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Let the Vetting Begin, Obama Campaign Says
March 05, 2008 2:36 PM
ABC News' Sunlen Miller Reports: The Obama campaign is pushing ahead full force against the Clinton campaign, saying it's not Barack Obama but rather Hillary Clinton who has not been vetted.
"The point we want to raise is that the vetting of Hillary Clinton has yet to start - that the hard questions have not been asked of Senator Clinton," Obama strategist David Axelrod said. "What's good for the goose is good for the gander."
Axelrod and Communications Director Robert Gibbs told reporters on a conference call that Clinton is being elusive about her tax returns as well as her records from her years as First Lady.
Playing off the Clinton's "Change you can Xerox" line, Axelrod said, "You can Xerox your tax returns... there's not a lot of preparation needed for that."
They called on Clinton to release her tax returns before April 15th, which her campaign has hinted was her deadline. Gibbs says that by then 80% of democrats would have voted.
The campaign insists that this is not a shift in strategy to go negative against Clinton. "This is an attempt to see to it that both the campaign are held to the same yardstick. There's no candidate that has been vetted less in this campaign than Senator Clinton," Axelrod said.
Despite losing Texas, Ohio and Rhode Island, the Obama campaign said they went in with a strong lead and came out with a strong lead. Additionally, they noted that there are 370 delegates less on the playing field right now. Even with Tuesday night's outcome, Clinton has not been able to close the gap, cutting into Obama's lead by only four pledged delegates according to their estimates.
March 5, 2008 in Kucinich, Dennis | Permalink | User Comments (235)
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So, Axelrod thinks he can command Senator Clinton to release her tax returns prior to April 15?
Perhaps the Obama campaign czar can get away with that when dealing with his own peasants and minions, but I doubt that the Clinton camp will do much more than laugh.
In my lifetime, April 15 has been the traditional tax deadline for all Americans. Now, we have the Internal Axelrod Revenue Service saying that isn't good enough.
That's about right for a campaign that refers to its candidate as "the Messiah."
Posted by: ken | Mar 5, 2008 2:50:21 PM
if she has nothing to hide, why not release them?
how about releasing all the First Lady documents
the donors to the Presidential Library, why such a big secret?
bill's dubai port deal?
how about kazakhstan?
Posted by: LA in Indiana | Mar 5, 2008 2:52:52 PM
No candidate that has been less vetted? Axelrod sounds just flat out stupid. Who has been more vetted than Hillary Clinton?
So Mr. Hope and Change had the door slammed shut last night and now moves to campaign tactics he swore he would never use.
Dangerous ground for Obama.
Posted by: Kris | Mar 5, 2008 2:55:59 PM
When he was getting win after win he did not have a problem but he is sure acting like a sore loser after Hillary has made this come back.
Posted by: SJ | Mar 5, 2008 2:56:53 PM
Yes.. clinton we need to know.!!!!!!!!!.. democracy = transparency... ooops I forgot you are a Republican
Shame on you for using all the dirty tricks in the clinton's dictoionary to steal votes and still be proud. I wonder how you are able to sleep at night.
Posted by: aurelia | Mar 5, 2008 2:56:55 PM
It's about time!!!
This guy should be fired for not "vetting" Clinton LONG ago. If they had "vetted" Clinton earlier, this race wouldn't be as close as it is now.
Posted by: Sean | Mar 5, 2008 2:57:00 PM
hillary believes as long as she ignores it, it will go away. That is how she and bill handled this in the 90's. Then a slow leak started, and the dam broke...
scandal after scandal
someone explain the experience that qualifies hillary as commander in chief.
Posted by: LA in Indiana | Mar 5, 2008 2:57:34 PM
LMAO, the press releases fromthe Obama campaign just keep getting funnier and funnier.
Like Clinton hasnt been vetted!! aahahahh
There is no one more vetted on the face of the planet.
LMAO who's desperate now!
Posted by: s.b. | Mar 5, 2008 2:58:00 PM
All I can say is thank God all of this stuff is coming out on Obama before the general election, where McCain and Rove would have torn him to shreds. As far as his threat to vet Clinton, good luck -- the Repubs have been at that for 16 years. There's nothing left.
Posted by: LAGuy | Mar 5, 2008 2:58:40 PM
"LA in Indiana", what exactly is "Chicago Politics" of which Obama is the master? Does this pertain to Rezko. Clinton has already completed her part of the process and approved papers for release. Why not have Obama answer all the questions on Rezko-Gate?
Posted by: WestCoastMessenger | Mar 5, 2008 2:59:18 PM
other than having a general behind her, because all three candidates have a general supporting them. If its just enough to say she understands....they all 'understand', so that doesn't fly.
Posted by: LA in Indiana | Mar 5, 2008 2:59:50 PM
Hey Ken, you should have seen Axelrod squirming with George Stephanopolous when a) the Clinton campaign pledged a date certain to release tax returns, and b) George S. continued to hammer Axelrod on the unanswered Rezko questions. Axelrod refused to respond. The cracks in the Obama campaign are just starting to appear, just a matter of time in the pressure cooker.
Posted by: WestCoastMessenger | Mar 5, 2008 3:02:47 PM
he's already answered them, y'all just don't like the answers because there is nothing there. so you just keep beating the drum....how disingenuous
The Chicago Tribune has done the vetting on this issue already. When it came up again last year, one of the reporters on CBS or NBC (whichever one it was) did a report on this issue. The result? There was nothing illegal, period.
So tell the first lady to release all her documents so the sheeple can see what she is hiding.
She would rather throw her own party members under the bus, well its about time she got dragged under the bus as well. The dragging will be much worse if she wins the nomination, because then she will surely lose.
Posted by: LA in Indiana | Mar 5, 2008 3:04:22 PM
ken: I believe Mr. Axelrod is talking about prior years, returns prepared some time go.
Posted by: aka | Mar 5, 2008 3:04:27 PM
Hillary Clinton has had it very easy on the vetting front. She has not been vetted for the presidential election. Where did that $5 million loan come from?
She thinks people will just let her skate through without revealing her current tax records? The American people deserve to know who is buying access to the Whitehouse.
Hillary is trying out for the most powerful office in the US. I think she should live by same standard that other candidates have honored.
What is she hiding????????
Why no more on her connection with Gupta of Info USA?
Posted by: Grace | Mar 5, 2008 3:05:46 PM
It must be nice for Hillary to have George Steph. in her back pocket doing her dirty work for her.
Posted by: Sean | Mar 5, 2008 3:07:17 PM
A lot of talk about answering questions about Rezko. Specifically what questions about Rezko has Obama refused to answer?
Posted by: Don | Mar 5, 2008 3:07:43 PM
If he is so forth coming with these answers on the Rezko why is the Chicago media after him for answer? Am very sure the media has a lot of other news they can cover but maybe they know something that we don't and need to get to the bottom of the matter.
Or is it that Obama is going to say the Chicago media houses don't like him, so they are just sitting there daily waiting to get something on him?
Posted by: SJ | Mar 5, 2008 3:13:01 PM
they can't say what he hasn't answered, they figure if they just keep beating the Rezko drum, then the hillary sheeple will be afraid....
besides, he is a muslim too, right?! I mean, as far as hillary knows, he's not, right?!
just dishonest rhetoric...she will say or do anything to get elected.
Posted by: LA in Indiana | Mar 5, 2008 3:15:19 PM
We have not had so much fun since the day after the 2000 election. I would not have believed it - but this is going all the way to Puerto Rico!
Posted by: smartprimate | Mar 5, 2008 3:15:29 PM
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