Friday, February 29, 2008
Clinton and Obama create space between themselves in Austin
Facing a set of primaries on March 4 that could either revive or cripple her presidential campaign, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton struggled on February 21 to create space between herself and rival Sen. Barack Obama in a crucial debate in the heart of Texas.
Seated side-by-side at desks on a stage in Austin, Clinton and Obama engaged in discussions of what ultimately were complementary or overlapping policy issues.
But midway through what had been genial interplay, their exchange sharpened as both candidates were asked about their rhetoric toward each other on the campaign trail, including accusations by the Clinton campaign that Obama had plagiarized part of a speech from Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, a key campaign adviser.
"If your candidacy is going to be about words, then they should be your own words," Clinton said, then took a shot at one of Obama's campaign slogans. "Lifting whole passages from someone else's speeches is not change you can believe in; it's change you can Xerox."
But Obama dismissed the contretemps as political distraction.
"The notion that I had plagiarized from somebody who's one of my national co-chairs, who gave me the line and suggested that I use it, I think is silly," Obama said. "This is where we start getting into silly season in politics, and I think people start getting discouraged about it."
They also clashed over health care and over readiness to serve in the Oval Office.
Clinton has proposed universal health care that would require all Americans to be covered, Obama's plan does not carry such a requirement, and Clinton again criticized what she said his proposal to leave 15 million people
To read the full article, click here....
To read the ePaper, visit: http://www.newsindia-times.com
Seated side-by-side at desks on a stage in Austin, Clinton and Obama engaged in discussions of what ultimately were complementary or overlapping policy issues.
But midway through what had been genial interplay, their exchange sharpened as both candidates were asked about their rhetoric toward each other on the campaign trail, including accusations by the Clinton campaign that Obama had plagiarized part of a speech from Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, a key campaign adviser.
"If your candidacy is going to be about words, then they should be your own words," Clinton said, then took a shot at one of Obama's campaign slogans. "Lifting whole passages from someone else's speeches is not change you can believe in; it's change you can Xerox."
But Obama dismissed the contretemps as political distraction.
"The notion that I had plagiarized from somebody who's one of my national co-chairs, who gave me the line and suggested that I use it, I think is silly," Obama said. "This is where we start getting into silly season in politics, and I think people start getting discouraged about it."
They also clashed over health care and over readiness to serve in the Oval Office.
Clinton has proposed universal health care that would require all Americans to be covered, Obama's plan does not carry such a requirement, and Clinton again criticized what she said his proposal to leave 15 million people
To read the full article, click here....
To read the ePaper, visit: http://www.newsindia-times.com
Labels: Barack Obama wins Iowa, Hillary Rodham Clinton.Austin
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