Inside Politics

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Obama says Romney, Gingrich both different from him

In making the case for his re-election, President Obama argued Sunday that it doesn’t matter who the Republicans nominate to run against him because their candidates’ core philosophy is the same and will stand in sharp relief with his own.

In a wide-ranging interview on CBS’ “60 Minutes” that aired Sunday, Mr. Obama said that if voters believe in the Republican agenda of less regulation and lower taxes, including on the wealthy, then he will lose.

But “I don’t think that’s where the American people are going to go,” he added, “because I don’t think the American people believe that based on what they’ve seen before, that’s going to work.”

For some time, Democrats have anticipated running against Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, but with former House Speaker Newt Gingrich atop many polls now, Democrats have begun to turn their fire on him. Mr. Obama argued that the two Republicans represent the same fundamental set of beliefs.

“The contrast in visions between where I want to take the country and what … where they say they want to take the country is going to be stark,” he said.

He rejected questioner Steve Kroft’s suggestion that the public was judging him on his performance as president.

“I’m being judged against the ideal,” he said. “Joe Biden has a good expression. He says, ‘Don’t judge me against the Almighty, judge me against the alternative.’ “

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Tea party group denies Obama-as-skunk joke racial

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — A tea party group in Kansas says its depiction of President Obama as a skunk is satire, not racism as claimed by the leader of a iberal black group’s local chapter.

Hutchinson-based Patriot Freedom Alliance says on its website that like the president, the skunk is “half black, half white, and almost everything it does stinks.”

According to the Hutchinson News, local NAACP President Darrell Pope sees no humor in the depiction, which he calls a blatant statement of racism.

Local tea party supporter Chuck Sankey said the item is satirical and that former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin has been the target of worse insults than what’s on the website.

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