Palin paints Obama as 'big spender'
Posted: Sunday, October 12, 2008 8:19 PM by Domenico Montanaro
Filed Under:
Sarah Palin
From NBC/NJ’s Matthew Berger
ST. CLAIRESVILLE, Ohio --
Palin focused on the economy Sunday, suggesting
Obama would raise taxes, increase spending and add to the national debt.
“Folks, in times like these the last thing we need is a tax increase,” she said at a rally in front of a barn. “America just can’t afford another big spender in the White House.”
Palin spent most of her 35 minutes concentrating on the nation’s troubled economy, part of a new campaign emphasis on financial issues in recent days. Her tough talk on Obama’s relationship with William Ayers and views on abortion were excluded, other than a passing message to Obama’s opposition to a ban on late-term abortions, which elicited chants of, “Killer” from the crowd.
Palin said
McCain would take on wasteful spending and abuses of power as president.
“All across America, I know that there’s a lot of anger right now,” she said. “There’s anger about the insider dealing of lobbyists and anger at the greed of Wall Street, and anger about the arrogance of the Washington elite. And with serious reforms to change Washington, John McCain is going to turn your anger into action.”
Palin received a rowdy reception from the community here, who were particularly interested in her views on energy dependence. They shouted for her to discuss the use of clean coal, and when she did, they began shouting “Mine, baby, mine.” Palin said she would bring that line across the country, and asked permission to plagiarize it, to applause.
While she avoided explicitly linking Obama to Ayers -- a founder of the Weather Underground with whom the Democratic candidate served on charity boards in Chicago -- Palin spoke of how those who “support and sympathize with the terrorists” are the bad guys. While Palin was explicitly speaking of Islamic terrorists, it could be perceived as a way of evoking Ayers indirectly.
“They do not like America because of what we stand for: liberty, freedom, equal rights,” she said. “Those who sympathize and support those terrorists who would seek to destroy all that it is that we value, those are the bad guys, OK?”
She suggested there were bad guys in the economic world as well.
“In this time of economic crisis, we know it’s been those who have been greedy and corrupt and arrogant and have taken advantage of hardworking honest Americans,” she said. “And just as important though, we know who the good guys are, and it is you, and we will fight for you, and we will put government on your side. We will end the arrogant and the selfish practices of Washington and of Wall Street because your United States government is to be of the people, by the people, for the people. Let us make it so again.”
Palin also twice used the term “common sense conservativism,” instead of conservatism, to describe John McCain’s economic philosophies.
