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Home > Blogs > Ohio politics > Archives > 2008 > February > 23 > Entry
Obama responds to Clinton
Barack Obama doesnt’ think there’s anything “false and misleading” about the mailers his campaign recently sent out criticizing Hillary Clinton’s positions on NAFTA - the North American Free Trade Agreement - and universal health care.
Hours after Clinton lobbed those charges at Obama during a campaign stop in Cincinnati on Saturday, Feb 23, Obama retorted in a session with reporters in Columbus.
“We have been subject to a constant attack from the Clinton campaign except when we were down 20 points,” Obama said after events at the Ohio State University Medical Center.
“These (mailers) are accurate. Sen. Clinton, as part of the Clinton administration, supported NAFTA. In her book she called it one of the administration’s successes,” he said.
He said he wanted to point this out “in a state that has been devastated by trade” and where voters “are deeply concerned about the positions of the candidates on trade.”
Obama also said that Clinton has said her support for a mandate requiring that all Americans acquire health care coverage is a key difference between her plan and Obama’s which does not have a mandate.
She may not like how his campaign characterizes the mandate - that the government would force you to buy health care - , he said.
“The notion that we’re engaging in nefarious tactics, I think, is pretty hard to swallow,” said Obama.
Asked if he would consider conceding if he, instead of Clinton, had lost 10 or 11 straight nominating contests, he said:
“Look, I’m the challenger, I’m the upstart, I’m the insurgent. She’s the champ. She’s part of the Democratic network in Washington and if you’re the titleholder you don’t lose it on points, you’ve got to be knocked out.”
Comments
By JOE
February 25, 2008 3:37 AM | Link to this
A vote for Hillary Clinton you might unite the Democrats, A vote for John McCain is four more years of the same, A vote for Barack Obama you will unite “America”By VS
February 24, 2008 9:34 PM | Link to this
No one candidate in this election has the experience to be President. Therefore, there are other factors to consider when making a voting decision. One of those factors certainly isn’t electability based on whether the candidate is centrist enough (because it certainly didn’t work for Kerry). Another one of the factors certainly isn’t prior experience in the White House administration, Senate,etc. (given the economic,educational, social and political states of the United States, if I were a seasoned politican, I would not brag about experience that has brought this country down over the years as opposed to lifting the country up with each passing year.) Many depressing life situations that never existed before in such large magnitude came about on the watch of seasoned (most over 60 yrs of age) politicans: Young college graduates saddled with huge school debts and low-paying, high maintenance jobs; record number of homeowners facing foreclosures and debt beyond the foreclosure process due to bad loans and overpriced real estate; real wages at all-time lows; healthcare=disease mgmt and not preventative care and/or health building; opinions and theories are accepted for actual facts (how is Senator Clinton the most qualified again?) I’m so glad that many of the voters see through the lack of actual facts disseminated about Clinton herself, her NAFTA voting record, her relationship with healthcare lobbyists and other facts that might be helpful to know to make the best voting decision. I’ve done enough research to realize that Clinton is not the candidate she claims to be in her speeches. Plagiarizing is no worse than lying in your speeches, Senator Clinton. Shame on you for lying to the American people.By VS
February 24, 2008 9:34 PM | Link to this
No one candidate in this election has the experience to be President. Therefore, there are other factors to consider when making a voting decision. One of those factors certainly isn’t electability based on whether the candidate is centrist enough (because it certainly didn’t work for Kerry). Another one of the factors certainly isn’t prior experience in the White House administration, Senate,etc. (given the economic,educational, social and political states of the United States, if I were a seasoned politican, I would not brag about experience that has brought this country down over the years as opposed to lifting the country up with each passing year.) Many depressing life situations that never existed before in such large magnitude came about on the watch of seasoned (most over 60 yrs of age) politicans: Young college graduates saddled with huge school debts and low-paying, high maintenance jobs; record number of homeowners facing foreclosures and debt beyond the foreclosure process due to bad loans and overpriced real estate; real wages at all-time lows; healthcare=disease mgmt and not preventative care and/or health building; opinions and theories are accepted for actual facts (how is Senator Clinton the most qualified again?) I’m so glad that many of the voters see through the lack of actual facts disseminated about Clinton herself, her NAFTA voting record, her relationship with healthcare lobbyists and other facts that might be helpful to know to make the best voting decision. I’ve done enough research to realize that Clinton is not the candidate she claims to be in her speeches. Plagiarizing is no worse than lying in your speeches, Senator Clinton. Shame on you for lying to the American people.By Jasb
February 24, 2008 6:34 AM | Link to this
NAFTA was a great success in the 90’s, one of the reasons the economy and jobs boomed. Unfortunately, as with all complex economic processes, it required ongoing management. The current administration let the train go off the track big time, not Hillary and not Bill. Go take a class in micro-economics, free trade has historically always grown the economy and job base. We just need to manage the process, and put restrictions on export of some types of jobs. Hillary is certainly the most qualified, and I know she’ll follow thru with passion and knowledge.By Jasb
February 24, 2008 6:19 AM | Link to this
I’m afraid that the democrats are perilously close to losing the general election in Nov with O’Bama. The reality check is that less than 10% of those who will vote in Nov have voted for O’Bama so far. Whether he can carry the other 90% with his ultra liberal background is like betting on the lottery. On a personal level, my family started out preferring a democrat, but we wanted one that would govern near the center and focus on the economy (like Bill). If the democratic left wing minority sets the party agenda, our vote may well move back to the middle, John McCain. This situation is what superdelegates are for, let’s hope they do their job, or John McCain is likely to be our next president.By tbill
