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Obama: McCain Can't Decide if He's Goldwater or Kucinich
September 18, 2008 6:02 PM
ESPANOLA, NM -- In a dusty town square in the town of Espanola in the north central region of the battleground state of New Mexico, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., Thursday afternoon continued to assail opponent Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., as someone who would do or say anything to get elected.
"All of a sudden, he's has become a populist," Obama said. "Now he's unleashed an angry tirade against all the insiders and lobbyists who happened to have supported him for the last twenty-six years – the same folks who are running his campaign right now."
Obama's criticisms were entirely focused on McCain's positions on the economy, with the Democrat portraying his GOP rival as a flip-flopping poseur.
"John McCain can't decide whether he's Barry Goldwater or Dennis Kucinich," Obama said, referring to the libertarian free-market conservative Republican and the left-wing Democrat who opposes free trade. "He's not clear about what he thinks or what he believes."
"Well, I have a message for Senator McCain," Obama continued. "You can't just run away from your long-held views or your life-long record. You can’t erase twenty-six years of support for the very policies and people who helped bring in this disaster with one week of rants. You can't just erase all that with one week worth of rants. What we need is honest talk and real solutions."
Obama made mention of McCain’s pledge today to fire Securities and Exchange Commissioner Chris Cox, which a president does not have the legal ability to do in a literal sense, though certainly political pressures can be brought to bear to force a commissioner to resign.
"He's calling for the firing of the Securities and Exchange Commission(er)," Obama said, "Well, I think that's all fine and good, but here's what I say: In the next 47 days, you can fire the whole Trickle-Down, On-Your-Own, Look-the-Other-Way crowd in Washington who has led us down this disastrous path. Don't just get rid of one guy, get rid of this administration, get rid of this philosophy, get rid of the do nothing approach and put somebody in there who is going to fight for you."
Obama noted that McCain earlier this week said that "the fundamentals of the economy are strong."
"This comment – this comment was out so out of touch that even George Bush’s White House couldn’t agree with it when they were asked about it," Obama said. "They had to distance theirself (sic) from John McCain."
Obama was referring to the fact that on Wednesday White House press secretary Dana Perino refused to answer reporters' questions as to whether the fundamentals of the economy are strong, saying only that Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson has asserted "that as he looks at our country and compares it with other countries, that we are in a position of strength to be able to deal with this crisis, and it's going to take us a while to work through it."
"I recognize that this issue of strength has come into the 2008 election," Perino explained. "I'm not going to try to get involved in it."
Obama today accused McCain of not only flip-flopping on the government bailout of insurance giant AIG, but lying about Obama’s response by claiming the Democrat opposes it.
"On Tuesday, (McCain) said the government should stand aside and allow one of the nation's largest insurers AIG, to collapse," Obama said. "I mean he said this in three different interviews despite the possibility that it would put millions of Americans at risk. But by Wednesday, he changed his mind. And today he accused me of not supporting what the Treasury and the Federal Reserve Bank did with AIG despite no evidence whatsoever that that’s what I had said."
In truth, Obama has not taken a position on the bailout of AIG, one of the most significant developments in the financial sector in modern history.
Obama blamed much of the current crisis on former Sen. Phil Gramm, R-Texas, a former co-chair of the McCain campaign who resigned after controversial comments that the U.S. was in a "mental recession"
and had become "sort of a nation of whiners."
Calling Gramm "one of the leading architects of the de-regulation in Washington that led directly to this mess on Wall Street" Obama pointed out that Gramm "also happens to be the architect of John McCain’s economic plan. There was talk that John McCain wanted to put in charge of the Treasury Department if John McCain was elected."
The Democrat said that when he was "warning about the danger ahead on Wall Street months ago because of the lack of oversight, Sen. McCain was telling the Wall Street Journal — and I quote —‘ I'm always for less regulation.' This is what he said just a few months ago. Except now, with the magnitude of the crisis apparent even to the Bush White House, John McCain wants to reverse himself, he wants to reverse course. Now, all of a sudden, he has become a populist."
-- Jake Tapper and Sunlen Miller
September 18, 2008 | Permalink | Share | User Comments (239)
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Debra wrote: "It's interesting how the race card is being mentioned. Good let's get real people will not vote for BO simply because he is 50% AA."
What is really interesting--make that OUTRAGEOUS--is that two Obama surrogates, Bob Hagan of Youngstown, OH, and Tom Letson of Warren, OH, claim that people in Ohio are NOT voting for Obama BECAUSE he is black. In essence they are saying not voting for Obama means you are racist. Certainly there may be some racists who won't vote for Obama, but there are tens of millions of voters, like myself, who are NOT racist but will not vote for Sen. Obama because we totally disagree with his socialistic ideology.
Posted by: James Danley | Sep 19, 2008 4:29:51 PM
Harry wrote, "Why doesn't Obama call the 90% of AA voting for him racist--since they won't vote for a white candidate?
Kind of hard to believe all 90% actually approve of BO's policies. I bet over 50% don't like him, and don't like that he constantly panders to whites.
So how many are voting for him just because he is black?"
Harry, Harry, what the hell are you talking about? In case you were in shell and have just come out, let me give a piece of information: African Americans have voted for white democrats in huge numbers for a long time. Now if someone was talking about the primary, I would understand. Then again, African Americans have always voted for white candidates. I particularly do not see a problem with people having the first opportunity to vote for someone like them and jump on it.
Posted by: D | Sep 19, 2008 4:08:59 PM
Obama is right. McCain doesn't know who he is. Up until securing the nomination the conservative base was denouncing him as "liberal". And their reaction to him was tepid until Palin was provided as a gift to rally them. Conservatives never liked McCain. And now McCain is trying to take a staunch conservative line. Problem is it conflicts with his more pragmatic view of the world. So, we see the split personality of McCain...
