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Obama: McCain's Policies A Problem, Not His Biography

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April 01, 2008 3:50 PM

ABC News' Sunlen Miller Reports: On the fifth day of Sen. Barack Obama's six-day bus tour through Pennsylvania, the Illinois senator took issue with another candidate's tour taking place this week: Republican nominee Senator McCain's.

McCain's "Service to America Tour" is an attempt to reintroduce the Arizona senator to the American people, with campaign stops highlighting his biography.

Obama said McCain's biography "is worthy of admiration, "My argument with John McCain is not his biography, it's his policies."

Obama then pinpointed McCain's stance on tax cuts, the Iraq war, the housing crisis, as well a conflict of interest with advisers who are lobbyists and work for special interests as areas where he disagrees with the Arizona senator.

"John McCain's politics are of the past, and we are party of the future," Obama said.

Obama has launched very specific hits against Senator McCain each day of his bus tour though Pennsylvania, starting on Friday.

Noticeably absent from his stump speeches has been his Democratic opponent, Senator Hillary Clinton who was campaigning nearby in Pennsylvania today.  In his half-hour stump speech in Wilkes Barre, the New York senator's name didn't come up once.

Obama also passed on some words of advice to a future presidential contender during his town hall.

Though it's too late for 2008, second grader Michael LaCoste asked Obama how he could run for president.

"When you get out of school, then you have to go to college, after you go to college them you've got to find a job that hopefully is helping other people so that people appreciate the fact that you're helping them and they'll say to themselves, 'boy that might make a good president someday.' And if you do all those things, then you might just be a president someday," Obama said, exemplifying a biography remarkably similarly to his own.

April 1, 2008 in Kucinich, Dennis | Permalink | User Comments (20)

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So Obama wants troops to stay in Afghanistan and Pakistan, has no comment on Iran, wants a global carbon tax, reparations, universal health care, and doesn't believe that there is a North American Union. (Even though there is a European Union, an Afican Union, and an Aasean Union) Naieve is Not just evian spelled backwards. McCain is insane, Hilliary is just like Bill, but without accomplishment that doesn't involve him for good or bad an any given matter, and Obama is a hologram, without substance, pandering to the very elitist of the elite. Well, it's great to see we get to have a "choice" in who gets to "lead" our country. NOT!!!

Posted by: cba | Apr 1, 2008 4:09:25 PM

McCain has his in whole life one single message: war. One objective: a militarist America. One vision: boots on the ground. Is that going to make somebody electable for president? NO. McCain has a wrong biography and wrong policies for America and the World. God bless America and God bless Obama. OBAMA08.

Posted by: BKMC | Apr 1, 2008 4:11:13 PM

Obama is unelectable. Get over it.

He is Kerry, Kennedys, and Pelosi's sock puppet.

Posted by: tomdavie | Apr 1, 2008 4:16:27 PM

I am trusting the people of this country will realize that we need a definate change in order to turn things around. No more "old" politics...we need to turn the page and get out country on the road to returning to it's former greatness.

Posted by: cindy | Apr 1, 2008 4:17:35 PM

tomdavie the hand writing is on the wall, could you not see it? God bless America and God bless Obama. OBAMA08.

Posted by: BKMC | Apr 1, 2008 4:22:45 PM

Is this the Change and Hope which the Obamaniacs crave so?....

This week Obama said, “What I said is I would have a Strike Force in the region, perhaps in Iraq, perhaps outside of Iraq, so that we could take advantage of--or we could deal with potential problems that might take place in the region.”

Posted by: carl | Apr 1, 2008 4:25:10 PM

We don't need to turn the page, we need a new book.

And I don't see a good book to read right now.

Posted by: mary | Apr 1, 2008 4:27:09 PM

If the USa does not have enough political parties how they going to find a decent guy for the WH ?

Posted by: ana | Apr 1, 2008 4:41:43 PM

McCain served our country honorably, but he is not the right person for the presidency. We have been in Iraq far too long and our most optimistic expectation is that the religious sects will not kill each other when we leave. The majority sect is clearly allied with Iran, and there have already been visits between the governmental leaders of these two countries. There are clearly some honorable people there, but most of them just want to see us gone so they can continue their struggle for power. We must elect someone who will extricate us from that mess, and McCain will not do it.

Posted by: george | Apr 1, 2008 4:58:11 PM

Apparently Obama will not extricate us from the Iraq mess, either. His proposal this week is to "have a strike force (which means combat troops) in the region, perhaps IN Iraq, perhaps outside of Iraq, so that we could deal with potential problems that might take place in the region."

How big would the problems have to get for Obama to use his Strike Force? Mass executions of the thousands and thousands of Iraqis who cooperated with us? al-Qaeda slaughtering civilians?--we are "dealing with that problem" RIGHT NOW. No mater what, Obama's plan gets us right back into Iraq, "dealing with problems," which means fighting a war.

Obama just laid out a plan for an Indefinite troop presence of Undetermined size, and yet he mocks John McCain for saying he would keep U.S. forces in Iraq indefinitely and at undetermined levels.

