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Clinton and Obama Bounce Between NC and Indiana

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May 05, 2008 1:52 PM

ABC News' Eloise Harper and Sunlen Miller report: Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-NY, in her final swing across North Carolina before the primary vote there Tuesday continued to drive her three main points against her opponent, arguing her plans for health care, home foreclosure and suspending the federal gas tax during the summer months are better than her Democratic rival Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill.

In a lighter moment, Clinton tried to appeal to North Carolinians in the town of High Point with a twinge of a southern accent speaking about BBQ.

On that topic Clinton said the only question she will not answer in this campaign is about which BBQ she prefers.

“We have had the best time. We have eaten BBQ from one end of this state to the other. You know for a while I was a little worried because every sighting of my husband was going into or going out of a BBQ joint. And I said, 'I hope his cardiologist doesn’t read that.' But then I kind of got into the swing of it too, and I said the only question I will not answer in this campaign is -- which is the best BBQ. I’ve made plenty of mistakes in my life, but I’m not walking into that one.”

Clinton again criticized her opponent for not accepting her gas tax relief proposal saying, “Sen. Obama wants you to pay the gas tax this summer – instead of trying to get it so the oil companies pay it out of their record profit. I believe that we should start standing up for the vast majority of Americans who are paying these outrageous prices.”

Clinton also said that as president, she would try to sue OPEC -- the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, which controls the price of two-thirds of the world's oil supply.

“We’re going to go after OPEC which remember is a monopoly cartel," Clinton said. "There’s nothing free-market about it. They sit in some conference room a couple of times a year and decide how much oil they are going to produce and how much they are going to charge for it. So lets change our laws so we can sue them on anti-trust reasons.”

Clinton also said her opponent doesn’t cover everyone in his health care plan and also pointed out that they differ on their mortgage crisis relief plans. “This is a big difference between me and my opponent in this campaign. I have been saying for over a year we need to take on the Wall Street bankers and the mortgage bankers that misled so many people into these sub-prime mortgages.”

After spending the morning in North Carolina, Clinton heads to Indiana, which is also voting Tuesday, where she will finish her day with several more campaign stops.

Meanwhile Obama toured Indiana and courted the white, blue collar crowd, dropping in on a construction site as workers filtered in on first shift with lunch pails and hard hats. Afterward, he hit the buffet at a labor union breakfast in Evansville, Indiana.

Obama spoke about his chances in the race that has tightened significantly over the past few weeks.

“I think our chances are good. I mean we've had a good week of campaigning,” Obama said about his time spent in Indiana, “We’re working as hard as we can and I desperately want every vote here in Indiana and in North Carolina.”

In the last 24 hours leading up to election day, Obama and Clinton will be bouncing back and forth between North Carolina and Indiana.

“This is gonna be a tight election here in Indiana,” Obama said at a labor union breakfast in Evansville, Indiana, where the Senator discussed his opposition to Clinton's gas tax relief proposal.

“It’s a stunt, its what Washington does, this isn’t the first time its been proposed, its proposed every two years,” he said and suggested that a second stimulus check would be a better solution for short term relief.

“That would help people immediately relieve some crisis and that’s money that you know wont be sopped up by oil companies.”

“Those aren’t just words ‘cause I’m gonna be following through. But I need your help to get me there,” Obama said and asked for the union members to help him get out the vote tomorrow.

The lanky Illinois senator moseyed over to the breakfast buffet table and noted that he’d lost some weight over his 15 month run, “I’ve been losing weight on this campaign. I hope there are some biscuits and grits.”

May 5, 2008 in Bush, George W., Kucinich, Dennis, Tancredo, Tom | Permalink | User Comments (210)

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Q: Mr. Senator, tell us why you love your country?

A: Arhhh, ehn... ehn.. (3 s, ticking), ehn, American is, arhh, ehn, (5 s ticking), beacon of the freeworld, ehn, arh..., ehn.. (10 s, ticking). Ehn, ehn, my father, ehn, arh... (15 s ticking), and ehn, ehn, my grandfather, look, ehn, ehn, (20 s, ticking), and my grandmother,....

Commander in Chief?

You need to make a decision in a split of a second, or you want to act like GWB, sitting there reading to children while the country is under attack.

Posted by: Boneheaded, Chicago | May 5, 2008 2:06:10 PM

Hillary is awesome so is Bill!

Obama, your time is up; is time for you to move on and get back to Washington and learn how to pass legislation. You have had way to much fun and your speeches are not convincing anymore.

Hillary-Edwards 2008

Posted by: Paul_NC | May 5, 2008 2:10:30 PM

In Hillarys 35 years of experience when has she ever gone after any elite power (except on the campaign trail to get votes)? I live in NY with the highest taxes in the union ans she has never as senator ever done anything to reduce taxes AS THEY STEADILY GO UP.

Posted by: jAYjAY | May 5, 2008 2:14:58 PM

News reports today show the number of FL hispanic democrats exceed hispanic republicans giving dems the possibility of winning FL in the GE. Given the demographics of the state most likely to support Clinton as also shown by the polls, the DNC Bylaws committee must look hard at their decision regarding the seating of FL delegates. I know they met on May 31 to hear arguments and that only 50% of the committee are Clinton supporters. Does anyone else find it strange we have not heard the decision? The DNC continues to show its cowardice and incompetence to run elections. Hopefully, the centrist members of the DNC will override the stupid decisions of its leadership to disenfranchise FL voters when the FL state dem party did nothing wrong.

