On convention eve, Republicans pick at Obama-Clinton scars

8/24/08

DENVER, Colorado (AFP) — John McCain's Republican White House campaign Sunday tried to whip up backlash in Democratic party ranks over Barack Obama's rejection of primary foe Hillary Clinton as his running mate.

A hard-hitting McCain political advertisement picked at the still raw wounds of the party's nominating duel, arguing that Clinton had been passed over for "speaking the truth" about Obama's political agenda .

"The truth hurt, and Obama didn't like it," said the ad, issued a day after the presumptive Democratic nominee chose veteran senator and foreign policy expert Joseph Biden as his number two.

Clinton responded with a statement from her press office on the eve of the Democratic National Convention here, which party leaders hope will fuse splits between backers of the two rivals.

"Hillary Clinton's support of Barack Obama is clear," said Clinton spokeswoman Kathleen Strand, adding that the former first lady backed Obama's plans to get US troops out of Iraq and to expand healthcare.

"John McCain doesn't. It's interesting how those remarks didn't make it into his ad."

Former New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani waded into the fray on McCain's behalf.

"Senator Obama has made a choice more out of weakness than strength," Giuliani said on the ABC show This Week.

"The strong choice would have been Hillary Clinton, the obvious choice would have been Hillary Clinton.

"She had 50 percent of the Democratic vote. Obama has 50 percent of the Democratic vote, you almost have to go to extraordinary lengths to avoid her as the vice presidential pick of the party."

Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, who McCain is mulling as a possible Republican vice presidential pick, also critiqued the selection of Washington insider Biden, saying it was an "overcompensation" by Obama.

"Where's the change?" Pawlenty asked on a conference call, suggesting the inexperienced Obama had made a damaging admission that he needed a mentor.

Obama aides downplayed the notion that there would be a backlash from the Clinton camp on the decision to pass over the former first lady.

Top strategist David Axelrod said Obama had a "high regard" for Clinton, despite the fact she was reportedly not even vetted for the vice presidential spot on the Democratic ticket.

"But (Obama) felt that Senator Biden would be the best fit for him at this time."

Obama campaign spokeswoman Jen Psaki said that Obama had called Clinton on Friday but declined to say if the conversation was set up to tell her she was not in the running to be his number two.

"They speak on a regular basis," Psaki said, as Obama attended a Lutheran church service in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, adding that the Illinois senator also chatted by telephone with former president Bill Clinton on Thursday.

Clinton is due to address the convention on Tuesday night, and her name will be symbolically placed in nomination along with Obama's, as a nod to the millions of voters who backed her in the Democratic primary.

The convention comes as polls show many Clinton voters undecided about whether to vote for Obama or McCain in November's election.

A Washington Post-ABC poll on Sunday found that 20 percent of those who voted for Clinton now favor McCain, underlining questions about the Democratic candidate's appeal to some core, blue-collar Democrats.

Last week, a Wall Street Journal poll found only half of Clinton's voters said they would definitely vote for Obama in November. One in five said they would pick McCain.

Obama said in Wisconsin that he would use the convention, starting with a speech by his wife Michelle on Monday, to debunk Republican claims he is an elitist who does not share heartland American values.

Pelosi: Newest GOP Ad "insults Our Intelligence"
Aug 24, 2008

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(The Politico) DENVER- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi came out swinging at the first official convention event on Sunday, calling Sen. John McCain “bankrupt” of ideas, after Republicans unveiled a new ad questioning why Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is not on the Democratic ticket.

On Saturday, Republicans unveiled a new ad insinuating that Sen. Barack Obama did not choose Clinton because the New York senator criticized him too harshly, an obvious attempt to drive a wedge between the Democratic Party.

“I think the American people are going to tire of that,” Pelosi said at a press briefing Sunday morning. “Please don’t insult our intelligence, they are saying to politicians. We want answers, we don’t want gimmicks”

Pelosi warned that the ad is “a sign of things to come,” arguing that since Democrats have the upper hand on “kitchen table” issues like health care and the economy, the McCain campaign will be forced to resort to “diversionary tactics."

When asked by a reporter if the Clinton ad was “below the belt,” Pelosi dismissed the ad with a smile, telling the Republicans “good try.”

Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius also dismissed any talk of a fractured Democratic Party heading into the convention.

“I think [Hillary Clinton] will make it very clear on Tuesday night who her candidate is for president of the United States,” she said in a brief interview.

Sen. Clinton is scheduled to speak on Tuesday night, while her husband former President Bill Clinton will address the crowd on Wednesday.

Sebelius, who was also on Obama’s short list of vice presidential candidates, said Sen. Joe Biden called her after Obama selected him. Sebelius declined to offer any details of their conversation, saying they spoke “ in the cone of silence.”

"You'll find out, 'he's pretty much like us,'" said the Democrat, who has been hammering McCain for being unable to say how many homes he owns with his multi-millionaire wife Cindy.

Obama also told reporters he was "thrilled" that Biden was his running mate, and said the Delaware's senator's working class roots would help him address Americans' economic worries.