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Obama Fires Back at Clinton: 'Shame on Her'
April 13, 2008 8:19 PM
ABC News' Sunlen Miller reports: Barack Obama launched into a fiery offensive this evening in a speech before the United Steelworkers Union in Steelton, Pa., in responding to criticisms about his "bitter" remarks -- going after Sen. Hillary Clinton in a way rarely seen over the course of this campaign.
"Shame on her," Obama said, echoing one of Clinton's own atacks on him. "Shame on her, she knows better."
Watch the VIDEO HERE.
Obama said he was disappointed with her for her response and then launched into a new criticism of Clinton over her recent admission of being a hunter, and compared her sarcastically to Annie Oakley.
"She’s running around talking about how this is an insult to sportsmen, how she values the Second Amendment, she's talking like she's Annie Oakley! Hillary Clinton's out there like she's on the duck blind every Sunday, she's packin' a six shooter! C'mon! She knows better. That's some politics being played by Hillary Clinton. I want to see that picture of her out there in the duck blinds."
Obama said he is amazed and surprised by this "dust-up" but admitted that his words were chosen badly. He said he deeply regretted ... that his words were misinterpreted.
He also defended himself, bringing up his own devotion to faith and his stance on the Second Amendment -– and he responded to the idea that he is an elitist.
"Now, I am the first to admit that some of the words I chose, I chose badly," he said, "So I’m not a perfect man and the words I chose, I chose badly. They were subject to misinterpretation, they were subject to be twisted and I regret that. I regret that deeply. But when people suggest that somehow I was demeaning religion when I know that I'm a man of deep faith, somebody who in my own life has held on to faith, held on to my confidence in God during times of trial and tribulation, then it sounds like there's some politics being played. When people suggest that I was somehow being elitist and demeaning hunters when I have repeatedly talked about the tradition that people pass on from generation to generation, hunters and sportsmen, and how I have consistently spoken about my respect for the Second Amendment, when people try to suggest that I was demeaning those traditions, then it sounds like there's some politics that's being played."
He reiterated what he said was the intended message of his original comments at the fundraiser in San Francisco.
"And what really burns me up is when people suggest that me saying that folks are mad, they are angry, they are bitter after 25, 30 years of seeing jobs shipped out, pensions not fulfilled, healthcare lost, the notion that people are surprised and are suggesting that I'm out of touch because I spoke honestly about people's frustrations, that tells me there's some politics going on," he said.
While Obama saved most of the feisty criticism for Clinton, he also took a couple swings at John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee for president.
"John McCain said I was out of touch, he said I was being 'condescending and elitist, people aren’t bitter,'" Obama said. "And I’m thinking to myself, here's a guy it took him three tries before he actually came up with a plan to deal with the millions of people who are about to lose their homes because of foreclosure, who wants to perpetuate the Bush tax cuts."
Obama also reminded the union crowd of Clinton’s position on NAFTA, which many working people blame for allowing companies to outsource manufacturing jobs to Mexico, and Clinton campaign strategist Mark Penn, who was working as a lobbyist for Colombia to help that country get a free trade deal with the United States that Clinton said she opposed.
"Who do you think is out of touch? This is the same person who spent a decade with her husband campaigning for NAFTA and now says she’s against NAFTA," Obama said. "Does that sound like she’s in touch with Pennsylvania? In touch with you? Against trade with Colombia -- turns out her top adviser was working with Colombian government to get the bill passed. Does that sound like it's in touch with you?"
Obama concluded that these are the types of things people are frustrated about, "things haven't changed. And of course you're frustrated about that. Of course you're bitter about that."
April 13, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (831)
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Great comeback from Obama. With this issue being the first question out of the gate at tonight's Compassion Forum, it will be interesting to see the next 90 minutes.
With confection/candy factories closing and jobs going to Mexico, Hillabeans support for NAFTA should fuel a bunch of Obama votes!!!
I'm eagerly awaiting Wednesday's debate, in particular, when we'll get to see both senators on stage and watch them slug it out!!!
Obama 2008 -- Yes, WE CAN!!!
Posted by: Jackt51 -- Vietnam Vet and Proud Liberal | Apr 13, 2008 8:27:29 PM
Obama finaly fights back because the truth is his side.
Posted by: diogu | Apr 13, 2008 8:28:23 PM
A vote for Obama is a voye for Hamas! Aljezira reported in Gaza hamas is supprting Obma , March 31st 2008!Also a terrorist is afndraiser for Obama!
http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2008/04/islamic-terrori.html
Posted by: David Star | Apr 13, 2008 8:38:29 PM
Funny how the sportsmen don't even get that Obama is even more anti gun than Hillary is.
Posted by: Eric | Apr 13, 2008 8:39:53 PM
I really can't understand why anyone would continue to "cling" to Obama. Maybe we can wean you folk off this crutch.
