Fenwick graduation 2012
Ponitz graduation 2012
Cars and Parts Swap Meet
Home > Blogs > Ohio politics > Archives > 2008 > February > 15
Friday, February 15, 2008
Obama coming to Youngstown
Presidential candidate U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill.,
is making his first Ohio appearance during the primary season in Youngstown on Monday.
The event at 2 p.m. at Youngstown State University will be free and open to the public.
U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan to give the GOP radio address
The region’s own Rep. Jim Jordan served as the spokesman for all House Republicans when he delivered the House Republican Conference radio address Friday.
And his subject was a doozy: He addressed the intelligence-gathering legislation set to expire Saturday night. The House adjourned Thursday without bringing up the bill, much to the dismay of the House Republicans in the minority.
“Make no mistake: this essential law will expire because House Democrat leaders decided to put partisan priorities over the public interest,” Jordan said in his address. “And when that moment comes in a matter of hours from now, our intelligence community will be at a disadvantage - and your security will be at greater risk.”
Jordan said the law “gives our intelligence community the tools they need to track the movements of foreign terrorists in an era when al Qaeda can transmit its marching orders anywhere in the world in an instant. It allows intelligence agents to detect and disrupt terror plots before they can be carried out and kill untold numbers of innocent Americans.”
The Senate this week passed an extension of the law.
“By failing to act, House Democrats have done our nation a terrible disservice this week. The times we live in demand vigilance - not indifference- from Washington,” he said.
You can hear the full address at http://gop.gov, by clicking on multimedia, then on the link to “weekly radio address.”
It’s Friday, it must be Ohio
Michelle Obama opened her speech at Ohio State University on Friday with a gaffe: “We’re gonna win Iowa,” she told the crowd.
Oops.
She quickly recovered with a chuckle: “Ohio. We’re gonna win Ohio like we won Iowa, is my point.”
Listen to the audio: [an error occurred while processing this directive]
Michelle Obama speaks at Ohio State
Michelle Obama told more than 500 supporters at Ohio State University that her husband, Democrat Barack Obama, has the character, values and experience that America needs in the White House.
“The only person in this race who has the chance of getting us where we need to be is Barack Obama. Barack gets it,” she said.
She said with his academic credentials, Barack Obama could have gone to Wall Street to make a ton of money but opted instead to be a community organizer in tough Chicago neighborhoods, a constitutional lawyer in a small firm and later a state lawmaker who worked on ethics reform, children’s health care and tax breaks for low-income families. She trumpeted his experience living abroad, saying he understands other cultures.
“Imagine a president of the United States who understands global poverty because he lived in it. Imagine a president of the United States who understands how this nation affects small villages in places like Africa, not because he’s received a policy briefing but because he has a grandmother who lives in one of those little villages,” Mrs. Obama said. “See that’s what we get with Barack Obama.”
While his opponent, New York Sen. Hillary Clinton, touts her experience, Mrs. Obama said, “We have the evidence right here, right now, of what kind of leader he will be, what kind of choices he will make - not just when you’re watching him but what will he do when you’re not.”
Mrs. Obama, 44, an Ivy League educated lawyer and mother of two daughters, recounted her “regular folk” upbringing in working class south side Chicago. The daughter of a blue-collar worker and a stay-at-home mom, Mrs. Obama gave credit to her parents and solid public schools for her opportunities and successes as an adult.
She also recounted her husband’s fight from underdog to lead dog in the presidential campaign, saying he overcame naysayers and pundits. But she warned there is more work to be done to secure his victory.
“Barack will be the underdog until he is sitting in the Oval Office,” she said.
Mrs. Obama told a story about meeting a 10-year-old girl at a rally in South Carolina.
“I need to tell you something,” the girl told Mrs. Obama.
“Okay,” Mrs. Obama replied.
“Do you realize that after your husband becomes the next president of the United States it will be historical?” the girl informed her.
“Yeah,” Mrs. Obama told her. “But what does that mean to you?”
“It means I can imagine anything for myself,” the girl said, breaking down in tears.
Mrs. Obama told the crowd Friday that the girl understands what’s at stake and needs hopes and dreams. “Hope and inspiration matter because you don’t get anywhere without it.”
