Barack Obama: U.S. presidential election, 2008/Obama v. Clinton

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Barack Obama, U.S. Senator (D-Ill.)
This article is part of the
SourceWatch and Congresspedia coverage
of Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and
the 2008 presidential election
Main article:
Sub-articles:
Democratic ticket "top tier"

Contents

AttackTimeline (on going negative)

Racial politics

Economic stimulus package

Yucca Mountain

In Nevada, Yucca Mountain "is more than a hot-button issue", it is "radioactive," Lynn Sweet wrote January 18, 2008, in the Chicago Sun-Times.[1]

"Now, days before the Saturday [January 19, 2008,] caucus vote in Nevada, Clinton, at the debate and in a new paid radio spot running statewide, is highlighting the campaign donations Obama has taken from employees of Exelon.

"'So who will shut down Yucca Mountain once and for all? Hillary Clinton,' a narrator said. Her spot said, 'And Barack Obama? The Las Vegas Review Journal said Obama was, quote, "hip deep in financial ties" to one of America's biggest Yucca Mountain promoters ... nuclear giant Exelon.'

"According to an analysis by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics of donations over $250, Obama's presidential war chest has received $194,750 from 150 Exelon employees, with top executives sending in the checks. Exelon workers, bundled together, rank sixth in Obama's top donor groups.

"Though Exelon is a national company, almost all of the Obama contributors live in the Chicago area. Much of the money came in during the first months of the Obama campaign. The money from Exelon executives handed ammunition to Clinton."

Related external articles

Jay-Z and Obama

"But as the campaigns creep on, the stakes grow higher, and candidates craving star power are reaching out to the varsity team. Not even a day after losing the New Hampshire primary to Sen. Clinton, Sen. Obama announced that he would be harnessing the marketing talents of Jay-Z and Kanye West to spread his social message.

"Obama was careful to issue a statement decrying the hip-hop artists' use of the N-word in their music - and their degradation of women. Still, a vote - especially from a young, celeb-loving constituency - is a vote," Joe Piazza reported January 13, 2008, in the New York Daily News.[2]

On January 14, 2008, the New York Post's Page Six reported:[3]

"Presidential hopeful Barack Obama claims to run a clean campaign, but someone in his camp took a swipe at Hillary Clinton through the candidate's theme song.
"As Obama and his wife, Michelle, strolled triumphantly into his [private] victory party in Des Moines, Iowa, on Jan. 3, Jay-Z's 99 Problems was blaring. In it, Jay raps, 'I got 99 problems, but a bitch ain't one.'
"Some listeners took it as a not-so-sly reference to Hillary.
"'We didn't know he used that,' a shocked Clinton spokesperson said."

Related external articles

Obama v. Clinton v. Edwards on war in Iraq/Iran

The Republicans' choice

Campaign tactics and going negative

In February 2007, prior to Sen. Barack Obama's (D-Ill.) official announcement that he was entering race for the 2008 Democratic nomination, David Axelrod, Obama's senior strategist, told Tom Bevan of RealClearPolitics:[4]

"If you have a difference over an issue that's something different than a gratuitous personal attack," Axelrod said. "But the real point is the premise that if you can inspire people and if you can give them something real to believe in, you can advance your campaign without tearing everybody else down. And that is our premise and we're going to try and see if it works. If it does work, then we truly have changed our politics for the better. If it doesn't, then it doesn't. But that's the only kind of campaign that he [Obama] really can run."
So, I quickly followed up, Obama won't go negative?
"I . . . I . . . I don't . . . I would not say that he won't draw contrasts where contrasts should be drawn," Axelrod hedged. "But if you're asking me, do we have a strategy to tear people down? We don't. And maybe that's incredibly naive, and maybe that is not feasible in modern politics. But we believe it is, and we believe it's important to run a campaign like that."

"There's a great deal of nuance here, of course," Bevan wrote[4] "One person's idea of an ad 'drawing a contrast' on an issue could easily be characterized by another as an 'attack.' My interpretation of Axelrod's remarks is that Obama will play as rough as he needs to on the issues while recognizing the inherent risks and contradictions posed to his candidacy by getting too aggressive. In other words, he'll change the tone as much as he can without giving away the race."

Related external articles

Triangulation and Progressivism

Triangulation is a term which Obama has tossed around in reference to Hillary Clinton.