Posted by: hopesprings52 | Apr 13, 2008 8:45:45 PM
Please comment on your "slavery" quote in your (private) fundraising "bitter" speech. Upon hearing the audio, I believe you chose your words exactly how you wanted. You know, the tone in which you spoke. Different dialects for different situations.
Posted by: RL in Illinois | Apr 13, 2008 8:46:24 PM
Obama is UNELECTABLE. do you understand this?
Posted by: geevill | Apr 13, 2008 8:46:58 PM
Obama is the worst choice we could make for president. He is the George Bush of this election cycle. If he is elected everyone will regret it. He will ruin this country and make us weak.
To prove how much he sucks he has Al Gore and Jimmy Carter playing hardball for him. Pathetic!!!
Posted by: Bertrand | Apr 13, 2008 8:48:03 PM
To Obama I am happy you are finally defending yourself. Those two wannabee candidates are trying any way they can to discredit you. It is because they are so worried about losing. Anyone with a brain knows what they are doing!!! Hopefully intelligent people know that. I sure hope you win.
Posted by: ayds | Apr 13, 2008 8:49:39 PM
LOL @ Obama
Typical for him, he has nothing to offer nothing to give, so as usual obama style he attacks people.
He has ran his whole campaign like that.
dirty, low and anything to make everyone else look bad.
Keep the eyes off of me he is screaming.
He is to funny.
I'm in amazement he has not called anyone racist for not liking his San Francisco speech. (he did that in the speech, but thought he would come back heavy to take the eyes off himself)
He so reminds me of a 10 year old.
Posted by: seah | Apr 13, 2008 8:50:13 PM
When Hillary says shame on you Obama it is madness and cheapness on her part. When Obama says that, it's a good comeback.
Koolaid, the only drink in the world which really works!
Posted by: Josh | Apr 13, 2008 8:50:37 PM
David Star:
take your crap elsewhere. Use legitimate sources for info, not far right-wing idiots!
Obama 2008 -- Yes, WE CAN!!!
Posted by: Jackt51 -- Vietnam Vet and Proud Liberal | Apr 13, 2008 8:50:54 PM
Obama LAUNDRY LIST OF LIES.
1.) Selma Got Me Born - LIAR, your parents felt safe enough to have you in 1961 - Selma had no effect on your birth, as Selma was in 1965.
2.) Father Was A Goat Herder - LIAR, he was a privileged, well educated youth, who went on to work with the Kenyan Government.
3.) Father Was A Proud Freedom Fighter - LIAR, he was part of one of the most corrupt and violent governments Kenya has ever had
4.) My Family Has Strong Ties To African Freedom - LIAR, your cousin Raila Odinga has created mass violence in attempting to overturn a legitimate election in 2007, in Kenya. It is the first widespread violence in decades.
5.) My Grandmother Has Always Been A Christian - LIAR, she does her daily Salat prayers at 5am according to her own interviews. Not to mention, Christianity wouldn’t allow her to have been one of 14 wives to 1 man.
6.) My Name is African Swahili - LIAR, your name is Arabic and ‘Baraka’ (from which Barack came) means ‘blessed’ in that language. Hussein is also Arabic and so is Obama.
7.) I Never Practiced Islam - LIAR, you practiced it daily at school, where you were registered as a Muslim and kept that faith for 31 years,until your wife made you change, so you could run for office.
8.) My School In Indonesia Was Christian - LIAR, you were registered as Muslim there and got in trouble in Koranic Studies for making faces (check your own book).
9.) I Was Fluent In Indonesian - LIAR, not one teacher says you could speak the language.
10.) Because I Lived In Indonesia, I Have More Foreign Experience - LIAR, you were there from the ages of 6 to 10, and couldn’t even speak the language. What did you learn, how to study the Koran and watch cartoons.
11.) I Am Stronger On Foreign Affairs - LIAR, except for Africa (surprise) and the Middle East (bigger surprise), you have never been anywhere else on the planet and thus have NO experience with our closest allies.
12.) I Blame My Early Drug Use On Ethnic Confusion - LIAR, you were quite content in high school to be Barry Obama, no mention of Kenya and no mention of struggle to identify - your classmates said you were just fine.
13.)An Ebony Article Moved Me To Run For Office - LIAR, Ebony has yet to find the article you mention in your book. It doesn’t, and never did, exist.
14.) A Life Magazine Article Changed My Outlook On Life - LIAR, Life has yet to find the article you mention in your book. It doesn’t, and never did, exist.
15.) I Won’t Run On A National Ticket In ‘08 - LIAR, here you are, despite saying, live on TV, that you would not have enough experience by then, and you are all about having experience first.
16.) Present Votes Are Common In Illinois - LIAR, they are common for YOU, but not many others have 130 NO VOTES.
