Clinton, Obama Spar on Eve of Crucial Primaries
If their moods offer any indication, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are vying as much for the role of underdog and front-runner as they are for votes Tuesday in Indiana and North Carolina Democratic primaries.
“We’re working as hard as we can and I desperately want every single vote here in Indiana and North Carolina,” Obama said.
Obama continues to lead in North Carolina, although most polls show Clinton has closed the gap significantly; the candidates are in a statistical dead heat in Indiana.
The latest Gallup daily tracking poll also shows them in a virtual tie nationally — with Obama leading by 5 percent, which is within the margin of error.
Drawing distinctions between herself and Obama at nearly every stop Monday, Clinton pushed forth a populist message and unleashed a new TV ad that criticizes Obama for his opposition to a gas tax holiday. The ad calls her the “candidate who is going to fight for working people.”
At a campaign rally in Highpoint, N.C., Clinton questioned Obama’s commitment to fighting oil companies.
“Senator Obama wants you to pay the gas tax this summer, instead of trying to get the oil companies to pay it out of their record profits,” she said. “So I believe that we should start standing up for the vast majority of Americans who are paying those outrageous gas prices.”
Clinton also seized the opportunity to attack the presumed Republican nominee, John McCain, who also supports suspending the gas tax.
“Senator McCain wants you to have a gas tax holiday, but he doesn’t want you to pay for it,” Clinton said. “Well, we’ve been down that road. We cannot increase the deficit. We cannot take money from the highway trust fund. That would be a mistake.”
Meanwhile, Obama stumped through North Carolina before heading to Indiana, where he sought out white, blue-collar workers.
In response to Clinton’s new ad, Obama unveiled one of his own — a 30-second TV spot called “Hometown” that criticizes the New York senator for offering “more of the same old negative politics.”
Obama also secured three more superdelegates, bringing his total number to 255, only 14 behind Clinton’s 269. Obama leads Clinton overall in the total number of delegates, 1743 to 1607. Indiana and North Carolina have 72 and 115 pledged Democratic delegates respectively.
Each candidate has rejected the idea that the nomination contest will be over following Tuesday’s outcome; both candidates planned to spend Monday night in Indianapolis.
Obama attended a rally accompanied by music legend Stevie Wonder in the city’s downtown district. Clinton helda late-night rally in Evanston, Ind., before traveling to the state capital.
During a breakfast stop at a Labor Temple in Evansville, Ind., Obama acknowledged the close poll numbers in Indiana.
“This is gonna be a tight election here in Indiana, every poll shows it is a dead heat,” he told the crowd. “We need every single vote, so you guys are pretty persuasive, I need you to tell your members that this is something worth fighting for and that they need to come out and vote, and vote for me,” he said.
He also addressed his opposition to a gas tax holiday.
“It’s a stunt, it’s what Washington does,” he said at a construction site at the University of Evansville. “This isn’t the first time it’s been proposed. It’s proposed every two years.”
Obama, who over the weekend brought his daughters onto the trail for the first time in four months, suggested to the crowd of construction workers that a second stimulus check would be a better solution for short-term relief.
“That would help people immediately relieve some crisis and that’s money that you know won’t be sopped up by oil companies,” he said.
But if energy is key, Clinton is the one who appears revved up for the race to the finish. Obama suggested that the deflating few weeks of campaigning is par for the course, and repeated his wife Michelle’s claim from last week that he would be sailing to the end.
“Once you’re the front-runner,” he said, “then it is, I think, the obligation of the candidates who are behind you to whack you over the head and the press is happy to oblige.”
Fox News’ Aaron Bruns and Bonney Kapp and The Associated Press contributed to this report
She stole the gas tax plan from John McCain to begin with. Don’t elect a thief.
Shannon for President!!!
Way to go, Schweet-haart!
Obama says he is desperate! Vote for that man as the democratic nominee so that McCain will win in November!
I sure hope that John McCain chooses Mitt Romney as his VP. That way, when they lose miserably in November, we can get back to electing Conservatives to represent Republicans instead of Mavericks and Flip-Floppers.
Yes, Hillary is so right. She’s going to extract 8 billion from the oil companies and send OPEC a message, we saw on TV!
Hillary’s Hillaryus retort to Obama’s challenge that the gas tax Holiday is a gimmick. How tall is she anyway? She reminds me of Edward G. Robinson in some smarmy gangster movie from the 40s with her jaw jutting out, she gets on TV, the commentator asks, “Hillary, how are you going to make sure that the gas tax savings end up in the consumers pockets?” Hillary: We’re gonna make the oil companies pick up the tax. We’re going to get them for about 8 million! And, then we’re going to send OPEC a message!” Really, and what kind of message are we going to send them, schweet-haat? Are we going to obliterate them, or just kneecap ‘em? And, also, if we have the ability to Make the oil companies pick up the tab for the gas tax holiday, why don’t ya just make ‘em lower their gas prices, and ferget about it.
Come on American Voters. This is really simple to understand. If you need to fill up you gas tank and you see two AIMCO gas stations. One of the stations has a sign saying Regular $3.00 dollars a gallon and the other AIMCO station has a sign saying Regular $3.18 cents a gallon. Which gas station are you going to pull into to fill up your gas tank?
I really do not think American really believes these two candidtates or for that Matter Senator Mccain is going to be pulling any non tax payable hats out of the hat.
America is in big trouble and these people are not helping America while there in the Senate or will they if President.
The Energyl crisis is not crisis, it is political. The mortage crisis is not a crisis, it is political, the National Debt is not a crisis, it is political, The War is not a crisis, it is political. Who do you say you are voting for ? And how long you want these crisis ? Politics is not the anwer, it has been failing you and me now for 100 years or more.
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Now, i hope that the American people haven’t forgotten what Mr. Obama’s beliefs are and his feeling on “white America” I mean seriously, hes a very racist man. And So is his pastor, that hes known for twenty years and counting, and recently rejected his friendship ONLY BECAUSE he got caught. Please lets not forget.
I just wonder what type of sensation Chris Mathews had in his leg when Obama’s Mentor Wright spoke a while back
Did anyone hear him he mention anything—any more “tingles”?
“Oh what a tangled web we weave when at first we practice to deceive.”
Thanks for reporting Truth, Fox!
Go Hillary