Obama slams HRC on Novak, NAFTA
Posted: Sunday, November 18, 2007 1:32 PM by Mark Murray
Filed Under:
2008, Clinton, Obama
From NBC/NJ's Carrie Dann
MARION, IA –- In a press conference this morning, Obama criticized the Clinton campaign's slow response to a claim yesterday by syndicated columnist Bob Novak that the Democratic front-runner is sitting on “scandalous” information about the Illinois senator.
Asked about his uncharacteristically strong preemptive response to the report, Obama said that his campaign won’t tolerate “slime politics,” and said that it took “three iterations” of the story (referring to the press release war that ensued between the two camps yesterday) for the Clinton camp to deny the story outright. He added sarcastically that it “would have been nice” if her campaign had been more forthright in its denial.
Obama said that his quick response to the rumor was intended to “nip it at the bud” before it circulated further, invoking the damaging innuendos that derailed the campaign of John McCain in 2000, as well as the “Swiftboat” attacks against John Kerry in 2004.
Obama dodged reporters’ questions as to whether he knows of any other signs that “scandalous” information is being circulated.
Obama also slammed Clinton for flip-flopping on NAFTA, which she called “a mistake” in last week’s debate in Las Vegas. “She was a cheerleader for NAFTA for more than a decade,” he said, adding that “the only thing that has changed is that its an election year.”
*** UPDATE *** "It must be the silly season, because this is getting ridiculous," Clinton spokesman Phil Singer said on the Novak story. "Senator Obama knows that our campaign responded instantly with a clear
denial. Senator Obama is manufacturing an issue to distract voters
from a disastrous debate performance that revealed, among other things,
that his health care plan doesn’t cover every American."
On NAFTA, Singer said, "Senator Obama must have been talking about himself because as recently
as 2004, he was saying the United States should pursue trade deals like
NAFTA. The fact is that Senator Clinton has been voicing serious
concerns about trade agreements for years and as a Senator from New
York, she didn’t just talk, she acted. She voted against CAFTA and
Fast Track, introduced legislation to analyze the economic impact of
trade agreements every five years and has been a vocal critic of the
Bush administration’s failure to enforce our trade agreements."