According to the Wikipedia[5]

"Triangulation is the act of a candidate presenting his or her ideology as being "above" and "between" the left and right sides of the political spectrum. It involves adopting for oneself some of the ideas of one's political opponent. The logic behind it is that it not only takes good ideas away from your opponent, but that it insulates you from attacks on that particular issue. It is a tactic commonly used in third way politics."

Related external articles

Elitism

Obama on "electability" and experience

On November 8, 2007, Obama "mounted his most forceful argument to date that he is more electable than chief rival Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), demonized by Republicans and used as their punching bag for more than a decade.

"Obama, not mentioning Clinton by name, said he could appeal to Republican and Independent voters in a general election because he has no history of 'generating anger among Republicans.'"[6]

Obama "went out of his way to belittle Clinton's experience as first lady" in a November 26, 2007, interview with ABC's Nightline, wrote Terry Moran, who interviewed Obama, and Julia Hoppock and Melinda Arons for ABC News.[7] "'I think the fact of the matter is that Sen. Clinton is claiming basically the entire eight years of the Clinton presidency as her own, except for the stuff that didn't work out, in which case she says she has nothing to do with it,' Obama said, and added, referring to his relationship with his wife, Michelle, 'There is no doubt that Bill Clinton had faith in her and consulted with her on issues, in the same way that I would consult with Michelle, if there were issues,' Obama said. 'On the other hand, I don't think Michelle would claim that she is the best qualified person to be a United States Senator by virtue of me talking to her on occasion about the work I've done.'"

Related external articles

Obama: Clinton is a "corporate Democrat"

Obama: Clinton is running a "'textbook' campaign"

On November 20, 2007, eriposte at The Left Coaster dissects Obama's allegation that Hillary Clinton is running a "'textbook' campaign".[8] On November 21, 2007, eriposte followed up on this with another post, this time featuring the "'textbook' campaign" of a different candidate.[9]

Hint: Who are actually running "'textbook' campaign"(s), may surprise you.

Related external articles

Bashing Bill (not Hillary) for the 1990s

At the November 10, 2007, JJ dinner in Las Vegas, Obama told the "rapturous crowd" "I don't want to spend the next year or the next four years re-fighting the same fights that we had in the 1990s," Kenneth Baer reported in the New York Daily News.[10] "Yet throughout his speech, Obama did just that, by reviving a persistent argument, popular among the left of the Democratic Party, that Bill Clinton and the New Democrats sold out liberal principles for cheap electoral gains," Baer wrote.

"It's clear who Obama was talking about when he said that 'triangulating and poll-driven positions' kept the last Democratic administration from tackling the 'problems that we've talked about year after year after year.' What's needed, Obama said, is a Democratic President who will lead 'not by polls, but by principle; not by calculation, but by conviction'. ... This may be red meat to Iowa caucusgoers. But it doesn't stand up to historical scrutiny," Baer wrote.[10]

Robert Novak's rumor of a rumor (twice removed)

On November 17, 2007, the article "Hillary vs. Obama" by Republican smear master Robert Novak, a "seasoned conservative columnist with a long history of publishing falsehoods, distortions and gossip",[11] appeared online[12] in which Novak wrote

"Agents of Sen. Hillary Clinton are spreading the word in Democratic circles that she has scandalous information about her principal opponent for the party’s presidential nomination, Sen. Barack Obama, but has decided not to use it."

"His sourcing consisted of 'word of mouth' and unnamed 'experienced Democratic operatives.' Two days later, on Fox News, where Novak is a commentator, he confessed that he had heard a rumor from someone who had heard a rumor from someone. In short, he had no facts, perhaps explaining why Novak has been dubbed No Facts for years," Larry Johnson wrote November 20, 2007, at TPMCafe.[11]

"Clinton communications director Howard Wolfson’s categorical statement would seem to have put an end to this pseudo-event: 'The Clinton campaign has nothing to do with this item'," Johnson wrote,[11] "But it did not end. Instead, it is being kept artificially alive" by the Obama campaign.

