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 Clinton More Like Bush Than McCain?
by The Associated Press
Posted: May 5, 2008 - 10:30 am ET
(Indianapolis, Indiana) Barack Obama likened
Hillary Rodham Clinton to President Bush for threatening to "totally
obliterate" Iran if it attacks Israel and called her gas-tax holiday a
gimmick as he tried to fend off her challenge ahead of two pivotal Democratic
primaries.
Clinton, in turn, stood by both her comment on
Iran and her tax proposal as she gave chase in Indiana and North Carolina to the
front-runner for the nomination.
The competitors squabbled over the issues - one
foreign, one domestic - from a short distance, first during separate appearances
on Sunday news shows and then as they courted voters for Tuesday's primaries.
"This is the final push," Clinton told
a cheering crowd of volunteer canvassers in Fort Wayne, emboldened by her
Pennsylvania victory two weeks ago as well as polls that show her in a close
race in Indiana and narrowing Obama's lead in North Carolina.
A few hours later and a few miles away, Obama
urged an audience of several thousand to vote for him. "I need help,"
he said.
The Illinois senator hopes that wins this week
will stop the bleeding from a difficult campaign stretch. Maneuvering for
advantage and trying to put the controversy over his former pastor behind him,
Obama sought Sunday to portray Clinton as a political opportunist on both Iran
and her gas-tax plan.
The two rivals crossed paths at the state
Democratic party's Jefferson Jackson Day dinner. Both candidates received loud
cheers and applause from their respective supporters.
Clinton pushed her proposal for a summer
suspension of the gasoline tax, which she would pay for with a windfall profit
tax on oil companies.
"We can't just plan for the future, we have
to help people in the here and now," Clinton said. "The choice to me
is clear, we need to go after the oil companies."
Obama, who calls the proposal a gimmick, told the
same audience that oil companies would "simply jack up their price to fill
the gap" if such a gas tax holiday were observed. "Does anybody here
really trust the oil companies to give you the savings instead of just pocketing
the money themselves?" he asked.
Obama rolled out a new TV ad for Indiana and
North Carolina that derided "Clinton gimmicks that help big oil."
Many economists oppose the plan and Clinton,
during an interview on ABC's "This Week," demurred when asked to name
one who supports it. "I'm not going to put my lot in with economists
because I know if we did it right ... it would be implemented effectively,"
she said.
In a CBS News/New York Times poll released
Sunday, 49 percent of voters said they thought lifting the gas tax for the
summer was a bad idea. Only 45 percent thought it was a good idea.
Earlier, on NBC's "Meet the Press,"
Obama seized on an answer Clinton gave recently when asked what she would do if
Iran attacked Israel with nuclear weapons on her watch.
"I want the Iranians to know that if I'm the
president, we will attack Iran," Clinton said April 22 in an interview with
ABC. "In the next 10 years, during which they might foolishly consider
launching an attack on Israel, we would be able to totally obliterate
them."
Obama said, "It's not the language we need
right now, and I think it's language reflective of George Bush" akin to
"bluster and saber rattling."
"Senator Clinton during the course of the
campaign has said we shouldn't speculate about Iran, we've got to be cautious
when we're running for president, she scolded me on a couple of occasions on
this issue, yet a few days before an election, she's willing to use that
language," Obama added.
Clinton, asked about Obama's criticism, didn't
back away from her comment.
"Why would I have any regrets? I'm asked a
question about what I would do if Iran attacked our ally ... and, yes, we would
have massive retaliation against Iran," Clinton said. "I don't think
they will do that, but I sure want to make it abundantly clear to them that they
would face a tremendous cost if they did such a thing."
Clinton and Obama both shuffled their schedules
to dart back to North Carolina on Monday, reflecting the tightening contest
there.
Obama is ahead in the hunt for convention
delegates - 1,742.5 to 1,607.5, according to an Associated Press count Sunday -
but he has faced a spate of troubles over the past month. That has Clinton
sensing an opening. Still, the delegate math works in Obama's favor, and it will
be difficult for Clinton to overtake him.
Nevertheless, Clinton suggested anew she had no
intention of dropping out, saying on ABC, "When the process finishes in
early June, people can look at all the various factors and decide who would be
the strongest candidate" to go up against McCain.
Obama told NBC, "We are going to keep on
going and we feel confident that I am going to be the Democratic nominee."
©365Gay.com 2008
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