by Aaron Bruns
On the daily conference call for reporters, Clinton communications director Howard Wolfson responded to the Obama campaign’s demand for Senator Clinton’s tax returns with a heated call for Obama to practice what he’s preaching — saying “if they want to talk about disclosure, let’s talk about it.”
“Before we talk about taxes, I would ask the Obama campaign if he or they are prepared to release all of his taxes when he was in elected office. So far the answer to that has been no,” he said. The campaign plans to release the Clintons’ tax returns since 2000 “on or about April 15th,” while Obama has released returns only for 2006; by way of contrast, Wolfson said the American people already have 20 years of Clinton financial statements in the public domain.
He also questioned Obama’s failure to release documents from his years in the Illinois state senate — as well as his explanation that those records don’t exist. “Let’s talk about state senate records,” he said. “I would ask the Obama campaign, are you prepared to release all your earmark requests when you were in the state Senate?”
Pointing out that the National Archives has said that Sen Clinton’s schedules from her time in the White House will soon be released, Wolfson said “Senator Obama can put out his schedules in the state Senate at any time, he hasn’t done so. He claims no records exist from his state Senator days.”
“If we want to go down this road, there are questions that ought to be posed to the Obama campaign that they have heretofore refused to answer.”
Senior Strategist Mark Penn subtly admonished reporters for not digging deepy enough into Obama’s unreleased documents. “One would think the demand would not be for some additional information when we’ve already done senate disclosures, but of this important set of information about Senator Obama that could be critical for the voters in these last 12 jurisdictions making their decisions,” he said, arguing that the time to release those documents is now, not later.
For full (but mercifully brief) notes on the hour-long call, keep reading below.
-call focuses on a Chicago Tribune story alleging that Obama is preparing for a full assault on Sen Clinton. Penn calls it a “tried and true technique” of the Obama campaign to attack when they’re down in the polls, urging reporters to look back through the last year and recalling his attacks on her as disingenuous, calculating, polarizing, divisive, etc. Penn and Wolfson make the point that they went negative after questions were raised in OH and TX about his ability to be commander in chief, said it was a conscious choice to go that route instead of defending Obama’s credentials.
-Wolfson makes the argument that despite their claims that the race is all but over, the Obama campaign’s negative attacks show that they believe Sen Clinton has a path to the nomination. “If they really believed that I doubt they would be telegraphing that they were going to be attacking Senator clinton’s character from here on in. they clearly know there is a path to victory for Senator Clinton or they would not be attacking her.”
-when it’s pointed out that Clinton’s campaign has done exactly the same thing that they’re accusing Obama’s campaign of doing, Penn insists that their attacks have been in response to Obama attacking first. “We have run a substantially positive campaign and we’ve raised serious and big questions about whether or not and who is really best able to be commander in chief, who is best able to manage the economy, who has the right kind of plan for universal health care. They have decided to go consistently, and as I read through the list of kinds of comments, personally negative repeatedly throughout this campaing, and that is a big difference.”
-Penn makes the argument that Obama’s bigger margins of victory against John McCain in some state polls have now evaporated. Would have to check to see if that’s borne out in the data. “he had a lead against McCain, that lead against McCain vs us that has already disappeared in a very short order period of time, and we believe that will continue, we’ll continue to change, so she will be seen clearly as the most electable Democrat going forward.”
-Asked whether the divisiveness in the primary would cost Clinton in November, especially among Obama’s base, Penn points to exit polls showing that African American voters would still vote for her in the general election. Also says they’ve seen an uptick in White Men and Republicans in her column in the last three elections, argue that Obama’s base is eroding as they raise national security questions.
-on Michigan and Florida, Deputy Communications Director Phil Singer asks why the Obama campaign is dragging its feet in supporting a revote. He refused to answer his own question, but said it looks like they’re doing it to disenfranchise voters for their own political gain. “There’s no good reason I can think of that they wouldn’t support a revote. it’s important we don’t give the Republicans an issue to use against us. Being slow to embrace, half hearted in their efforts to embrace a redo to ensure the people of Michigan and Florida are given a voice in this process, that is exactly what they’re doing.”
http://embeds.blogs.foxnews.com/2008/03/16/clinton-campaign-calls-for-obamas-records/
On the daily conference call for reporters, Clinton communications director Howard Wolfson responded to the Obama campaign’s demand for Senator Clinton’s tax returns with a heated call for Obama to practice what he’s preaching — saying “if they want to talk about disclosure, let’s talk about it.”