February 24, 2008 12:31 AM | Link to this
A vote for a Clinton is a vote for change? How? Just another silver spoon, career politician, and a Socialist at that. Is it too late to move to Canada? Anyone but her, please dear God!!By David Esrati
February 24, 2008 12:19 AM | Link to this
If Hillary was indeed 8 points up in the polls, she wouldn’t be sending this drivel. I wrote a post about it on http://daytonos.com/?p=820 and have images of it. Anyone who has to pump their own money into a campaign at this point- must not be feeling very secure. The fact is- more R’s will come out to vote against Hillary- and we may end up with McCain. It’s time for a change- and a new attitude in DC. Obama has my vote.By Cheryl
February 23, 2008 10:37 PM | Link to this
Oh my gosh. Hillary sincerely thinks we’re stupid. The FACTS are in the book that SHE wrote. And NOW because SHE’S coming to Ohio—-these FACTS should be hidden? What could possibly be her defense? The scary part is that her supporters are AWARE of this—-and just totally IGNORE this. Monday morning at work, you’d better believe I want ANY Hillary supporter to dispute this deception! You’re talking about dishonesty UNTIL she gets OUR vote.By John
February 23, 2008 7:46 PM | Link to this
He is absolutely right. I have read her book, and she does state she thought NAFTA was a highlight of her husbands’s administration. If my choice comes down to Hillary Bush or John McCain, then McCain it is. If it is between Obama and McCain, then I go with Obama. How can you seriously vote for someone who is a Senator from a state in which she never resided before deciding to run for office? Smells of opportunism to me, and that is exactly why I will never vote for her.By John
February 23, 2008 7:46 PM | Link to this
He is absolutely right. I have read her book, and she does state she thought NAFTA was a highlight of her husbands’s administration. If my choice comes down to Hillary Bush or John McCain, then McCain it is. If it is between Obama and McCain, then I go with Obama. How can you seriously vote for someone who is a Senator from a state in which she never resided before deciding to run for office? Smells of opportunism to me, and that is exactly why I will never vote for her.By Deb
February 23, 2008 7:15 PM | Link to this
Politics are politics. I am sick and tired of the double standard. People complain if they are nice to each other, people complain if they attack each other! It is a no win situation and I ask look at the facts between the two candidates. Experience matters. I would not want a neurosurgeon who just graduated from medical school to repair my aneurysm. I would want a neurosurgeon who performed the procedure many times and has experience. I want a candidate who has been tested and has experience during these tough times ahead of us. When Obama was 16 years old, Hillary had already graduated law school from Yale, worked as an attorney for the Children’s Defense Fund, served on the House Judiciary Committee, and was appointed by President Carter to the board of the United States Legal Services, a nonprofit program that funds legal assistance to the poor and ran a legal aid clinic that handled cases of foster care and child abuse. Hillary has fought her entire adult life for healthcare for children. I don’t know if anyone remembers but she was instrumental in the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997, which helped with the adoption process and decreased the length of foster care. She also designed the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, which provides health insurance to millions of children. As a nurse and mother, healthcare and child advocacy are important to me and that is why I proudly support Hillary.By Steve Fought
February 23, 2008 6:34 PM | Link to this
NAFTA was the #1 priority of the Clinton Administration, Hillary included. NAFTA was the biggest part of the Clinton Administration’s economic policy, not to mention its foreign policy. Hillary was a cheerleader for NAFTA back in 1993. Her support of NAFTA is the main reason I cannot support her. That, and her vote for George Bush and his Iraq war.By Bob
February 23, 2008 6:21 PM | Link to this
AN OPEN LETTER TO BARACK OBAMA Your mailings, pointed out by Mrs. Clinton today, make you a hypocrite. Saying one thing in public, than you use mailings that are wrong, deceiving and hit below the belt. You SHOULD be ashamed of using a quote from a newspaper that the newspaper itself retracted as not being a correct quote. The Obama health care plan is inferior. You only need basic reading skills to read the Clinton health care plan and they your mailing, and see you’re either using hyperbole or are simply printing and distributing an untruth. The Clinton web site (see link below) says: The tax credits will ensure that working families never have to pay more than a limited percentage of their income for health care. http://www.hillaryclinton.com/feature/healthcareplan/ You are practicing the OLD politics of Washington and your claims of practicing the “politics of hope” and giving voters a different kind of choice have now been obliterated much like the spy satellite shot down earlier this week by the USS Lake Erie, named after that body of water on the northern border of Ohio. Obama is clearly cherry picking, parsing, asking what the definition of is, is, in order to make his attack. Perhaps your candidacy, now rogue just like the satellite, will meet the same fate in the state bordered by its namesake lake. Wouldn’t that be eerie?By painfultruth
February 23, 2008 5:38 PM | Link to this
The Hillary lemmings follow without reason. The Clintons, with their solid record of scandal, certainly can fool the weak minded pack that swallows everything they dish out as truth. What the US needs is a law that one must be smarter than a potato to vote!By Lorin
February 23, 2008 4:56 PM | Link to this
I feel sorry for our state that we evidently will have to endure the return of “ugly” to this political campaign. I truly had hoped that South Carolina and, most recently, Texas debate boos would result in a civil campaign. How many times does “Billary” have to be made aware the audience doesn’t want negative? And I am embarassed for our state to see our Governor standing behind her nodding his head. We deserve better! The Obama yard sign just went into my frozen Ohio yard!