Obama hammers McCain, Bush on economy, gas prices

[albinjoseph]

Obama hammers McCain, Bush on economy, gas prices
By CHARLES BABINGTON, Associated Press Writer


RALEIGH, N.C. - The presidential campaign turned to the economy
Monday, with record gasoline prices and a spike in job losses putting
Republican John McCain at a distinct disadvantage.

Democrat Barack Obama seized on the issue by launching a two-week
economic tour meant to highlight his differences with McCain on
taxes, spending priorities and other matters. At every turn he is
tying McCain to President Bush, whose approval ratings are
consistently low.

McCain pushed back, saying Obama's bid to end the Bush
administration's tax cuts for upper-income Americans would only
worsen the already struggling economy. He is airing TV ads in key
states on the Iraq war, which he sees as a better issue this fall.
But he took questions on the economy from donors in Virginia on
Monday, and planned a speech Tuesday to small business owners in
Washington.

With many voters blaming Bush for the economic woes, Republican
candidates for federal and state offices are scrambling to distance
themselves from the bad news without abandoning core principles such
as low taxes and modest government intervention in activities like
banking and lending.

Democrats are trying to cut off any escape routes.

The centerpiece of McCain's economic plan "amounts to a full-throated
endorsement of George Bush's policies," Obama told about 900 people
in Raleigh.

North Carolina is not a state ordinarily pursued by Democratic
presidential nominees. But it gave Obama a crucial victory in his
primary battle against Hillary Rodham Clinton, and he hopes to put it
in play this fall — or at least force McCain to spend time and money
here.

In the audience was former presidential rival John Edwards, who lives
nearby. His wife, Elizabeth Edwards — who refrained from endorsing
Obama when her husband did so last month — also attended.

Obama offered no new policies in his speech, which he read from
teleprompters. Rather, he used the occasion to emphasize his economic
differences with McCain and to summarize earlier proposals. They
include raising income taxes on wealthy Americans, granting a $1,000
tax cut to most others, winding down the Iraq war, tightening credit
card regulations and pumping more money into education, alternative
fuels and infrastructure such as roads and bridges.

Obama took part of his speech from headlines across the nation,
noting that the average price of gas just hit $4 a gallon for the
first time. The news followed an unusually sharp spike in the
unemployment rate on Friday.

Repeatedly linking McCain to Bush, Obama said, "our president
sacrificed investments in health care, and education, and energy, and
infrastructure on the altar of tax breaks for big corporations and
wealthy CEOs."

Obama criticized McCain for originally opposing Bush's first-term tax
cuts but now supporting their continuation. He said he would place a
windfall profits tax on oil companies while McCain would reduce their
taxes.

"At a time when we're fighting two wars, when millions of Americans
can't afford their medical bills or their tuition bills, when we're
paying more than $4 a gallon for gas, the man who rails against
government spending wants to spend $1.2 billion on a tax break for
Exxon Mobil," Obama said. "That isn't just irresponsible. It's
outrageous."

In a conference call with reporters, Doug Holtz-Eakin, an economic
adviser to McCain, said of the claim: "I presume that they're
attributing that to the basic, across-the-board corporate rate cut
that's necessary to keep the American corporate sector competitive in
the global economy and jobs in America."

At a fundraiser in Richmond, Va., McCain noted that he supports a
temporary suspension of the federal tax on gasoline, which Obama
dismisses as a gimmick that will not bring down prices.

"Talk to somebody who owns a couple of trucks and makes a living with
those trucks," McCain said. "Ask them whether they'd like to have
some relief -- 18 1/2 cents per gallon for gasoline and 24 1/2 cents
for diesel. They say it matters."

The two differed somewhat on energy production as well. Obama called
for greater government investments "in a renewable energy policy that
ends our addiction on foreign oil, provides real long-term relief
from high fuel costs, and builds a green economy that could create up
to five million well-paying jobs that can't be outsourced."

He did not mention nuclear power, although in the past he has said he
would not rule out a greater role for nuclear energy.

McCain was more gung-ho about nuclear power and expanded domestic
drilling for oil and natural gas. When a donor in Richmond summed up
his advice as, "nuclear, and drill wherever we've got it," McCain
responded: "You just gave my speech. Thank you, my friend."

McCain added, "Long-term, we've got to become used to nuclear, wind,
solar, tide, all of the alternate energy, including a battery that
will take a car 100 miles or 200 miles" before being recharged.

"Nuclear power, for all kinds of reasons, needs to be part of the
solution," McCain said.

Obama said he would pay for all of his new proposals from sources
including the higher taxes on wealthy Americans and an end to the
Iraq war. His aides said he will provide more details as the campaign
goes on.

The AFL-CIO, the nation's largest labor organization, plans to help
Obama by having its members protest Bush and McCain at gas stations
around the country. Starting in Indianapolis, union members will hold
signs saying "Bush & McCain Love Big Oil" and complain about a McCain
tax proposal they say would give the five largest oil companies $3.8
billion in tax breaks.

___

Associated Press reporters Matt Apuzzo, Jesse Holland and Ann Sanner
contributed to this report.

[praga]

Is his wife proud to be an American yet?

[albinjoseph]

the tax cuts that McCain wants to make permenant is only for the big boys and not for the working folks,

[praga]

And the big boys are the ones offering jobs.

[homebizseo]

I do not see what is great about Obama or McCain.

[davion]

Joseph you could at least clip away that " 44 minutes ago" part . Regardless I hope Obama wins . US leaders recently are severely lacking in diplomacy and he seems one candidate who is strong in that .

[albinjoseph]

(08-22-2008 11:19 PM)davion Wrote:  Joseph you could at least clip away that " 44 minutes ago" part . Regardless I hope Obama wins . US leaders recently are severely lacking in diplomacy and he seems one candidate who is strong in that .

Sorry that was just a copy paste mistake :-). Removed it now.

[Sal Mariabella]

The thing I cannot figure out, is why everyone is going along with this stupid plan, it's like wrong is right and up is down, it's like I'm living in dream and will wake up and everything will be alright again, but everyday it seems to get further toward insanity, it's like the people have been drugged and can't see the truth anymore.

[yvoone0412]

thanks for sharing this information as i was not aware about this matter.

[goodbloggers]

Nice information about gas prices