Permalink | |
Clinton, Obama clash on labor
A Clinton backer from the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers today ridiculed Obama’s endorsement from one of the most powerful labor groups in the nation today, saying the union was endorsing Obama “out of sheer opportunism.”
Rick Sloan, a spokesman for the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, which has endorsed Clinton, was speaking about Obama receiving the endorsement of the Service Employees International Union, including Ohio’s District 1199, which endorsed Obama formally Friday. He made his comments during a conference call with Ohio Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher, a fellow Clinton backer.
The SEIU, Sloan said, “was looking and saying, ‘wow, we’ve got to jump on the bandwagon’” and in doing so were ignoring Clinton’s history of supporting working families.
SEIU District 1199 alone represents 35,000 social service, ehalth care and public sector workers in Ohio, West Virginia and Kentucky.
Dave Regan, president of SEIU District 1199, meanwhile, issued a statement calling Obama “a unique candidate, igniting increased energy into the electorate.”
“Sen. Obama has the experience and the vision we need in our next president,” he said.
Also at issue: an Obama campaign mailer to Ohio voters that criticized Clinton’s position on the North American Free Trade Agreement.
During the conference call with Sloan and Fisher, both argued that the mailer misled voters about statements she made about the trade deal, which her husband, former President Bill Clinton, signed into law.
The Obama mailer said he opposes NAFTA, and quotes New York Newsday saying, “Clinton thinks NAFTA has been a boon to the economy.” The Clinton campaign responded by trotting out a Newsday article published Friday where the paper said Clinton didn’t say that. Instead, the paper said the line was used in a 2006 issues chart and the chart was not accurate.
“We do not have a direct quote indicating her campaign told us she thought it was good for the economy at that time,” the paper said. “Also, for that matter, Clinton’s campaign did not contact us to question the item after it appeared in print.”
The paper said Obama’s use of the citation “does strike us as misleading.”
“The quote marks make it look as if Hillary said “boon,” not us. It’s an example of the kind of slim reeds campaigns use to try to win an office. That said, we should have been clearer.”
Sloan, however, was harsher in his critique: the mailer, he said, “almost amounts to mail fraud.”
The Obama campaign responded by reiterating Obama’s distaste for NAFTA, and trotted out a 2003 quote by Clinton where she called NAFTA a victory for her husband. They argued that Clinton - who has said that NAFTA needs to be revisited - has not been strong enough in her criticism of the trade deal.
Permalink | |
Obama begins Ohio radio ad
Sen. Barack Obama announced Thursday, Feb. 14 that he will begin airing his first radio ad throughout Ohio in his campaign against Sen. HIllary Clinton in the state’s March 4 presidential primary.
The ad -titled “Passed” - highlights his commitment to restoring economic fairness for working families, a press release says.
You can listen to “Passed” here:
Here’s the script:
Sen. Obama: I’m Barack Obama and I approve this message.
Anchor: He passed up a career on Wall Street to work as an organizer, helping laid-off workers and lifting a community devastated by steel plant closings.
And Barack Obama’s commitment to economic fairness is just as strong today.
Sen. Obama: This administration has furthered divided Wall Street from Main Street. We’ve got CEO’s who are making more in 10 minutes than ordinary workers are making in a year.
Anchor: Maybe that’s why Barack Obama is the only candidate who has consistently opposed NAFTA and other unfair trade deals.
He’s the only one refusing contributions from special interest PACs and Washington lobbyists.
And Obama’s the only one with a plan to close corporate tax loopholes so we can cut taxes for middle class families and help companies creating jobs in America.
Sen. Obama: We’ve got to stop giving tax breaks to companies that are moving overseas and give those tax breaks to companies that are investing in the United States of America. Enough is enough.
SEIU District 1199 to back Obama
The Service Employees International Union District 1199 (SEIU District 1199) is planning to back Sen. Barack Obama for president, giving Obama some needed “feet on the ground” in Ohio in his campaign against Sen. Hillary Clinton in Ohio’s March 4 primary.
The local previously had backed former Sen. John Edwards for the Democratic nomination for president. The local represents 35,000 social service, health care and public sector members in Ohio, West Virginia and Kentucky.
The local plans a conference call for today, Feb. 15 to discuss the endorsement.
