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Obama 'More Renewal Than Departure' Says GOPer
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ShareAugust 12, 2008 12:44 PM
ABC News' Teddy Davis, Hope Ditto, and Rigel Anderson Report: Former Iowa Republican Rep. Jim Leach endorsed Barack Obama on Tuesday, saying that the Illinois senator's platform is rooted in "old American values that are as much a part of the Republican as the Democratic tradition."
"Barack Obama's platform is a call for change," said Leach. "But the change that he so gracefully is articulating is more renewal than departure."
Asked if Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., will be joining "Republicans for Obama," Leach said, "I think we'll wait for Chuck to make that announcement. I just hope that he's considered for [Obama's] Veep."
Leach announced that he was backing the presumptive Democratic nominee while participating in the conference call launch of "Republicans for Obama," a group that is designing a website contrasting the records of the presidential candidates.
Leach was joined on the call by two other Republican opponents of the Iraq war: former Rhode Island Sen. Lincoln Chafee and Rita Hauser, a lawyer who served on President George W. Bush's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board and the President's Intelligence Oversight Board.
Chafee, who left the GOP in March so that he could vote for Obama in the Rhode Island Democratic primary, criticized McCain for changing his stance on the Bush tax cuts.
"I served with McCain and we were the only two Republicans to vote against the Bush tax cuts," said Chafee, referring to a Senate vote in 2001. "He says now he would make them permanent. It's a different John McCain."
The former Rhode Island senator also charged that the Bush administration has damaged U.S. credibility on torture, wiretapping, and carbon-dioxide regulation.
Hauser said she wants to see the war in Iraq ended in a responsible way, adding that she fears that McCain would represent a "third Bush term."
"It's difficult to walk away from your nominee but you have to put your country first," said Hauser.
After three decades in Congress, Leach was defeated in 2006 in a major upset by Democrat Dave Loebsack. Following his loss, Leach became a professor at Princeton and then was tapped by Harvard to become the interim director of the Kennedy School of Government after former director Jeanne Shaheen left her post to challenge Sen. John Sununu in New Hampshire.
The McCain campaign responded to Leach's endorsement by urging reporters to ask the former Iowa congressman about Obama's criticism of Leach's financial deregulation bill (Gramm-Leach-Bliley) as a lobbyist-driven deal that contributed to the subprime lending crisis. Leach's measure repealed the Glass-Steagall Act, opening up competition among banks, securities companies, and insurance companies.
During a March interview with Bloomberg's Al Hunt, Obama said the repeal of Glass-Steagall was not well-thought through.
"You had $300 million worth of lobbying done by the financial institutions," said Obama. "They wanted to compete because they were seeing big profits in some of these areas. It wasn't necessarily the best thing to assure that U.S. consumers were protected or that the financial markets remained stable and sound."
Asked if he thinks Glass-Steagall should be restored, Obama said, "Well, no. The argument is not to go back to the regulatory framework of the 1930's because . . . the financial markets have changed substantially."
"The question is," he added, "how do we build new regulatory systems that are flexible, that reflect new realities, that aren't going to put undue constraints on innovation in the financial markets, but nevertheless will encourage the transparency and accountability that we need and will maintain trust between investors and counterparties and the banks so that you don't see what's happening right now, which is a complete lock-up of the credit system. . . ."
August 12, 2008 in Hunter, Duncan, Kucinich, Dennis, Tancredo, Tom, Thompson, Fred, Veepstakes | Permalink | User Comments (170)
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Read and weep pumas
Posted by: angie | Aug 12, 2008 12:51:53 PM
mccain's chickens are coming home to ..... (you know the rest)
LOLOLOLOL
Posted by: johnosahon | Aug 12, 2008 12:57:37 PM
Trying to hold onto their jobs. Obama has a more than a cult following. But has a base of scared followers who are much more dangerous
Posted by: SNOBama | Aug 12, 2008 1:02:36 PM
Old McNasty is toast.
More right thinking Republicans are starting to jump the sinking McWar ship.
Posted by: Steve_NJ | Aug 12, 2008 1:07:14 PM
I'm still floored by hot head's words on the David Letterman Show from 2001.
There's no way this guy should be allowed anywhere near the Oval Office.
Posted by: Paul | Aug 12, 2008 1:08:33 PM
Paul,
Start weeping now because barack Obama will be POTUS.
Posted by: Steve_NJ | Aug 12, 2008 1:10:33 PM
By the way, I agree with that line about renewal.
The change Obama is advocating is changing back from some of the more dangerous developments in recent years to what had been a more reasoned and dare I say it "conservative" foreign policy.
Make no mistake. There's nothing conservative about neo-conservative approaches to the rest of the world.