17.) Oops, I Misvoted - LIAR, only when caught by church groups and democrats, did you beg to change your misvote.
18.) I Was A Professor Of Law - LIAR, you were a senior lecturer ON LEAVE.
19.) I Was A Constitutional Lawyer - LIAR, you were a senior lecturer ON LEAVE.
20.) Without Me, There Would Be No Ethics Bill - LIAR, you didn’t write it,introduce it, change it, or create it.
21.) The Ethics Bill Was Hard To Pass - LIAR, it took just 14 days from start to finish.
22.) I Wrote A Tough Nuclear Bill - LIAR, your bill was rejected by your own party for its pandering and lack of all regulation - mainly because of your Nuclear Donor, Exelon, from which David Axelrod came.
23.) I Have Released My State Records - LIAR, as of March, 2008, state bills you sponsored or voted for have yet to be released, exposing all the special interests pork hidden within.
24.) I Took On The Asbestos Altgeld Gardens Mess - LIAR, you were part of a large group of people who remedied Altgeld Gardens. You failed to mention anyone else but yourself, in your books.
25.) My Economics Bill Will Help America - LIAR, your 111 economic policies were just combined into a proposal which lost 99-0, and even YOU voted against your own bill.
26.) I Have Been A Bold Leader In Illinois - LIAR, even your own supporters claim to have not seen BOLD action on your part.
27.) I Passed 26 Of My Own Bills In One Year - LIAR, they were not YOUR bills, but rather handed to you, after their creation by a fellow Senator, to assist you in a future bid for higher office.
28.) No One Contacted Canada About NAFTA - LIAR, the Candian Government issued the names and a memo of the conversation your campaign had with them.
29.) I Am Tough On Terrorism - LIAR, you missed the Iran Resolution vote on terrorism and your good friend Ali Abunimah supports the destruction of Israel.
30.) I Am Not Acting As President Yet - LIAR, after the NAFTA Memo, a dead terrorist in the FARC, in Colombia, was found with a letter stating how you and he were working together on getting FARC recognized officially.
31.) I Didn’t Run Ads In Florida - LIAR, you allowed national ads to run 8-12 times per day for two weeks - and you still lost.
32.) I Won Michigan - LIAR, no you didn’t.
33.) I won Nevada - LIAR, no you did not.
34.) I Want All Votes To Count - LIAR, you said let the delegates decide.
35.) I Want Americans To Decide - LIAR, you prefer caucuses that limit the vote, confuse the voters, force a public vote, and only operate during small windows of time.
36.) I passed 900 Bills in the State Senate - LIAR, you passed 26, most of which you didn’t write yourself.
37.) My Campaign Was Extorted By A Friend - LIAR, that friend is threatening to sue if you do not stop saying this. Obama has stopped saying this.
38.) I Believe In Fairness, Not Tactics - LIAR, you used tactics to eliminate Alice Palmer from running against you.
39.) I Don’t Take PAC Money - LIAR, you take loads of it.
40.) I don’t Have Lobbysists - LIAR, you have over 47 lobbyists, and counting.
41.) My Campaign Had Nothing To Do With The 1984 Ad - LIAR, your own campaign worker made the ad on his Apple in one afternoon.
42.) My Campaign Never Took Over MySpace - LIAR, Tom, who started MySpace issued a warning about this advertising to MySpace clients.
43.) I Inspire People With My Words - LIAR, you inspire people with other people’s words.
44.) I Have Passed Bills In The U.S. Senate - LIAR, you have passed A BILL in the U.S. Senate - for Africa, which shows YOUR priorities.
45.) I Have Always Been Against Iraq - LIAR, you weren’t in office to vote against it AND you have voted to fund it every single time, unlike Kucinich, who seems to be out gutting you Obama. You also seem to be stepping back from your departure date - AGAIN.
46.) I Have Always Supported Universal Health Care - LIAR, your plan leaves us all to pay the 15,000,000 who don’t have to buy it.
47.) I Only Found Out About My Investment Conflicts Via Mail - LIAR, both companies you site as having sent you letters about this conflict have no record of any such letter ever being created or sent.
48.) I Am As Patriotic As Anyone - LIAR, you won’t wear a flag pin and you don’t put your hand over your heart during the Anthem.
49.) My Wife Didn’t Mean What She Said About Pride In Country - LIAR, your wife’s words follow lock-step in the vain of Wright and Farrahkan, in relation to their contempt and hatred of America.
50.) Wal-Mart Is A Company I Wouldn’t Support - LIAR, your wife has received nearly a quater of a million dollars through Treehouse, which is connected to Wal-Mart.
51.) Treehouse Is A Small Company - LIAR, the CEO of Treehouse last year, made more than the CEO of Wal-Mart, according to public records.
