Offending passage
“In an interview with GQ last week, Karl Rove accused Barack Obama of falsely writing in ’The Audacity of Hope’ that ’people like … Karl Rove say we are a Christian nation,’ ” John McCormack writes at www.weeklystandard.com.
” ’I did not say that. I confronted him about it. At the White House,’ Rove told GQ. Asked how Obama responded, Rove replied: ’Well, first he denied that I was in the book! And then he denied that it said that I said that it was a Christian nation. And then when I pulled out the thing [he had a copy of the offensive page with him] and showed it to him, he sort of blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah.’
“Did Obama libel Rove? The Obama campaign did not respond to an e-mail requesting comment,” Mr. McCormack said. “In the offending passage from ’The Audacity of Hope,’ Obama wrote, ’But for a younger generation of conservative operatives who would soon rise to power, for Newt Gingrich and Karl Rove and Grover Norquist and Ralph Reed, the fiery rhetoric was more than a matter of campaign strategy. They were true believers who meant what they said, whether it was ’No new taxes’ or ’We are a Christian nation.’
“This phrasing, though somewhat shifty, implies that Rove, Gingrich, Reed, and Norquist were opponents of ’new taxes’ and proponents of a ’Christian nation.’ Indeed, all four have opposed tax increases — though they may not have uttered the famous George H.W. Bush quote verbatim. But I was unable to find any public record of the four of them saying America is a ’Christian nation.’ ”
Mr. McCormack added: “The revelation that Obama smeared some Republicans as being sectarian or theocratic may do more damage to his reputation, which suffered a blow last week when the Columbia Journalism Review wrote that Obama had been ’lying’ or ’deeply misleading’ in his claims that John McCain is willing to continue the war in Iraq for ’100 years.’ Even Frank Rich wrote in the New York Times that ’Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton should be ashamed of themselves for libeling John McCain.’ ”
Hillary’s mistake
“With the demotion of Mark Penn, it is appropriate to take stock of the Clinton campaign,” Jay Cost writes at www.realclearpolitics.com.
“There is no doubt that it has been a poorly run campaign. But what has been so bad about it? We could point to a lackluster message, or Bill’s various gaffes over the last three months, or the staff that couldn’t stop watching soap operas long enough to pay the bills. There’s something to all of these things, but I think they are symptoms of an underlying malady,” Mr. Cost said.
“As you well know, Obama has a huge lead in pledged delegates. But you might not know that nearly 90 percent of this lead comes from caucuses. Obama has netted 147 delegates via the caucuses alone.
“It need not have been this way. Caucuses have exceedingly low turnout — and so victory depends upon organizational prowess. Clinton was poorly organized in the caucus states, and it cost her. For every caucus state she has lost, Clinton could have found enough supporters in those states to at least tied Obama. …
“This is an organizational failure of monumental proportions. There is no other way to put it. The question is why did it happen?
“There is no great skill that the Obama campaign possesses that the Clinton campaign lacks. Organizing caucus states still has a lot in common with 19th century politicking. You need a friendly smile, a good handshake, and a sturdy pair of shoes. Obama didn’t develop a new way to organize. He just chose to organize while the Clinton campaign chose not to. …
“Then why didn’t her campaign organize? I believe it is because it never thought Obama would mount this kind of challenge. It never thought it would have to scrap for every spare delegate. Instead, it thought the race would be over before Super Tuesday.”
Going for two
If there were any doubt before, Barack Obama wants to serve two terms as president.
The Illinois senator and Democratic presidential candidate made a stop at the Sunrise Cafe in South Bend, Ind., yesterday morning and sat down with a glass of orange juice to talk about jobs with three Indianans who have experienced the vicissitudes of the economy.
Obama pitched his plan for using alternative energy industries to reconfigure old manufacturing jobs and plants and called for better retraining of workers left jobless by plants that move overseas, the Associated Press reports.
“I’m not guaranteeing that we can turn this around overnight,” he cautioned.
His campaign-selected tablemates agreed.
“I hope people realize that because of the damage that has been done, it’s going to take more than one term to even start to turn it around,” said Trudy Manderfeld, a 60-year-old former pharmaceutical company worker from Shipshewana, Ind.
“Yeah, exactly,” Mr. Obama said. “Well, I’m looking for two,” Mr. Obama said with a chuckle.
“Are ya?” Mrs. Manderfeld asked.
“But I’m going to start on that first one,” Mr. Obama replied.
Tie game
Republican Sen. John McCain has erased Sen. Barack Obama’s 10-point advantage in a head-to-head matchup, leaving him essentially tied with both Democratic candidates in an Associated Press-Ipsos national poll released yesterday.
The survey showed the extended Democratic primary campaign creating divisions among supporters of Obama and rival Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and suggests a tight race for the presidency in November no matter which Democrat becomes the nominee.
Mr. McCain is benefiting from a bounce since he clinched the GOP nomination a month ago. The four-term Arizona senator has moved up in matchups with each of the Democratic candidates, particularly Mr. Obama.
An AP-Ipsos poll taken in late February had Mr. Obama leading Mr. McCain 51-41 percent. The current survey, conducted April 7-9, had them at 45 percent each. Mr. McCain leads Mr. Obama among men, whites, Southerners, married women and independents.
Mrs. Clinton led Mr. McCain, 48-43 percent, in February. The latest survey showed the New York senator with 48 percent support to Mr. McCain’s 45 percent. Factoring in the poll’s margin of error of 3.1 percentage points, Mrs. Clinton and Mr. McCain are statistically tied.
• Greg Pierce can be reached at 202/636-3285 or gpierce@washingtontimes.com.
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