Posted on 03/02/2008 5:52:01 PM PST by DBCJR
WESTERVILLE, Ohio - Democrat Barack Obama worked to fend off an intensified attack on his foreign policy credentials from rival Hillary Rodham Clinton on Sunday as their paths crossed two days ahead of a potentially race-ending showdown in Ohio and Texas.
"What precise foreign-policy experience is she claiming that makes her qualified to answer that telephone call at 3 a.m. in the morning?" Obama asked of the former first lady at a town-hall meeting. It was a reference to dueling television ads over who would exercise superior judgment in responding to a national emergency in the middle of the night.
The Illinois senator also sought to ease lingering Internet-fed concerns about his religion, in particular whether he was a closet Muslim.
"I am a devout Christian. I have been a member of the same church for 20 years. I pray to Jesus every night," he declared at an earlier appearance in the rural southern Ohio town of Nelsonville. He said he wanted to halt "confusion that has been deliberately perpetrated."
Unlike Clinton, who has been barnstorming Ohio, Obama had only two events in the state on Sunday and was spending the night in hometown Chicago. He heads to Texas on Monday for a final day of campaigning before awaiting returns on Tuesday in San Antonio.
His aides said privately that they felt they had a good shot at a win in Texas, but were less certain about Ohio, where they braced for a possible loss.
The two senators came close to running into each other in this Columbus suburb, where Clinton spoke at one high school and Obama spoke several hours later at another. Obama supporters boasted of a much larger crowd.
Obama said his opposition to the war in 2002 was not a single speech — as Clinton has asserted — but a series of remarks during his 2002 successful Senate campaign.
Obama criticized Clinton expressly for failing to read the classified National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq's weapons capabilities, a report available at the time of her October 2002 vote authorizing the Iraq war. "She didn't give diplomacy a chance. And to this day, she won't even admit that her vote was a mistake — or even that it was a vote for war," Obama said.
"When it came time to make the most important foreign policy decision of our generation the decision to invade Iraq Senator Clinton got it wrong," Obama said.
He said that Sen. Jay Rockefeller, a fellow Democrat from neighboring West Virginia, had read the intelligence estimate as a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee. However, Rockefeller wound up voting for the war resolution.
Rockefeller, who is now chairman of that committee, endorsed Obama on Friday and campaigned with him on Saturday.
Rockefeller called Obama "brilliant" and "well grounded" and prepared to take the reins as commander in chief.
The Obama campaign also lined up a conference call for reporters with various Democratic foreign-policy experts who asserted his ability to inspire and lead, his good judgment on Iraq, and ticked legislative accomplishments. It was an effort to undercut Clinton's claim that Obama foreign-policy experience was shallow.
In addition to foreign policy, Obama talked about economic issues affecting economically depressed Ohio, as had Clinton.
Recent polls show Clinton retains a lead in Ohio, although it has been narrowing. In Texas, her once formidable lead has all but vanished and the race is now seen as a dead heat.
Most Democratic strategists see Texas and Ohio as must-win states if Clinton is to continue her candidacy, a view also expressed by her husband, former President Bill Clinton.
She has lost 11 consecutive contests to Obama and lags in the delete count.
But in recent days, Clinton campaign officials have suggested that if Obama doesn't win all four Tuesday contests — which also include races in Rhode Island and Vermont — it would signal "buyers remorse" and be reason to continue the campaign to the next major primary, Pennsylvania on April 22.
You are right - she is planting the seeds of doubt with the swing voters in Ohio come the general election - even if it doesn’t work with the Dems in the primary, the ads and the message are still being seen by the voters are large.
He was referring to the term used to described Thomas Jefferson, a “classical liberal.”
Classical liberalism as the term was used during the time period of our Founding Fathers is most nearly reflected in the conservative principles of today that Rush keeps harping on: small government, stronger state sovereignty, lower taxes, more individualism, more choice, greater freedom of enterprise, all undergirt by a common morality, a common culture, and a national language, all wrapped up in a pretty bow that that we call our borders.
Exactly I can see how being educated in Muslim schools could have a profound effect on someone.
And why is that? As much as I dislike McCain for president I do believe he can beat Hillary or Obama without much effort.
He says he’s a “devout Christian” only for political reasons.
If he is a devout Christian he would not SUPPORT PARTIAL BIRTH ABORTION. His religion is called “liberal”.
Well put!
They despise a religious faith that is stronger than a faith in statism. If someone’s religion is subservient to the state, they not only accept it, they promote to try to convince the ‘other religious types that ‘true’ religion serves the state, rather than God.
“The “delete” count? I think that’s a funny typo considering the circumstances! Freudian?”
The greatest fear & pain of the Hildabeast is to be irrelevant. Her sacrifice into irrelevance during Bill’s first term, due to her unpopularity, was a high price for her turn. Her ire about the Lewinski scandal was not about unfaithfulness, but the fact that he messed up HER turn to be relevant.
Look at history...Only twice in modern history has the party in power for eight years retained power...Truman and Bush 1. The Repubs have held the White House for eight years. President Bush is unpopular with an approval rating of 30 %. Reagan helped his Dad beat the odds. bush can not help McCain. Truman barely won and was an incumbent as Roosevelt died in office. If McCain was a great candidate-like maybe Reagan-he might have a chance, but he is not. The base hates him and more importantly McCain hates the base.
I should say in the interest of being fair, I don’t like McCain. I think he would govern as Arnold has in California-advance a Dem agenda and destroy the Republican Party. However, I may be too prejudiced to judge fairly, but I think this election may be a blowout. The really sad thing is McCain will take down other decent Republicans with him.
That, my friend, is a Libertarian.
You do know that the info about Obama being educated in Muslim schools has been proven false right? Let’s beat the guy on issues.
I never read that definition. Seems silly to me. Care to explain?
When he entered elementary school he checked off religion as “MUSLIM” and this was verified by his grade school teacher.
He attended a school in Indonesia that many Muslims attended.
We could ask you the same damn question, B. Hussein Obama.
"I am a devout Christian. I have been a member of the same church for 20 years. I pray to Jesus every night," he declared
That this is getting a pass by the atheist leftist Obama supporters AND the anti-Christian media AMAZES ME.
Where are the Barry Lynn separation of church and state zombies? Where are the professional atheists?
Let’s beat the guy on issues.
I agree he has issues that NOONE IN THE MEDIA HAS QUESTIONED HIM ON.
Associating with anti semites, real estate, like paying $300,000 under the the assessed value of the home he purchased, shady deals etc.
When McCain is the GOP candidate, you don’t want to go there. I am telling you McCain has baggage which is why he wants to keep the campaign focused on the issues. By the way, I mean issues like the war, the economy etc.-not how much Obama paid for his house-real issues. I am completely sick of the politics of personal destruction as we used to call it when the Dems and Clinton did it.
Like it or not we are stuck with McCain. For myself I don't like it. But the prospect of Hillary or Obama is too grim to contemplate.
We are screwed again.
This is a bogus report that has been circulating for a while now. I got to tell you if the GOP plays the race card in this election, I am going to register independent. Americans have to live together when this election is over. I am tired of politician causing divisions in the races in order to get elected. It was wrong when the Clinton’s did it, and it would be wrong for Repubs to do it. I am so sick of this election, and I usually love elections.
Those in California wish a Democrat had won...Arnold has done far more damage.
We are screwed for sure.
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