Obama: I've Been Talking Change "Since the Beginning"
(TERRE HAUTE, IND.) - Barack Obama tried to reclaim the mantle of change today, as he sharpened his criticisms of both John McCain and Sarah Palin.
Playing off of McCain's convention line, "change is coming," Obama mockingly said, "Now think about this coming from the party that's been in charge for 8 years, they've been running the show - been up in the White House!"
While speaking to families in rural Indiana, Obama went on a tirade as he dismissed the notion that a McCain administration would bring about change. He tied the McCain campaign to corporate lobbyists saying, "Who is it that he's going to tell that change is coming? I mean come on - they must think you're stupid!"
And he repeatedly linked McCain the Bush Administration, suggesting that his policies would be a continuation of the past. "What are these guys talking about?" Obama asked. "Do you think we haven't been paying attention over the past 8 years?"
Obama also blasted Sarah Palin, arguing that despite her claims of being a reformer, she is a "skillful politician."
"When you've been taking all these earmarks when it is convenient and then suddenly you are the champion anti-earmark person. That is not change, come on. I mean, words mean something. You can't just make stuff up."
Since the Democratic primary, Obama has argued that he is the original change agent, and that opponents – then Hillary Clinton and Mitt Romney – were trying to snatch the title. Today, he dusted off his old phrase, "Since the beginning of this campaign, we've been talking about change, everywhere I go we've been talking about change, that's been the theme of this campaign . And we must be on to something, because I notice now everyone's talking about change now."