Based on the contents of the November 2007 editorial "How to Beat Hillary (Next) November"[13] by former White House advisor to President George W. Bush Karl Rove, Johnson asked "Is Obama wearing a wrist bracelet that says, 'what would Karl Rove do'?"[11]

"Obama's tactics appear in sync with Rove's script. His feigned victimhood is a negative attack on Senator Clinton’s character to drive the numbers, which in turn Obama hopes will determine the nomination. While posing above the fray, but executing Rove's strategy and exploiting Novak's innuendo, Obama has embraced the audacity of hype," Johnson wrote.[11] (emphasis added)

"[A]fter a dismal performance at the last debate [Obama] and his team decided to take one from the Karl Rove playbook by following Novak's lead, then ignoring Clinton's statements in order to keep the story going, then doing a press conference that was as cynical as it was calculating and contrived, which considering it was lies Obama was forwarding against Clinton is the very definition of the swiftboating he was attacking. Obama also did this after he'd ducked yet another policy forum,[14] this one on climate change," Taylor Marsh wrote November 20, 2007.[15]

Related external articles

Town meetings: Iran, immigration and terrorism

Speaking November 18, 2007, at a town meeting in Grundy Center, Iowa, Obama took the last question of the evening from a woman who asked what "specifically" he was going to do about terrorism. As the New York Times' Jeff Zeleny wrote, "As [their] exchange continued, the volume and intensity increased in Mr. Obama’s voice." The exchange was captured and posted online at both YouTube[16] here and Fox News here. See both versions to include both the woman's question and Obama's response.

"When Clinton had her back and forth [October 7, 2007,] with activist Randall Rolph[17] (who later came out for Obama), the headlines went from 'Clinton Gets Snippy with Iowan Over Iran'[18] to 'Clinton's Iran Vote Prompts A Harsh Back-and-Forth.'[19] Even though Clinton apologized to Rolph for the misunderstanding that wasn't good enough either. Headlines flew. Rolph got his picture in The New York Times.[20][21] Andrew Sullivan squealed,[22] 'She's arrogant!'," Taylor Marsh wrote November 19, 2007.[23]

"But Obama gets into it with a senior citizen in Iowa, with his voice raised to shrill, but the media barely notices.

"At one point in the back and forth Obama talks about Chicago being a better target for terrorists than some little town in Iowa; that he has children so you bet he's concerned. That's when it's all in for wingnut talking points all 'round. The notion that we'll be hit here is certainly possible, but the real dangers have to do with things spinning out of control 'over there' with our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan the real targets [are] bogged down so they can't respond elsewhere. Dueling U.S. terrorism points of interest seem just a bit unseemly to me, especially when it uses the same fear card Democrats are trying to avoid, well at least most Democrats," Marsh wrote.[23]

"The coverage of Clinton compared to Obama has been noted by Journalism.com. He gets fawning praise, or silence when he mixes it up with a senior citizen, while she gets dissected to the bone for her back and forth with a committed activist. He sucks up Novak's spin, while the press parrots Mr. Obama's hit on Clinton, never mind it came from Mr. Unethical. You can sense the hack pack press getting excited. Meanwhile, the real news in the Iowa poll is the falling of John Edwards not the 'Clinton slips in Iowa.' But Edwards is not nearly as good a story," Marsh wrote.[23]

"New politics"

Obama: Clinton "ducking" Social Security

Obama: Clinton too old to unite U.S.

"Meanwhile, the Democrats have done the very Republican thing of finding a favorite candidate and sticking with him (her, actually). And so, as Sen. Barack Obama loses his way, and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton loses her voice,[24] a quiet desperation is creeping into the campaign to beat Clinton," Rick Klein and Jacqueline Klingebiel wrote November 8, 2007, ABC News' The Note.[25]

"Obama, D-Ill., added another piece to his scattershot criticism of Clinton yesterday: He's making it a 'generational fight,' Michael McAuliff writes in the New York Daily News.[26] 'I think there's no doubt that we represent the kind of change that Sen. Clinton can't deliver on, and part of it is generational,' Obama told Fox News."[25]

See video posted on YouTube.

Related external articles

Anti-Hillary viral web (political video)

Transparency: paper trail / official records

Obama, "who is making government transparency a centerpiece of the latest phase of his campaign, does not always practice what he preaches when it comes to his own business," the Chicago Sun-Times' Lynn Sweet pointed out November 5, 2007.[27]

While Obama is accusing Clinton "of being secretive and slowing down the release of her official first lady papers in the Clinton Library,[28] documents that could help buttress -- or erode -- her claim of presidential experience", Sweet wrote, Obama's own record on transparency is lacking, including[27]

  • "where Obama is storing his--not the State of Illinois--state senate records."
  • "earmarks Obama sought in 2006, before he was running for president."
  • other than names, the city and state for his campaign bundlers, "information that is available to his campaign"
  • "Obama, as all major candidates, declines most of the time to disclose details about most fund-raising events."
  • does not post his meeting schedule on the internet

