by John McCormick
WILMINGTON, Del. – Sen. Barack Obama waged a two-front battle here today in one of the final days before Super Tuesday, criticizing both his Democratic opponent and the Republican front-runner.
"If John McCain is the nominee, then the Democratic Party has to ask itself, do you want a candidate who has similar policies to John McCain on the war in Iraq, or somebody who can offer a stark contrast?" Obama asked, a not-so-subtle shot at Sen. Hillary Clinton's initial support of an invasion of Iraq.
"See, when I'm the nominee, John McCain won't be able to say, 'you were for this war in Iraq' because I wasn't," Obama said. "He won't be able to say that I followed the Bush-Cheney doctrine of not talking to leaders we don't like…He won't be able to say that I went along and gave George Bush the benefit of the doubt on Iran because I haven't. He won't be able to say that I was unclear on my position on torture because I have been absolutely clear we never torture in this country. I can offer a clear and clean break of the failed policies of George W. Bush. I won't have to explain my votes in the past."
Then, criticizing McCain for supporting a tax cut at a time of war, Obama referred to the Arizona senator's legendary campaign bus. "The wheels have fallen off the Straight Talk Express," he said.
Reflecting the intensity of the battle for delegates on Tuesday, Obama traveled here to make his only public appearance of the day in a state that is among the nation's smallest.
Delaware has just 23 delegates at stake Tuesday, when 22 states will weigh in on the Democratic nomination contest. Only North Dakota and Alaska have fewer.
The Illinois Democrat has aggressively traveled across the nation, stopping in 12 states since he won the South Carolina primary last weekend. On Monday, he will hit three more, campaigning in New Jersey, Connecticut and Massachusetts with Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts.
Appearing in a muddy town square here, thousands surrounded Obama, forcing the closure of streets around the park. Some stood on the roof of portable toilets to gain a better view.
"Hello to all you back there," Obama said as he started his speech. "And you folks over there…Hello over there, too. Don't mean to leave you out."
Citing a fire department estimate, Obama said some 20,000 people were drawn to the downtown area to see him. That would be even larger than the crowds his campaign said he drew Saturday in Boise, Idaho, and Minneapolis.
Obama's campaign believes that if he can win a diverse collection of states Tuesday it could help him make his case that he is the most able to win a general election.
Can one stop in a state translate to a victory there? Tuesday will tell, but with delegates being awarded in a proportional way, the burst of local media coverage the stop generated certainly cannot hurt.
"I like his politics. He's a voice of the people," said James Davis, an Amtrak worker who watched the speech here. "We've heard that before, but he's got a different feeling."
Davis said he plans to vote Tuesday and believes just one stop here by Obama could make a difference for his campaign. "You see all the people?" he asked.
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Comments
If you think that having health insurance through your job means you won't have to pay Hilary's mandatory health insurance premiums - think again! According to a September 18 Associated Press article, Clinton said in an interview with the AP: "... she could envision a day when 'you have to show proof to your employer that you're insured as a part of the job interview -- like when your kid goes to school and has to show proof of vaccination,' but said such details would be worked out through negotiations with Congress."
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/politics/20070918-0856-clinton-apinterview.html
Posted by: J. Taylor | February 3, 2008 3:34 PM
Obama is not a real Democrat. He likes what Reagan did. Read why he says that people voted for Reagan.
"I think they felt like with all the excesses of the 1960s and 1970s and government had grown and grown but there wasn't much sense of accountability in terms of how it was operating. I think people, he just tapped into what people were already feeling, which was we want clarity we want optimism, we want a return to that sense of dynamism and entrepreneurship that had been missing."
The excesses and growth of the government were what the Democrats did. It was Medicare, Civil Rights, the Great Society, the Environmental Movement, Progressive taxation, Government Regulation of Corporations and Gay Rights. Calling them excesses is Republican language. Most Democrats didn't think they went far enough. Clarity refers to Democrats concerns with Watergate, Vietnam, supporting Dictators, basing our economy on carbon fuels and fighting for our rights.
