Posted on 05/18/2008 6:50:31 PM PDT by WesA
WASHINGTON (AFP) — Barack Obama set his sights on November's general election Saturday as he campaigned in Oregon, where he hopes to declare victory in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Obama has said Tuesday's primaries in Oregon and Kentucky could mark the end of his drawn-out battle with rival Hillary Clinton, and his campaign pressed home that message by announcing a symbolic return to Iowa that day.
Iowa was the scene of the Illinois senator's first victory in the 2008 presidential nominating race, and his campaign noted Saturday it is "a critical general election state that Democrats must win in November."
Polls show Obama leading in Oregon, where 52 delegates are up for grabs, while Clinton is ahead in Kentucky, a state with 51 delegates that has a similar demographic to West Virginia, where she won a thumping victory Tuesday.
His campaign says he needs just 17 more pledged delegates won through state votes to reach a majority of 1,627, not counting the "superdelegates," party officials who can vote either way at August's Democratic national convention.
Using a baseball analogy, Obama said May 8 that if after Tuesday's primaries "we have a majority of pledged delegates, which is possible, then I think we can make a pretty strong claim that we have got the most runs and its the ninth inning and we have won."
The official finishing line is 2,025 delegates, including superdelegates.
During a rally in Roseburg, Oregon, Saturday, Obama presented himself as the front-runner almost without question, attacking presumptive Republican nominee John McCain on foreign policy, the environment and healthcare.
Reviving Friday's furious row sparked by President George W. Bush's suggestion that Democrats wanted to appease terrorists, Obama said that not talking to North Korea and Iran had only made those states stronger.
"I want everybody to be absolutely clear about this because George Bush and McCain have suggested that me being willing to sit down with our adversaries is a sign of weakness and sign of appeasement," he said.
He also attacked McCain's plan for a gas tax holiday to cope with rising pump prices, which Clinton supports, as well as his other environmental plans, saying the Republican had consistently opposed fuel efficiency standards.
"For him to come to Oregon as an environmental president, but his big strategy is to do more drilling and to have a gas tax holiday for three months, that's a phony solution," he said.
Pitching his message to Oregon's environmentally-conscious voters, Obama called on the United States to "lead by example" on global warming, and develop new technologies at home which could be exported to developing countries.
"We can't drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times ... and then just expect that other countries are going to say OK," Obama said.
"That's not leadership. That's not going to happen," he added.
The Illinois senator also argued that the differences between his healthcare plan and that of Clinton "pale in comparison to the differences we have with John McCain," whose proposals would only work "if you're healthy and wealthy."
The escalating rhetoric between Obama and McCain has evoked the kind of campaign battles more common in the immediate run-up to an election -- and emphasized further Obama's pole position in the Democratic race.
But Clinton has vowed to keep fighting until the end of the primary season on June 3, and campaigning in Kentucky Saturday, she defended the plan for the gas tax holiday and accused McCain of having no idea how to fund it.
"Senator McCain said let's give everybody a gas tax holiday but doesn't want to pay for it. I think I've got the best plan. Let the oil companies pay it out of their excess profits," she said
True & she will have to get her own new age guru too come to think of it.
Yes, we must remember.
“”We can’t drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times ... and then just expect that other countries are going to say OK,” Obama said.”
Why not? The rest of the world doesn’t give a flip about us. Why should we care about them?
It's all in how things are perceived by the voting public. Unfortunately, if you call someone a communist these days (no matter how richly deserved), it makes YOU sound like a redneck McCarthyite idiot to the average Joe on the street. Too much baggage comes along with the "communist" tag. It takes some study of politics and history to realize that in fact, there are many communists in this country these days -- they just don't call themselves that.
But only a shadow of its old self and not even that if this ___ ___ get into the WH.
His cousin and yes sort of, after using terrorist tactics of burning down Christian churches filled with Christians until the government gave in and allowed him to "share power" despite the fact he was soundly beaten at the polls.
YES WE CAN. YES WE CAN. YES WE CAN. YES WE CAN. <./Obama mode>
FYI...Rush is off this Monday and Tuesday, will return on Wednesday
well said!
It's called the Declaration of Independence. Read it thoroughly.
And Hugo Chavez’s first.
What he’s proposing here is not socialism, it’s fascism. He’s saying we’re allowed to own property, but he’ll control how we’re allowed to USE our property. That’s fascism, not socialism.
That drudge photo was cropped and manipulated..
I know you are far too stupid to understand this Senator, but Capitalism works, everywhere it is tried.
Gas Rationing.
Energy Rationing.
Food Rationing.
Obama truly is the next Hitler.
Whe even cares what the people of other nations think?
This is America! This is the place everyone else in the world wants to come to.
I have had students ask me if I was voting for the black guy or the woman. They did not know there was another 'choice' (?????), or what the ramifications are.
No pubbie spoke up when Turban Durbin said that we cannot drill our way out of high gas prices.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Much worse...Obama here is talking about global governance.
On a different note, I can see Obama sending US troops to 'protect' Palestinians from Israel. He would be CIC and nobody could stop him.
Yeah, you got a problem with that comrade?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.