And also make no mistake about McCain - I didn't realize this until today, but he's one of the neo-cons. He's not the best and brightist of them, and perhaps the other neo-cons were a little more careful about what they told John after his Letterman debacle... but he's one of them.
Posted by: Paul | Aug 12, 2008 1:12:30 PM
The Repugs are toast.
Electoral College and Senate/House Snapshot today 08/12
PRESIDENT
Obama 289
McCain 249
SENATE
Dems 56
Repugs 44
HOUSE
Dems 241
Repugs 194
Posted by: Steve_NJ | Aug 12, 2008 1:16:01 PM
Mcains own party members are against him and backing obama me being an independent i am really hoping for a obama/hagel ticket!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: angie | Aug 12, 2008 1:19:28 PM
Angie - I don't think it will happen. I like Hagel a lot, but Obama would have a lot of problems with Hagel on the ticket.
Outside of Iraq and standing up to neo-con stupidity with regard to foreign affairs, Hagel is from the other party for a reason. He differs from Obama on a number of issues.
McCain will have the same problems if he picks Lieberman, who despite basically being a neo-con, was a Democrat for a reason. But then Lieberman can change and McCain/Lieberman could market itself as the all flip flops all the time ticket.
Posted by: Paul | Aug 12, 2008 1:25:22 PM
Meanwhile McCain has the endorsement of Lieberman, a guy who actually was on the presidential ticket in 2000! That TRUMPS this by a long shot.
Also, Jerome Corsi's new book on Obama (the REAL Obama) is #1 on NYT.
Love it! Read it and weep Obamabots.
Posted by: Jo | Aug 12, 2008 1:28:16 PM
Jake,
The title of this story hides the fact that "Republicans are jumping ship".
Why dont't you just title it "Republicans for Obama".
I am amazed at how much you will do to be biased in favor of your media darling McSame.
I am sure if it were against Obama or Clinton, the headline would be screaming.
Talk about fairness and objectivity.
Jake are you still writing from the Kremblin?
Posted by: Steve_NJ | Aug 12, 2008 1:29:13 PM
Yobama and Revend Wright will be sent back to South Chicago in November.
Posted by: Larry | Aug 12, 2008 1:30:45 PM
Paul
Hagel is more in sync with obama i think that would make a great ticket hagel brings foreign policy experience besides he is one of the good repubs so to say as far as liberman he would be good for mccain everyone knows hes out to destoy the dems he was never a democrat more like a repub spy
Posted by: angie | Aug 12, 2008 1:31:12 PM
The American people aren't a cult. The american people support Obama. Anybody who calls the American people a cult either doesn't understand America or doesn't belong in this country. anti american idiots.
Posted by: John92 | Aug 12, 2008 1:32:53 PM
Yeah, but Jo, your candidate is nuts.
He gave away the Iraq attack plans in October 2001, on the David Letterman show no less. And he also gave away that the neo-cons were likely to generate an artificial rationale for invading Iraq. The one McCain floated was that Iraq may have been behind the anthrax attacks.
The only thing was, no one listened to McCain back then. Now, when he may be an election day away from the Oval Office, people are starting to wonder who this guy really is.
And what they're finding is pretty eye-opening.
Posted by: Paul | Aug 12, 2008 1:33:20 PM
LARRY
Mcain come november can go retire and get the medical treatment he needs one can cleary see dementia and althimzers are setting in!!!
Posted by: angie | Aug 12, 2008 1:33:46 PM
The NEOCONSERVATIVE AGENDA is a fundamental departure of the values that our country is based upon. Proponents, defenders and enablers of this warped philosophy drape themselves in the American flag while casting aspersions on those who dare critique their Faux Patriotism and the belligerent destruction of the cohesion of the World community. One need only look at the history of the 3rd Reich for evidence of similar mindset.
Posted by: Christopher London | Aug 12, 2008 1:35:08 PM
"It's difficult to walk away from your nominee but you have to put your country first," said Hauser."
Not ideology. Not religion, Not Party. When you accuse more than half of Americans of being traitors and terrorist sympathizers. When you ask government job applicants what it is that they like about George Bush (fearless leader) that makes them want to serve HIM, then you have a problem.
Watch more, un-indicted Republicans back Obama.
Posted by: thebob.bob | Aug 12, 2008 1:37:29 PM
Unbelievable. Come on, Jim, WHAT are you thinking???? If you're even thinking at all!!! Undefined "change" is NOT a good thing. Calls for "unity" can disguise supression of individual viewpoints for the sake of "the party" or "the nation" or "the vision."
What makes anyone think bringing the Chicago machine to DC is a good idea?
Posted by: dahozho | Aug 12, 2008 1:37:41 PM
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