Posted by: maxstar212 | February 3, 2008 3:42 PM
Mitt "I'll flip flop on any issue" Romney is a GONER, together with Anne Coulter!
http://osi-speaks.blogspot.com/2008/02/anne-coulter-throws-tantrum-and-loses.html#links
Posted by: KYJurisDoctor | February 3, 2008 4:10 PM
Mitt "I'll flip flop on any issue" Romney and Anne "I'm too smart for my own good" Coulter are both GONERS!
http://osi-speaks.blogspot.com/2008/02/steve-flat-tax-forbes-endorses-john.html#links
Posted by: KYJurisDoctor | February 3, 2008 4:25 PM
Not to worry Barack, Hillary will save a seat for you in the back of her bus. You don't get to sit in the front till you refuse to pay for a place in the back.
Posted by: whatnow | February 3, 2008 4:32 PM
HILLARY HANDS REPUBLICANS A DEVASTATING SOUNDBITE FOR FALL ELECTION ...
Feb 3, 11:40 AM EST
Clinton health plan may mean tapping pay
By CHARLES BABINGTON
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton said Sunday she might be willing to garnish the wages of workers who refuse to buy health insurance to achieve coverage for all Americans.
The New York senator has criticized presidential rival Barack Obama for pushing a health plan that would not require universal coverage. Clinton has not always specified the enforcement measures she would embrace, but when pressed on ABC's "This Week," she said: "I think there are a number of mechanisms" that are possible, including "going after people's wages ..."
"GOING AFTER PEOPLE'S WAGES" ...
IS THAT THE WAY REAL DEMOCRATS TALK? ...
THE REPUBLICANS WILL KILL THE DEMOCRATS WITH THAT KIND OF LOOSE-LIPPED LUNACY IN NOVEMBER ...
Posted by: Martin Edwin "Mick" Andersen | February 3, 2008 5:44 PM
God loves our land and here is why: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjXyqcx-mYY&feature=bz303
God bless America!
Posted by: Chris | February 3, 2008 6:15 PM
"GOING AFTER PEOPLE'S WAGES" ...
IS THAT THE WAY REAL DEMOCRATS TALK? ...
THE REPUBLICANS WILL KILL THE DEMOCRATS WITH THAT KIND OF LOOSE-LIPPED LUNACY IN NOVEMBER ...
Posted by: Martin Edwin "Mick" Andersen | February 3, 2008 5:44 PM
Mickey Mouse,
Nice try Karl Rove, America want's better and cheaper health care more than they want to burn up BILLIONS of their wasted cash on spending the next 100 years in Iraq like the warmongering REPUBLICANS
want to do.
Posted by: John E | February 3, 2008 10:35 PM
Do not forget that Hillary has said that she would have a universal healthcare coverage by the end of her second term. She does not know that she is not yet elected to her first term. She is already assuming she is the President. How arrogant is she?
Posted by: Abigail Francis | February 3, 2008 11:07 PM
It is good to campaign on Universal Health Care, the problem is you must also consider how you are going to enforce it if it is mandatory. It is unfortunate that the Clintons have not considered how the universal Health Care is to be enforced.
Posted by: Lu | February 3, 2008 11:33 PM
I'm tired of partisan bickering, buy how can I believe that someone can be a uniter if they never vote outside the party line?
Posted by: Paula Moore | February 3, 2008 11:35 PM
I just still can not believe that Obama has the nerve to attack Hillary on the Iran vote. HE DIDNT EVEN SHOW UP FOR THAT VOTE. At least she made an effort to do the job she was elected for unlike Obama.
Posted by: VInny | February 4, 2008 9:57 AM
Let's recall also that it was Hillary who voted FOR keeping cluster bombs (a Feinstein amendment last year). These hurt the children most...the very people she supposedly was helping with her early work in the Children's Defense Fund. Too bad she couldn't continue to put children's lives first. OBAMA VOTED AGAINST CLUSTER BOMBS. This is another point where there is a glaring divide between the TWO candidates left standing in the Democratic race.
Posted by: Linda Sutton | February 4, 2008 6:06 PM