Posted on 02/16/2008 4:14:03 PM PST by DBCJR
WAUSAU, Wisc. -- Barack Obama hit back at rival Hillary Clinton Saturday as she prepared to join him in Wisconsin, which stages the next Democratic presidential battle in three days.
Mr. Obama, a first-term Illinois senator, has beaten Ms. Clinton in the last eight contests and gained the upper hand in their duel to become their party's White House nominee in November's election.
Mr. Obama has spent four days in Wisconsin since his last round of victories last Tuesday and has a slight lead in opinion polls in the state. Ms. Clinton has focused on March 4 votes in Ohio and Texas, hoping victories there will revive her hopes.
Mr. Obama launched another advertisement Saturday responding to Ms. Clinton's recent attacks. The New York senator has criticized him as providing more talk than action, and aired two ads in Wisconsin this week attacking his refusal to debate in the state and his health care and retirement plans.
"After 18 debates, with two more coming, Hillary says Barack Obama is ducking debates? It's the same old politics," an announcer says in Mr. Obama's new ad. The two are scheduled to debate next week in Texas and the next week in Ohio.
"The question is not who has got the policies," Mr. Obama said at a rally in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. "The question is who can get them done, who can bring people together."
Mr. Obama and Ms. Clinton were to appear separately Saturday evening at a party dinner in Milwaukee. Ms. Clinton will campaign in the state Sunday and Monday before Tuesday's vote.
Democrats in Hawaii also vote on Tuesday but Mr. Obama, who was born in the state, is expected to win there. Wisconsin and Hawaii have a combined 94 delegates who select the nominee at the party convention in August at stake.
Despite her absence so far, Ms. Clinton campaign officials said they will be competitive in the state. The most recent poll gave Mr. Obama a five-point edge.
"We think that she's going to hold her own," Clinton adviser Harold Ickes told reporters.
Both candidates have recently focused on the economy. Ohio and Wisconsin are swing states with large populations of blue-collar Democrats, a key part of Ms. Clinton's constituency.
Ms. Clinton also hopes to profit in Texas through her strength with Hispanics, expected to be at least one-quarter of the state's Democratic vote.
"It is time we had a president who was a fighter, a doer and a champion for the American middle class," Ms. Clinton said Friday during an economic round-table in Cincinnati, Ohio.
"This primary election offers a very big choice to the voters of Ohio," she said. "You can choose speeches or solutions."
Texas and Ohio have become "must win" states for Clinton, who trails Mr. Obama in the race for pledged delegates awarded by the state-by-state contests to pick a Democratic nominee.
Mr. Ickes said Ms. Clinton would nearly catch Mr. Obama in the delegate race if she won those two states and the two would be roughly even when the primary process ends in June. He said she would battle all the way to the convention if necessary.
The ultimate winner could be determined by support from 796 "superdelegates" -- party insiders and elected officials who are free to back any candidate.
Republican front-runner John McCain took the day off on Saturday before claiming the endorsement of former President George H.W. Bush, the father of the current president, at an event in Houston Monday.
Mr. McCain is almost certain to be the Republican presidential nominee for the November general election after defeating his main rival, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, and winning his endorsement.
Mr. McCain's nearest rival is former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who badly trails the Arizona senator in the Republican delegate count.
P.S. I'm betting real, serious money on all of these outcomes/predictions. Talk is cheap...
Arkansas swap devils = Arkansas swaMp devils
Monica was rallying conservatives today to fall in line. We have the advantage of a no-contest from here to August. If Rodham can make it through this next round she may take Obama to August. That leaves the winner bleeding into November.
LOL! You got it right the first time.
(Just think about it for a minute)
Harold Ickes????
Ladies and Gentlemen - these people cannot be allowed back into the White House. Ann Coulter truly has gone nuts to say she would campaign for Hillary...seriously.
“Ann Coulter truly has gone nuts to say she would campaign for Hillary...seriously.”
Nuts if she thinks Hill would let her. Ann is close to being irrelevant.
P.S. Go screw off you McInsane brain damaged rabid dogs. You'll be posting to the hand.
They are appearing together at a democrat party event in Milwaukee this evening. Should be interesting.
“It is time we had a president who was a fighter, a doer and a champion for the American middle class,” Ms. Clinton said...
“...which Bill wasn’t.”
He was a do-er.
He was a do-er.
You mean Do-her, LOL?
“It depends what “do” is. Uh, technically it was the cigar that did her.”
Who needs more debates when the two candidates just sit around and praise each other?
Hillary, you blew it when you refused to attack Obama in the past (and point out his lack of substance). You don't get a second chance!
Ain’t it sweet? No one else to blame - but she will. I’d like to see her get REALLY bitter, meltdown.
Post 14, thanks for posting that info.
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