Posted on 05/18/2008 10:30:13 AM PDT by NativeNewYorker
"We can't drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times ... and then just expect that other countries are going to say OK," Obama said.
From this story:
WASHINGTON (AFP) — Barack Obama set his sights on November's general election Saturday as he campaigned in Oregon, where he hopes to declare victory in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Obama has said Tuesday's primaries in Oregon and Kentucky could mark the end of his drawn-out battle with rival Hillary Clinton, and his campaign pressed home that message by announcing a symbolic return to Iowa that day.
Iowa was the scene of the Illinois senator's first victory in the 2008 presidential nominating race, and his campaign noted Saturday it is "a critical general election state that Democrats must win in November."
Polls show Obama leading in Oregon, where 52 delegates are up for grabs, while Clinton is ahead in Kentucky, a state with 51 delegates that has a similar demographic to West Virginia, where she won a thumping victory Tuesday.
His campaign says he needs just 17 more pledged delegates won through state votes to reach a majority of 1,627, not counting the "superdelegates," party officials who can vote either way at August's Democratic national convention.
Using a baseball analogy, Obama said May 8 that if after Tuesday's primaries "we have a majority of pledged delegates, which is possible, then I think we can make a pretty strong claim that we have got the most runs and its the ninth inning and we have won."
The official finishing line is 2,025 delegates, including superdelegates.
During a rally in Roseburg, Oregon, Saturday, Obama presented himself as the front-runner almost without question, attacking presumptive Republican nominee John McCain on foreign policy, the environment and healthcare.
Reviving Friday's furious row sparked by President George W. Bush's suggestion that Democrats wanted to appease terrorists, Obama said that not talking to North Korea and Iran had only made those states stronger.
"I want everybody to be absolutely clear about this because George Bush and McCain have suggested that me being willing to sit down with our adversaries is a sign of weakness and sign of appeasement," he said.
He also attacked McCain's plan for a gas tax holiday to cope with rising pump prices, which Clinton supports, as well as his other environmental plans, saying the Republican had consistently opposed fuel efficiency standards.
"For him to come to Oregon as an environmental president, but his big strategy is to do more drilling and to have a gas tax holiday for three months, that's a phony solution," he said.
Pitching his message to Oregon's environmentally-conscious voters, Obama called on the United States to "lead by example" on global warming, and develop new technologies at home which could be exported to developing countries.
"We can't drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times ... and then just expect that other countries are going to say OK," Obama said.
"That's not leadership. That's not going to happen," he added.
The Illinois senator also argued that the differences between his healthcare plan and that of Clinton "pale in comparison to the differences we have with John McCain," whose proposals would only work "if you're healthy and wealthy."
The escalating rhetoric between Obama and McCain has evoked the kind of campaign battles more common in the immediate run-up to an election -- and emphasized further Obama's pole position in the Democratic race.
But Clinton has vowed to keep fighting until the end of the primary season on June 3, and campaigning in Kentucky Saturday, she defended the plan for the gas tax holiday and accused McCain of having no idea how to fund it.
"Senator McCain said let's give everybody a gas tax holiday but doesn't want to pay for it. I think I've got the best plan. Let the oil companies pay it out of their excess profits," she said.
Back in the USSR, boys, You don’t know how lucky you are, boys. Back in the USSR
If he becomes President, we are all screwed for sure, but the country will be too like no tomorrow. That is the scariest thing about 2008.
Okay, anyone who can't see where this man is going is too stupid to live.
"And other countries say okay"??? We're to check that we have other countries' permission to eat? To live? I am reeling. If this man is our next president... there isn't even anywhere to run to! If our economy is destroyed, the whole world sinks down with us!
I swear, I'm going to start stockpiling food again. This guy is terrifying.
I tried that with my heat pump once and it was a really dumb idea.
Not only was it uncomfortably hot but my heating bill in January was outrageous! ;-)
No, but we can eat as much as we can afford. For some of us, that's more than we want, for others not as much. Now excuse me, Mr. Obama, while I sliver some winter white truffles for my risotto.
Wow, this guy’s a magnificent retard. If he wants this country to be like North Korea, Haiti or some other 3rd world hell hole he ought simply move there.
Sure. But allowing other countries to define those limits isn't.
Trying to find an affordable AR-15
Reminds me of the way our local school board handles schools that significantly outperform others. Redistrict the school to include a segment of society sure to bring the scores down.
Works every time.
I do not need other countries permission or approval regarding ANYTHING I do, you blithering idiot, socialist, marxist asshat...
I dont get it. He just isnt all that Charismatic and he is an idiot on policy.
What gives? Is it all racial guilt?
That is just pure mental illness. I suspected Obama was stupid but he might be crazy too.
He must have the same advisors Jean Francois Kerrie' had--the ones who are so excited about America "meeting the global test."
No question, if McCain has any brains at all he will counter "Bush's third term" with "Carter's second term!"
Keep in mind - for every person who swoons at Obama, there are two that think “no way am I voting for him.”
Could somebody please explain to me when and where it became vital to regulate our country’s actions according to how the rest of the world might feel about them? We have no real allies anymore, so who gives a crap about any of them?
This is what I am ordering this week:
http://www.atlanticfirearms.com/programming/expand.asp?Prodid=515
I recommend the High Standard AR 15 I got mine for $750 AND ITS MADE IN TEXAS
Even if you accept that Barack has a point, it still demonstrates his ignorance.
We could all have 72-degree homes, so long as it’s done efficiently (in Winter using insulation Amory Lovins-style, or by planting large exterior shade trees).
We could all drive SUV’s too (with advanced technology like lighter chassis materials, or by using plug-in hybrids, biodiesel, CNG, etc.)
It’s not that we should change what we want, it’s that the underlying technology of energy usage needs to evolve. And the free market will have a hand in driving that.
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