Former Clinton staffers jump to McCain
Posted: Sunday, September 21, 2008 6:36 PM by Domenico Montanaro
From NBC's Cherelle Kantey
Former Hillary Clinton campaign staffers charged Obama with being too inexperienced for the presidency, shifting their support to McCain, on a conference call sponsored by the McCain campaign Friday afternoon.
"Obama really doesn't have the experience,” said Miguel Lausell, senior national political advisor to Hillary Clinton. “We don't know what he's going to be doing. We don't really know where he's coming from, and that's the big difference."
Luchy Secaira, former Sen. Hillary Clinton Delegate-at-Large, said that
stance on women’s issues is all talk and no action. Secaira said that Obama’s rhetoric on the Equal Pay Act is not backed up with hiring practices in his Senate office.
"We need to look no further than Sen. Obama's own senate office, where it's been documented that he pays women less on his staff than males on his staff,” said Secaira. “He talks the talk but doesn't walk the walk."
“The Hispanic community has nothing to fear, because they know John McCain,” Secaira added. “He has fought against his own party on behalf of the Hispanic community and was an integral part in trying to bring forth comprehensive immigration reform.”
Lausell also expressed disappointment that Obama overlooked Clinton as a choice for a vice-presidential running mate, saying this decision was a deal breaker for Hispanic voters who wanted to see her on the ticket.
“He didn't even contemplate Hillary Clinton for vice president,” Lausell said. “I don't really think he's committed to women's future and in terms of Hispanics, … he could have picked Bill Richardson who was fully qualified for the job. But you know, he forgot about him also. So you know, I don't think he takes Hispanics seriously.”
While it's true that Clinton had widespread support from the Hispanic community during the primaries, Obama has held substantial leads over McCain with Hispanics -- greater than even what Kerry had over Bush in 2004 or Gore had in 2000.
Nonetheless, Lausell added that he thought Obama’s candidacy would never measure up to Clinton's because of her proven track record on the issues that affect Hispanic-Americans.
"I think that when you talk about Obama and Hillary Clinton, Hillary Clinton is the sky and Obama is the sea. And the sea will never reach the sky, you know,” Lausell said. “I'm sure he means well, but his word doesn't match his action. "
The former campaign operatives also said they were outraged with Obama’s latest Spanish-language ad, “Dos Caras,” which linked McCain to Rush Limbaugh’s offensive remarks about the Hispanic community. Secaira said this type of ad contrasts Obama’s image of being an agent of change through unification.
"I don't see anything new about put-down politics …This [ad] proves that he's not a uniter; he's a divider. Sen. Obama, along with the Democratic leadership, has divided the party. And this is his tactic. This is his M.O,” said Secaira. “Otro pero con ese hueso."
Translation: “to another dog with that bone."
Of course, political observers will likely see the former Clintons staffers objections as sour grapes -- they're upset because Clinton lost, and they're out of jobs though they're candidate was that close.