Posted by: DCVoter | May 5, 2008 2:17:56 PM

jAyjAy - HRC is a Senator representing the state of NY in the Federal Government. If you blame her on high Federal Taxes, it perfectly fine, but if you complain about your high State Taxes, blame your potato governors and state legislature.

Posted by: lazy to think | May 5, 2008 2:20:09 PM

Obama lost weight because he cannot stomach food that real people eat. He must be used to those fancy restaraunts where they serve tiny portions where the chef treats your food like an art project and drizzles stuff on the plate.

Posted by: geevill | May 5, 2008 2:25:02 PM

lazy to think

the state of NY has higher taxes than the federal. Again my point she has done nothing to reduce state tax on gas. Obama did in his state & learned from the mistake so now oposes it.

Posted by: jAYjAY | May 5, 2008 2:27:12 PM

jAYjAY - again, you blamed the wrong person for the Wright stuff.

Posted by: lazy to think | May 5, 2008 2:29:52 PM

The Guam election remains uncertified as we wait for the result of the review of 500 spoiled ballots and they look for about 3600 missing ballots. The Pacific News Center poll shows 67% of people do not believe the 7 vote margin was credible in Guam. The outcome will likely not change the 2-2 pledged delegate split but there are 5 SD's for Guam that make more of a difference. With every delegate and SD important in this race, Guam has become a player.

Posted by: DCVoter | May 5, 2008 2:29:56 PM

jayjay,

Do you understand that Hillary Clinton does not serve in the New York State Legislature?

Posted by: geevill | May 5, 2008 2:34:02 PM

DCV makes another interest point.

The DNC should consider changing The Rules after the fact to Benefit Hillary. Better yet let Hillary decide which rules to change and which rules to Keep.

Now if DCV can just convince Obama to accept her plan....Hillary could be WINNING!

Posted by: The Commander Guy | May 5, 2008 2:40:20 PM

What would Obama do if Iran nukes Israel? He has never given a straight answer.

Posted by: geevill | May 5, 2008 2:44:35 PM

geevill

it's a hypothetical question remember, "it's naive to answer them as a presidential candidate"

Posted by: hypothetical | May 5, 2008 2:48:47 PM

There is no rules change involved. The DNC violated the rules by punishing FL when their state party did nothing wrong.

Posted by: DCVoter | May 5, 2008 2:49:38 PM

Obama proposes tax cuts for the middle class. We don't need tax cuts! we need jos, better pay better benefits. I am willing to pay my taxes. Just give me the money to do so. Hillary has always fought for workers rights. Obama is a radical who cares more about third world countries than our own citizens. there is no way to pay for all of his proposed plans. all americans want is the right to earn a living!

Posted by: Tom NYC | May 5, 2008 2:55:07 PM

if obama happens to hold on and win the dem nomination, as many already know, he wont win the general election. I like many other Hillary supporters see thru Obama, how fake and how nasty of a person he really is. All you have to do is look at his spiritual advisor. I will be voting mccain in November if Obama is on the ticket

Posted by: ryan | May 5, 2008 2:57:52 PM

Personally I think all 3 candidates suck...HRC, can't stand her, McCain is just Bush for 4 more years, and Obama, well I just don't know about him. Like in the old Richard Pyror movie, vote "None of the above"....

Posted by: JJ | May 5, 2008 3:00:16 PM

Brand new Gallup /USA Today poll shows Hillary leading Obama by 7 points – a complete reversal from 2 weeks ago when Obama led by 10 points.

Gee wonder if the wacky Reverend Wright and Obama’s stuttering, stammering explanations/excuses about this mess had anything to do with it.

Obama is now unelectable in the general election because he sat in that pew (with his young children) and said NOTHING for 20 years, knowing FULL WELL of these hateful and divisive comments.

He say’s he will bring Change to this country – why didn’t he have the guts or the will to bring change to his church?

HILLARY or NOBODY in 2008!

Posted by: ch | May 5, 2008 3:01:39 PM

Obama wants to contemplate how "things" "change" just by hoping they will. He does not want to put an effort in planing, projecting, working, fighting for America. He does not even want to debate or answer direct questions on issues or character. He is trying to be the Democrat nominee just because he writes good (parphrased and little plagiarized) speeches, other than that he does not have anything to offer and a lot doubts about his merits and past.

Posted by: libre | May 5, 2008 3:01:48 PM

I am tired of Bill Clinton's 'aw shucks good 'ol boy Kar Rovian style of politics. Wake up people look at the facts in North Carolina. In 1990 goods-producing employment accounted for more than 40 percent of rural jobs. By 2003, that number had fallen to 29 percent of employment in rural areas. Over 100,000 goods-producing employment jobs were lost in North Carolina under Bill Clinton and I see nothing ABSOLUTELY nothing in Hillary's platform that is different. Obama may not have all the answers, but he doesn't pander. I do not want Bill Clinton back in the White House. I know the definition of what "is" ... "is" and what NC job loss was.

Posted by: OnTheGloryRoad | May 5, 2008 3:02:01 PM

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