Obama Campaign Ratchets Up Offensive
From CBS News' Maria Gavrilovic, on the campaign trail with Barack Obama:
In Dubuque, Obama said, "It's fair to ask [Clinton] where she was with NAFTA 20 years ago. You don't just suddenly wake up and say NAFTA is a terrible thing when you were for it before."
Of Edwards, Obama said, "When a candidate says he opposes right-to-work laws or trade rules that hurt workers today, ask him where he's been before. Because America needs a president who will fight for you when it's hard, and not when it's politically convenient."
In an email to supporters, Obama's campaign manager, David Plouffe, said there has been an "important shift in the campaign." The email claims that Obama is gaining ground on Clinton. "Voters in Iowa and New Hampshire are beginning to focus on the race more intently and are increasingly making decisions. As they do Senator Obama is profiting at Senator Clinton's expense."
The email states that a Clinton nomination and presidency would unite Republicans, while Edwards "does not show an inclination toward unity."
It goes on to say that "Senator Clinton has been ducking and dodging tough questions at rapid pace lately" and that Edwards has become an apologist. "John Edwards has apologized for most of his record while in the Senate," Plouffe says. "Edwards has clearly lost support over the course of the year."
Last week in Des Moines, Obama promised not to take "pot shots just for the sake of taking pot shots." He said that he will focus on delineating the differences between himself and his Democratic opponents, but said they have common ground. "After all, we are running in the same party," he said.