Posted by: indy_voter | Sep 19, 2008 1:59:36 PM
It's interesting how the race card is being mentioned. Good let's get real people will not vote for BO simply because he is 50% AA. It's unfortunate that the hearts of such individuals are so hardened and blind to anyone but themselves. I happen to be one of the 90% AA that is voting for Obama not because he's black but because I agree with his policies not all but most. And FYI AA have been voting for white candidates in case you haven't notice since there has been a president in office and we have had the right to vote. One more thing if I did decide to vote for BO because he's black it's my choice many WA have been voting that way for years.
Posted by: Debra | Sep 19, 2008 1:52:51 PM
Ryan, you know that McCain wasn't about blanket deregulation...read Tapper's other post on this...WP editorial...
Posted by: Wade | Sep 19, 2008 1:44:03 PM
Why doesn't Obama call the 90% of AA voting for him racist--since they won't vote for a white candidate?
Kind of hard to believe all 90% actually approve of BO's policies. I bet over 50% don't like him, and don't like that he constantly panders to whites.
So how many are voting for him just because he is black?
Posted by: harry | Sep 19, 2008 12:22:04 PM
Obama based his campaign on hope--yet he tells voters to get in the face of neighbors if they disagree with him.
He says he transcends race--but sits back as his ads and surrogates inflame racial tensions.
Does he actually think this will get more whites to vote for him?
Who is he talking to--the 95% of AA that are voting for him. The hispanics who are smart enough to see he is using them?
Posted by: riley | Sep 19, 2008 12:15:39 PM
Starting to look like Obama is desperate enough to use racial tensions to win votes.
He can't win based on his record or his character--so he uses his race again.
Biden saying we should vote for him because he is black. The proObama media suggesting he isn't far ahead in the polls because America is racist.
Others threatening race wars if he loses.
BO running ads to inflame Hispanics.
Quite hypocritical considering it is Obama that willingly sat in a racist church for 20 years.
Posted by: sally | Sep 19, 2008 12:09:52 PM
Yeah right...and Obama can't decide if he's Kennedy or Martin Luther King!
Posted by: Ed | Sep 19, 2008 11:44:29 AM
So proud of you Senator Obama, stay on the issues, respond forcefully, speak the truth. We support you.
Yes we can!
Obama Biden 2008
Posted by: voter in PA | Sep 19, 2008 11:38:07 AM
LOL, Half the time I get the Feeling Mccain doesnt even know his own freaking name! He lies so much that even he doesnt know what is truth anymore! Yeah, We really need this idiot leading us for the next four years! LOL
Jessup
Posted by: Jessup Sommers | Sep 19, 2008 11:26:42 AM
This is Obama the hypocrite playing the same distorted sound-bite sort of politics he loves to decry. His promise to usher in a new kind of politics is a farce. He is more of the same, only with less experience. The Washington Post nailed him for it this morning.
Posted by: NJH | Sep 19, 2008 11:26:04 AM
The only connection I see between Kucinich and Mc Cain is that both have wives young enough to be their daughters. Dennis is the clear winner.
Posted by: ricky | Sep 19, 2008 11:24:28 AM
"McCain warned and introduced legislation in 2006"
McCain cosponsored a bill in 2005 that was reintroduced in 2006.
Obama authored a bill that was intro in 2006 and re intro'd in 2007.
Neither bill went anywhere in the Senate.
Posted by: Ryan C | Sep 19, 2008 11:13:27 AM
"It wasn't that long ago that the faux outrage du jour was at of the use of "Democrat Party" instead of "Democratic Party"."
Democrat party is right winger favorite especially freepers.
Guess Concerned isn't an independent as he claims.
Yes shocking that concerned would lie about such a thing.
Posted by: Ryan C | Sep 19, 2008 11:12:14 AM
And Sen. Obama can't decide whether he is the UNITER or the DIVIDER.
Sen. Obama has intentionally lied about statements by Rush Limbaugh on illegal immigration--taken them completely out of context--in a new political ad (en Espanol) in order to exploit and even inflame racial tensions in the Hispanic community for political gain.
Sen. Obama is absolutely dispicable! The ad quotes Rush Limbaugh as saying "...MEXICANOS ESTUPIDOS Y NO CALIFICADOS." ("...Mexicans are stupid and unqualified.") and "CIERRA TU BOCA O LARGATE!" ("Shut your mouth our get out!").
Google, Limbaugh on Obama Ad, and read about it yourself.
Posted by: James Danley | Sep 19, 2008 10:22:19 AM
Who is the one following Bush's disastrous policies?
McCain follows whichever stand looks more politically viable at the moment, judging from his amazing flip-flopping:
No bail out! Bail out! Oh, DON'T bail out! Bail out!...
Shows he didn't put thought into it, otherwise he would've been able to explain his rationale.
Posted by: Grey Matter | Sep 19, 2008 8:54:10 AM
Obama sits around and waits to see what everybody else has to say before he makes up his mind about anything....
Remember in the debates: "Well, I have to go along with Hillary on that one....and that one.....and that one....and that one........., etc, etc."
Never a thought for himself, but yet thinks he's qualified to run the free world..
And now the son of a DEMOCRATIC legislator from Tennessee has been identified as the criminal who hacked Palin's personal email account.
We new all along it was going to be some Democrat somewhere who did this....
Posted by: Lee | Sep 19, 2008 8:46:16 AM
Except blame, blame, blame, what can Obama offer?
Nothing!!!
Posted by: beth | Sep 19, 2008 8:40:41 AM
Since Obama wouldn't even take a stand on the AIG bailout, it's disingenuous for him to criticize McCain for his view.
McCain is a leader. Obama is a follower.
Posted by: marylou | Sep 19, 2008 7:32:02 AM
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