“Before we talk about taxes, I would ask the Obama campaign if he or they are prepared to release all of his taxes when he was in elected office. So far the answer to that has been no,” he said. The campaign plans to release the Clintons’ tax returns since 2000 “on or about April 15th,” while Obama has released returns only for 2006; by way of contrast, Wolfson said the American people already have 20 years of Clinton financial statements in the public domain.
He also questioned Obama’s failure to release documents from his years in the Illinois state senate — as well as his explanation that those records don’t exist. “Let’s talk about state senate records,” he said. “I would ask the Obama campaign, are you prepared to release all your earmark requests when you were in the state Senate?”
Pointing out that the National Archives has said that Sen Clinton’s schedules from her time in the White House will soon be released, Wolfson said “Senator Obama can put out his schedules in the state Senate at any time, he hasn’t done so. He claims no records exist from his state Senator days.”
“If we want to go down this road, there are questions that ought to be posed to the Obama campaign that they have heretofore refused to answer.”
Senior Strategist Mark Penn subtly admonished reporters for not digging deepy enough into Obama’s unreleased documents. “One would think the demand would not be for some additional information when we’ve already done senate disclosures, but of this important set of information about Senator Obama that could be critical for the voters in these last 12 jurisdictions making their decisions,” he said, arguing that the time to release those documents is now, not later.
For full (but mercifully brief) notes on the hour-long call, keep reading below.
-call focuses on a Chicago Tribune story alleging that Obama is preparing for a full assault on Sen Clinton. Penn calls it a “tried and true technique” of the Obama campaign to attack when they’re down in the polls, urging reporters to look back through the last year and recalling his attacks on her as disingenuous, calculating, polarizing, divisive, etc. Penn and Wolfson make the point that they went negative after questions were raised in OH and TX about his ability to be commander in chief, said it was a conscious choice to go that route instead of defending Obama’s credentials.
-Wolfson makes the argument that despite their claims that the race is all but over, the Obama campaign’s negative attacks show that they believe Sen Clinton has a path to the nomination. “If they really believed that I doubt they would be telegraphing that they were going to be attacking Senator clinton’s character from here on in. they clearly know there is a path to victory for Senator Clinton or they would not be attacking her.”
-when it’s pointed out that Clinton’s campaign has done exactly the same thing that they’re accusing Obama’s campaign of doing, Penn insists that their attacks have been in response to Obama attacking first. “We have run a substantially positive campaign and we’ve raised serious and big questions about whether or not and who is really best able to be commander in chief, who is best able to manage the economy, who has the right kind of plan for universal health care. They have decided to go consistently, and as I read through the list of kinds of comments, personally negative repeatedly throughout this campaing, and that is a big difference.”
-Penn makes the argument that Obama’s bigger margins of victory against John McCain in some state polls have now evaporated. Would have to check to see if that’s borne out in the data. “he had a lead against McCain, that lead against McCain vs us that has already disappeared in a very short order period of time, and we believe that will continue, we’ll continue to change, so she will be seen clearly as the most electable Democrat going forward.”
-Asked whether the divisiveness in the primary would cost Clinton in November, especially among Obama’s base, Penn points to exit polls showing that African American voters would still vote for her in the general election. Also says they’ve seen an uptick in White Men and Republicans in her column in the last three elections, argue that Obama’s base is eroding as they raise national security questions.
-on Michigan and Florida, Deputy Communications Director Phil Singer asks why the Obama campaign is dragging its feet in supporting a revote. He refused to answer his own question, but said it looks like they’re doing it to disenfranchise voters for their own political gain. “There’s no good reason I can think of that they wouldn’t support a revote. it’s important we don’t give the Republicans an issue to use against us. Being slow to embrace, half hearted in their efforts to embrace a redo to ensure the people of Michigan and Florida are given a voice in this process, that is exactly what they’re doing.”
http://embeds.blogs.foxnews.com/2008/03/16/clinton-campaign-calls-for-obamas-records/
This is some BullS***!! Who gives a flying fig tree?!?!? Gas is $4.00, we are in a recession and there was no al Qaeda link to Iraq - so this F-N war is officially a debacle. Why the hell is he attacking her on some petty BS like taxes. This is not newsworthy or a tide/perception changer.
Who is managing Obama's PR and strategy...This is past ridiculous.
I can only state facts, but mine sound like complaints. Therefore, I will not belabor the point and and point out any further inconsistencies and just say ok. I hope this "strategy" continues to work for Obama. I really do.
