagan and Bush? We need to talk about Obama''''s statement that he would sit down with terrorists without preconditions! These are a different breed, it''''s a different time. We are personally being attacked by these nutjobs. I don''''t recall being attacked during the Reagan time. Times have changed. We have to stand tough against these nutjobs. That''''s all they respect.
Posted by Darkangel421 at 11:00 AM
So you like Bush and McCain prefer to even give up the intelligence opportunities that would be afforded by discussions to protect this nation in some trumped up face saving gesture. Your lack of judgment continues to show aling with Bush''s and McCain''s.
- actually he reminds me of Winston Churchill funnily enough when he says this...a good Brit conservative.
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Posted by KeepOnTopic at 10:52 AM : Oct 24, 2008
I guess it all depends who you ask. Ask a Venezuelan or Cuban and they will tell you he sounds like Chavez and Castro. See, it''''''''s all relative. It depends on what you have seen, what you have lived.
Posted by Darkangel421 at 10:56 AM
Recent news reports indicate Senator McCain advocate President Reagan conduct discussions without preconditions and Senator McCain actually had discussions with Chilean dictator Pinochet with out pre-conditions personally. More Republican "DO AS I SAY NOT AS I DO?"
Posted by misha128 at 10:58 AM
Maybe more on this specific point would be to point out Senator McCain''s MORALLY HAZARDOUS purchase of home mortgages at face value -- a true transfer of corporate losses in the market to the pockets of the taxpayers -- the NEW REPUBLICAN SOCIALISM also known as WELFARE FOR THE RICH.
- actually he reminds me of Winston Churchill funnily enough when he says this...a good Brit conservative.
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Posted by KeepOnTopic at 10:52 AM : Oct 24, 2008
I guess it all depends who you ask. Ask a Venezuelan or Cuban and they will tell you he sounds like Chavez and Castro. See, it''''s all relative. It depends on what you have seen, what you have lived.
Posted by Darkangel421 at 10:56 AM
Recent news reports indicate Senator McCain advocate President Reagan conduct discussions without preconditions and Senator McCain actually had discussions with Chilean dictator Pinochet with out pre-conditions personally. More Republican "DO AS I SAY NOT AS I DO?"
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See all 315 Comments