Obama Rails on "False Hope"
DERRY, N.H. -- Two days before the New Hampshire primary, Barack Obama drew large crowds and many undecided voters to his rallies here today.
Obama campaign communications director Robert Gibbs told reporters that undecided voters are the campaign's primary target. Gibbs described these voters as "disillusioned" and said that their strategy is to vote for a candidate and not a party.
Obama goes after these voters by telling them not to listen to those who are cynical about his message. He said that he has been "teased" and "derided" for presenting a platform of hope.
"Even last night, one of my opponents suggested that we should stop giving the American people false hopes about what could be done and what could be accomplished. We needed a reality check," Obama said, referring to Hillary Clinton.
"What kind of agenda is that? False hope?"
In Exeter, Obama said the notion of false hope "bugs the heck out of me."
"The notion that we shouldn't just try to do something because we believe in it because it's false hope. There's no such thing as false hope. We can focus and get things done if we put our minds to it and if we have a sense of urgency and political will."
Later, at a rally in Derry, Obama added, "We don't need leaders telling us what we cannot do we need a leader to tell us what we can do."
Obama also said that cynics are continuing to pounce on him for lacking experience. However, he said that Iowa voters rejected that notion and he feels "vindicated." Now his hope is that New Hampshire voters will react the same way.
"In two days time you have a chance to show that we really are starting something new. that we're not just playing a game here. This is not a symbolic exercise. We want to build power that can actually deliver the changes that America needs," Obama said.