Obama jabs Clinton, Edwards
Posted: Thursday, December 27, 2007 11:58 AM by Mark Murray
From NBC's Mark Murray and NBC/NJ's Aswini Anburajan
Obama's campaign just released the prepared remarks of the speech that's being billed as his closing remarks before the Iowa caucuses. By our count, there are at least nine shots/digs/jabs/contrasts -- whatever you want to call them -- at Clinton and Edwards, although he mentions neither by name.
AIMED AT CLINTON?
1. "You know that we can't afford four more years of the same divisive food fight in Washington that's about scoring political points instead of solving problems; that's about tearing your opponents down instead of lifting this country up."
2. "We can't afford the same politics of fear that tells Democrats that the only way to look tough on national security is to talk, act, and vote like George Bush Republicans; that invokes 9/11 as a way to scare up votes instead of a challenge that should unite all Americans to defeat our real enemies."
3. "The real gamble in this election is playing the same Washington game with the same Washington players and expecting a different result. And that's a risk we can't take. Not this year. Not when the stakes are this high."
4. "In this election, it is time to turn the page. In seven days, it is time to stand for change."
5. "But you can't at once argue that you're the master of a broken system in Washington and offer yourself as the person to change it. You can't fall in line behind the conventional thinking on issues as profound as war and offer yourself as the leader who is best prepared to chart a new and better course for America. The truth is, you can have the right kind of experience and the wrong kind of experience. Mine is rooted in the real lives of real people and it will bring real results if we have the courage to change. I believe deeply in those words. But they are not mine. They were Bill Clinton's in 1992, when Washington insiders questioned his readiness to lead."
6. "It's change that won't just come from more anger at Washington or turning up the heat on Republicans. There's no shortage of anger and bluster and bitter partisanship out there. We don't need more heat. We need more light"
7. "In the end, the argument we are having between the candidates in the last seven days is not just about the meaning of change. It's about the meaning of hope. Some of my opponents appear scornful of the word; they think it speaks of naiveté, passivity, and wishful thinking. But that's not what hope is."
AIMED AT EDWARDS?
1. "There are others in this race who say that this kind of change sounds good, but that I'm not angry or confrontational enough to get it done. Well, let me tell you something, Iowa. I don't need any lectures on how to bring about change, because I haven't just talked about it on the campaign trail. I've fought for change all my life."
2. "I'm the only candidate in this race who hasn't just talked about taking power away from lobbyists, I've actually done it. So if you want to know what kind of choices we'll make as President, you should take a look at the choices we made when we had the chance to bring about change that wasn't easy or convenient. That's the kind of change that's more than just rhetoric - that's change you can believe in."
*** UPDATE *** Clinton campaign spokesman Phil Singer responds to these Obama remarks, “Now is not the time for political attacks; it's time to pick a president who can give us a new beginning in a time of war and a troubled economy. There are big stakes in this election -- Iowans are going to pick the candidate best able to make the change we need starting on day one and that candidate is Hillary Clinton.”
