Obama Slams McCain, Palin - Democratic Underground

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Sat Sep-06-08 01:10 PM
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Obama Slams McCain, Palin

http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2008/09/obama_slams_mccain_palin_on_sp.html

TERRE HAUTE, Ind.--Barack Obama turned up the heat on John McCain and Sarah Palin at a rally here Saturday afternoon, accusing McCain of being surrounded by lobbyists and engaging in "Karl Rove-style" politics and charging that Palin, as governor of Alaska, accepted federal pork "when convenient."

At an event held in a barn on Wabash Valley Fairgrounds, Obama employed the strongest language he's used since McCain and Palin formally accepted the GOP nomination for president and vice-president. He also accused them of hijacking his message of change.

"SInce the beginning of this campaign, we've talking about change," Obama said. "That's been the theme of this campaign. We must be onto something because I've noticed everybody's talking about change now. Everybody's talking about change."

"John McCain has said that, "change is coming." Now think about this. This is from the party that been in charge for eight years. They've been running the show." Obama said. "And suddenly, he's the change agent."

Then Obama opened a fresh line of attack, one he hasn't used recently on the trail.

"He says I'm going to tell those lobbyists that their days of running Washington are over. Who's he going to tell?" Obama said. "Is he going to tell his campaign chairman (Charlie Black), who's one of the biggest corporate lobbyists in Washington? Is he going to tell his campaign manager (Rick Davis), who was one of the biggest corporate lobbyists in Washington. Is he going to tell all the folks running his campaign who are the biggest corporate lobbyists in Washington?

"Who is he going to tell that change is coming?," he said. "I mean, come on, they must think you're stupid."

Both Black and Davis had lucrative careers as lobbyists before signing on with the McCain campaign. The Republican candidate has said that their background doesn't undercut his message of lobbying reform because both men have left the business.

"What are these guys talking about?" Obama said. "You think we haven't been paying attention for the last eight years?'

In Palin's case, Saturday marked the first time Obama has gone after her record directly. He cast her, like McCain, as a reformer only "when convenient," saying she had embraced earmarks earlier in her political career as mayor of Wasilla, Alaska and governor of that state.

"She's a skillful politician," Obama said of Palin, "but when you've been taking all these earmarks when it's convenient, and then suddenly, you're the champion anti-earmark person, that's not change. Come on. Words mean something. You can't just make stuff up."

Records have shown that Palin secured millions of earmarks for Wasilla as mayor. As governor, she just this year sent Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) a request for 31 earmarks totalling $197 million.

Last year, however, Palin stepped up her criticism of earmarks as the furor over the so-called "Bridge to Nowhere" in Alaska raged.

Obama also accused the McCain campaign of engaging in "Karl Rove-style" politics, which he defined as "about dividing people instead of bringing them together."