Related external articles

Senate attendance, missed votes

Debates

Battle over Hollywood fundraiser

Resources

References

  1. ↑ Lynn Sweet, "Obama: No nuke dump. Jabbed by Clinton for taking donations from Exelon, a major supporter of Yucca Mountain site," Chicago Sun-Times, January 18, 2008.
  2. ↑ Joe Piazza, "Stumping with the stars," New York Daily News, January 13, 2008.
  3. ↑ Paula Froelich et al., "Hillary, Barack Rap & Rock," Page Six/New York Post, January 14, 2008. Taylor Marsh added during her 3:00pm online radio program that Richard Johnson confirmed that this was at a private party.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Tom Bevan, "The Politics of Going Negative," RealClearPolitics, February 17, 2007.
  5. ↑ Triangulation, Wikipedia.
  6. ↑ Lynn Sweet, "Sweet web column: Obama's GOP anger management; tackles Clinton electability," Chicago Sun-Times, November 9, 2007.
  7. ↑ Terry Moran, Julia Hoppock and Melinda Arons, "Obama in Iowa: Gloves Off! As Caucuses Near, Illinois Senator Goes After Hillary on Credibility, Electability and the Clinton Record," Nightline/ABC, November 26, 2007. Also see Transcript: "On the Trail With Barack Obama. The Democratic Presidential Candidate Talks Candidly With 'Nightline' Co-Anchor Terry Moran," November 26, 2007.
  8. ↑ eriposte, "A Short History of Recent U.S. Presidential Politics - Part 4: The Textbook Campaign," The Left Coaster, November 20, 2007.
  9. ↑ eriposte, "A Short History of Recent U.S. Presidential Politics - Part 5: Bill Edwards v. Hillary Gore," The Left Coaster, November 21, 2007.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Kenneth Baer, "After bashing Bill Clinton, Obama needs a history lesson," New York Daily News, November 15, 2007.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 Larry Johnson, "Why is Obama in Bed with Karl Rove?" TPMCafe, November 20, 2007.
  12. ↑ Robert Novak, "Hillary vs. Obama," Human Events Online, November 17, 2007.
  13. ↑ Karl Rove, "How to Beat Hillary (Next) November. Republicans who think she'll be easy to defeat are wrong. What they should do," Newsweek, November 26, 2007 (issue).
  14. ↑ David Roberts, "More light, less heat. Reflections on Grist's presidential forum on climate change," Gristmill/Grist, November 19, 2007.
  15. ↑ Taylor Marsh, "The Desperate Duo," TaylorMarsh.com, November 20, 2007.
  16. ↑ Jeff Zeleny, "Obama Takes Terrorism Dealy Serious," The Caucus Blog/New York Times, November 19, 2007.
  17. ↑ Taylor Marsh, "In the What If A Man Had Said It Department," TaylorMarsh.com, October 7, 2007.
  18. ↑ Athena Jones, "Clinton Gets Snippy with Iowan Over Iran," First Read/MSNBC, October 7, 2007.
  19. ↑ Dan Balz, "Clinton's Iran Vote Prompts A Harsh Back-and-Forth," The Trail Blog/Washington Post, October 7, 2007.
  20. ↑ Jeff Zeleny, "Iowans Take Their Time in Open Race," New York Times, October 6, 2007. This photo was taken October 5, 2007, at an Obama event in Iowa.
  21. ↑ Note that on October 12, 2007, following Hillary Clinton's Iowa event, Jeff Zeleny wrote an entire article pretty much featuring Randall Rolph: Jeff Zeleny, "Through the Eyes of an Iowan," New York Times, October 12, 2007.
  22. ↑ Andrew Sullivan, "That Vast Right Wing Conspiracy," The Atlantic, October 7, 2007.
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 23.2 Taylor Marsh, "Obama Does -- dare I say it -- Shrill," TaylorMarsh.com, November 20, 2007.
  24. ↑ "Clinton Compares Herself to 1920's Film Actress," Political Radar/ABC News, November 7, 2007.
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 Rick Klein and Jacqueline Klingebiel, "The Note: Old Friend Trumps New Friend for Rudy. Kerik’s coming indictment brings back the man Giuliani was trying to forget," ABC News, November 8, 2007.
  26. ↑ Michael McAuliff, "Barack Obama says Hillary Clinton too old to unite U.S.," New York Daily News, November 8, 2007.
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 Lynn Sweet, "Sweet Column: Obama record on transparency lacking. Where are his state senate records?" Chicago Sun-Times, November 5, 2007.
  28. ↑ Ben Smith, "Obama and the Clinton Library," The Politico, November 3, 2007.

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