Senator Obama is not happy that Senator McCain pointed out that Hamas stated they would like to see an Obama presidency.
“This is offensive, and I think it’s disappointing,” Obama told Blitzer, when asked his thoughts about McCain’s comments that the terrorist organization Hamas wants Obama to be president. “Because John McCain always says ‘I am not going to run that kind of politics,’ and to engage in that kind of smear is unfortunate, particularly because my policy toward Hamas has been no different than his.
A smear would indicate that comments were either false or misleading, but that is not the case. Hamas made a telling statement and Senator Obama may not want people to know about it, but crying foul over a statement of fact is pretty weak.
Tags: election politics, General Election, glass jaw, Hamas, obama mccain, smear, statements, terrorists, touchy
May 8th, 2008
Senator McCain opened the blogger call talking about his recent tour of areas of the south that have been left behind economically. This included a stop made in Inez, Kentucky where FDR first announced the War on Poverty. Senator McCain stated the lesson learned is that the local government is far more capable of effecting positive economic change than large federal bureaucracies. He went on to say that he still believes in Reagan’s economic principals of keeping taxes low and cutting spending to increase economic growth; also stating that anyone willing to raise taxes when the economy is struggling doesn’t understand fundamental economic principals. When questioned later about taxes, Senator McCain explained that Senator Obama’s plan to lift the cap on Social Security would affect people making $102,000 and that his plan to increase the capital gains tax would affect 100 million Americans. He repeated his plan to give Americans a summer gas tax holiday, and to temporarily suspend putting oil in the strategic oil reserves in order to provide temporary economic relief. He went on to explain that long-term breaking America’s dependence on foreign oil is the priority.
Several of the blogger’s questions were about Senator Obama and his ties to Bill Ayers and Reverend Wright. The first from Hugh Hewitt asked about Senator Obama comparing Bill Ayers to Senator Coburn. Senator McCain found the comparison offensive as he described Ayers as an unrepentant terrorist and Senator Coburn as well respected doctor who still has an active practice delivering babies. He was also questioned about why he wanted to see the anti-Obama ad featuring Reverend Wright in North Carolina pulled from the air. He explained that it is not the tenor that he wants his campaign to take, and that he voices his opinion as the nominee of the party and sees the ad as offensive to some.
On foreign policy Jennifer Rubin questioned Hamas’ apparent endorsement/desire to see Senator Obama elected president. Senator McCain agreed that he would be Hamas’ worst nightmare and knows that he is not who they want to become president. Also, he was questioned about Iraq and President Maliki’s move into Bazra. He was encouraged to see that the Iraqi army was starting to act independently. He admitted there were some problems with desertions, but was pleased overall with the progress of the army and the signs of success in that region.
Tags: ayers, beaucracy, blogger call, economic growth, fdr, foreign oil, gas prices, Hamas, inez ky, iraq, Obama, reagan, social security, spending cuts, tax cuts, war on poverty, wright
April 25th, 2008
Yep, Obama wins that coveted endorsement.
“We don’t mind–actually we like Mr. Obama. We hope he will (win) the election and I do believe he is like John Kennedy, great man with great principle, and he has a vision to change America to make it in a position to lead the world community but not with domination and arrogance,” Yousef said in response to a question about the group’s willingness to meet with either of the Democratic presidential candidates.
On the surface, it doesn’t make a ton of sense, considering Senator Obama’s public stance on Hamas (which is, of course, different from his church’s stance).
Perhaps Yousef thinks it’s odd that Obama will talk to some mad men and not others and assumes a President Obama will eventually follow President Carter’s footsteps.
Tags: endorsements, foreign policy, Hamas, Obama, terrorism
April 16th, 2008
