News, Articles & Reviews

GREENVILLE, S.C. – As his campaign opened a telephone hotline for voters to report instances of dirty politics in the South Carolina primary fight, Senator Barack Obama did not back down from a defiant tone he struck at the Democratic debate last night.

“I think it’s very clear that Senator Clinton – and President Clinton – have been spending the last month attacking me in ways that are not accurate,” Mr. Obama told reporters today. “At some point, it was important for us to address them.”

Lately, Mr. Obama seldom mentions the name of his rival without mentioning the name of his chief nemesis here in South Carolina this week: Bill Clinton. As Mrs. Clinton headed to the West Coast today, the head-to-head duel leading up to Saturday’s primary is between Mr. Obama and Mr. Clinton.

Mr. Obama is straddling the line of promoting his economic message in a speech here today, even as he pushes back against the Clintons. To do so, he is enlisting help from Democratic officials in South Carolina and beyond.

First, he announced the endorsement of Representative Bennie Thompson, Democrat of Mississippi, who said he joined Mr. Obama’s campaign because he was impressed by how new voters were drawn to the campaign, particularly people “disenchanted with the process.”

At the same time, Tom Daschle, the former Senate majority leader, announced an effort to open a truth squad – complete with a toll-free number – to track the attacks made against Mr. Obama. Mr. Daschle, one of Mr. Obama’s earliest supporters, denounced the criticism Mr. Clinton has aimed at Mr. Obama.

“It’s not presidential,” Mr. Daschle told reporters on a conference call today. “It’s not keeping with the image of a former president. I’m surprised he’s taken this approach.”

Mr. Daschle said the vitriol reminded him of what his Republican foes successfully did to him in 2004, when he lost his re-election bid to the Senate.

“This is the same kind of tactic that Washington uses quite frequently,” Mr. Daschle said. He added, “I think it destroys the party ultimately, it’s going to divide us and it’s going to have a lasting effect down the road if it doesn’t stop soon.”

So the Clinton and Obama scuffle shows few signs of dissipating. After Mr. Obama delivered a speech at Furman University and moved down the road for three more campaign stops today, guess who was headed here to Greenville?

Source

Silahkan Beri Komentar Anda Mengenai Berita/Artikel Ini.