Posted by: carl | Apr 1, 2008 5:17:37 PM

So Obama wants to give up Iraq to either Al Qaeda or the Sadr-Iranian puppets and then go back in after they take control. History has always shown us if you have to retake a fortress, you need at least four times the strength of the defenders to defeat them with more than double the casualties than those inside. Sorry Obama, Commander-In-Chief? Perhaps Clueless-In-Chief...and not for this country.

Posted by: Doug | Apr 1, 2008 6:22:54 PM

Obama can always have it both ways. He can criticize Hillary in the debates for he plan to get the troops out in a careful measured way: two brigades a month, troops to remain temporarily to protect our embassies and the Iraqis who helped us, then possibly a contingency strike force for an unpredictable urgency in the region. Obama criticized her then, saying he would get the troops out in 16 months. Now, he is criticizing John McCain over a figure of speech "100 years", when Obama admitted that he knew McCain was comparing the situation to bases we have in Korea and elsewhere for our collective security. Which is it, Obama? He is a moving target, or else the media just does not want to play his words back to him. Who cares? Some people don't. They would prefer to have a new face with glorious promises of something. He is so lacking in knowledge, and he dodges issues much like George Bush did. We are really in trouble.

Posted by: georgia | Apr 1, 2008 10:14:21 PM

Obama vs. McCain. New and young vs. old and just plain OLD! Raise your hand if you want to stare at OR listen to the cryptkeeper for the next four years..NOT ME!

Posted by: glamazon | Apr 1, 2008 11:53:29 PM

Factcheck.org today takes a look at Obama’s claim to not take money from oil companies and concludes that the statement “misleading” since according to the non-partisan Center for Responsive Politics Obama has taken more than $213,000 from individuals (and their spouses) who work for companies in the oil and gas industry — not to mention that two of Obama’s top fundraisers are top executives at oil companies”.

And as Tapper points out, Nobody takes money from oil companies, or any other kind of corporations, because it’s Illegal to do so. At best, Obama issued a deceptive non-sequitur, and at worst, flat-out lied about his funding. Shall we now get into a debate over the word “companies”, akin to Bill Clinton’s parsing of the word “is”?

Posted by: carl | Apr 2, 2008 9:23:01 AM

While Obama certainly appears better equipped to be President than the "who could lie better than Bill" Hillary Clinton, his policies might be better appreciated and more useful in self-help seminar in the likes of Tony Robbins. At this time our country cannot afford the sophomoric socialist policies of overly confident man with an identity crisis.(watch some of the Reverend White videos and decide this for yourself) Our national security is at risk, our economy is at risk and an inexperienced, newbee that spent the majority of his upbringing on tropical islands isn't going to bite the bullet and be the leader this country needs. Aloha and apah-ka-bah folks! If you are a true American that values this nation's sovereignty, it's opportunities, and it's freedoms that are being encroached upon then you will understand that McCain although imperfect is the only reasonable choice during these trying times. Seniority of McCain's experience is an asset. Who would you ask for advice in dealing with your own personal war? A veteran who served honorably in our military and showed a strength beyond that of most men? Or an overly optimistic rookie that throws a good pep rally? McCain may be old but isn't going to sell us out to the socialist policies that errode our economy and national security and not to mention go against the grain of every word in the Constitution. While Bush's execution of the war in Iraq is blundered to say the least....Whether you want to make fun of his grades, his mastery of the English language...or what some consider to be a reckless cowboy-like way of doing things. Just remember how many times this country took a hit from Al-Qaeda with Bush in office! How in God's name would Obama or Hillary do any better? They don't know anything about war. You can rest assured that Al-Qaeda is praying for either Obama or Hillary to win the presidency. Aren't you a bit put off by Obama's "Si Se Puede" Coomb-bah-ya tone. And don't you wonder about his mentor who is engulfed bitterness about race issues? What happened after Bush got in office????? 9/11.... do you really want a NY or Illinois Senator as your commander and chief?

Posted by: Reality speaks | Apr 3, 2008 5:43:53 AM

obama no win i know it

Posted by: bob | Sep 3, 2008 3:55:59 PM

Mccain is going to win

Posted by: cain | Sep 3, 2008 4:00:02 PM

30 days to go...

Obama ahead and pulling away...

Goodbye you McSenile losers!!!

Posted by: Donald Perreira | Oct 5, 2008 8:00:45 PM

Obama won, but he will not get The United States out of its trouble, because he did not get it into it. The people have gotten themselves in this mess; not President Bush, either.

It seems we always want one person to blame for our problems; when we should looking into a mirror, at the real culprit.

Obama could no more solve America's calamities, then he could pick up a elephant with his bare hands.

The only thing Obama can do now is give false assurance, and false comfort.

Posted by: Charles Nickalopoulos | Nov 7, 2008 9:35:55 PM

Obama can no more save America, than the Captain of the sinking Titanic, could keep it from sinking.

Posted by: Charles Nickalopoulos | Nov 7, 2008 9:44:54 PM

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