52.) University Of Chicago Hospital Pay Is Fair - LIAR, your wife’s pay raise was nearly 150% her already bloated rate and the hospital is a Non-Profit Hospital, which made $100,000,000 in the last 3 years. They overcharge blacks VS whites for services, and overcharge everyone in general by 538%!
53.)I Barely Know Rezko - Only 5 Billed Hours - LIAR, you have known him for 17 years, and decided to do a real estate deal with him during a time when he was proven to be under investigation. Despite this, you divided your property and had them take off $300K before the mortgage problems started. Then Rezko’s wife buys the lot beside it that you can’t afford, saving you $625,000.
54.) My Donations Have Been Checked Thoroughly - LIAR, you only gave back Hsu ($72K) and Rezko ($150K) their money when publically called on their involvement in your campaigns.
55.) My Church Is Like Any Other Christian Church - LIAR, your church is so extreme, the pastor who married you, Rev. Wright, just got done blaming the US for 9/11 and named Louis Farrahkan their person of the year.
56.) I Disagree With My Church All The Time - LIAR, you still have yet to repudiate Wright, who married you and your wife, and you still donate large sums of money to assist the church in furthering its message - hatred and revenge. You donated in 2006 alone, $22,500 to the church that you so terribly disagree with. That is nearly $500 PER WEEK - that sure is disagreement, Senator Obama.
57.) I Have Clean Connections Despite Rezko - LIAR, you are not only connected to Exelon and Rezko, you are also connected to Hillary PAC supporter Mr. Hsu, AND an Iraqi Billionaire of ill repute, Nadhmi Auchi, who ripped off people in the Food For Oil, Iraqi deal. Seems Mr. Auchi may have helped Obama buy his million dollar property long before Obama had millions of dollars. Wonder what favors Mr. Auchi expects, when Obama leaves Iraq free to be taken over by special interests such as him.
58.) I never heard sermons like Rev. Wright’s, that have been in videos all day, You Tube - LIAR! 3 days later during your Mea Culpa BS speech you said “Did I hear controversial statements while sitting in the pew yes!"
Posted by: ted | Apr 13, 2008 8:51:44 PM
Well, Josh, what's good for the goose should be good for the gander!
Obama 2008 -- Yes, WE CAN!!!
Posted by: Jackt51 -- Vietnam Vet and Proud Liberal | Apr 13, 2008 8:52:29 PM
Why don't we just open the doors for the terrorist to come in now and attack us? It looks like the our future friends around the world will be Hamas, Iran's President, Chavez and so on if we elect Obama. He is full of uncertainty, he has proven over and over that he has no experience and is not ready to lead the United States. We cannot allow this to happen. We cannot sit back and let a condescending, arrogant candidate continue to put us at risk. NOBAMA
Posted by: Persio | Apr 13, 2008 8:53:38 PM
Hillary is terrible. How could she claim being on the side of the american workers when leaders in her team are currently working against the american people interest. Guest what, Penn is not gone from the team he is still a lead player in her campain. The idea of conflict of interest is real but only in conflict with Hillary attempt to get the nomination. to her he is not in conflict with the american interest.
If she is really honest she should have fired him not hiding him from the public.
Posted by: leche | Apr 13, 2008 8:53:52 PM
It's a shame Barack has to stoop to Hilldabeast's level in order to adequately defend himself. He has clearly been the superior statesman in this campaign and although his phrasing in the 'bitter' story was less than desirable it's a greater insult to voter's intellect that the dust-up was due to Clinton's futile effort to deflect attention from her lies regarding her GI Jane landing in Bosnia and the embarrassment surrounding her chief campaign strategist's clear conflict of interest with her position on Columbian trade. That is a shame!
Posted by: marc | Apr 13, 2008 8:54:55 PM
Shame on her?! I agree, that women Clinton, is a apple in Bill Clinton's teeth. She only is where she is because of Bill.
Rotary saudations to all.
Posted by: Omega Petrograde | Apr 13, 2008 8:56:04 PM
Jackt51,
ROFLMAO.
Great comeback indeed. Thank Obama for Obama. He is the great hope of the Obama zombie nation. Did he denounce and repudiate his remarks, but maintain compassion for himself as a person? Is the problem that we don't really know the Obama that Obama knows. The Obama that Obama knows doesn't spew hateful rhetoric at small-town people, if Obama had heard any thoughts like that previously he would have got up and walked out on himself.
========================================
Obama, there's a thundering speech a'comin'.
He will explain it all - you just wait and see.
========================================
Posted by: WestCoastMessenger | Apr 13, 2008 8:56:06 PM
This guy doesn't have grounds. Who does he think he is kidding? The sensation is over and Obama himself has showed the ignorant and the segregationist he is. I am glad to find the truth sooner than later.
Posted by: RossiMas | Apr 13, 2008 8:57:33 PM
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