OBAMA: I DIDN'T CLAIM TO BE JFK, MLK

[babylonsister]

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/01/08/559128.aspx

Obama: I didn't claim to be JFK, MLK
Posted: Tuesday, January 08, 2008 1:15 PM by Domenico Montanaro
Filed Under: 2008, Clinton, Obama, New Hampshire

From NBC’s Andy Merten


If you need any indication the Obama campaign feels confident enough going into tonight’s primary, look only at how he responded to Clinton’s most recent criticism.

Asked by a reporter about the New York senator’s statement last night that he is not comparable to John F. Kennedy or Martin Luther King Jr., Obama simply smiled and said, “You know, I didn’t claim to be.”

Clinton made her comments rebuking the notion that Obama’s leadership qualities are similar to those of Kennedy and King’s last night during a speech in Salem, NH.

“President Kennedy was in the Congress for 14 years," Clinton said. "He was a war hero. He was a man of great accomplishments and readiness to be president. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. led a movement. He was gassed; he was beaten; he was jailed.”

*** UPDATE *** NBC's Andy Merten adds that last night in Concord, N.H., Obama said the following: "Imagine that -- false hopes. Imagine John F. Kennedy looking up at the moon, and saying, 'Darn, that's far.' {laughter, applause}

"We can't do that." Reality check. {cheers} Can't be done.

"Imagine -- imagine Dr. King standing on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, looking out at those crowds -- a quarter million people around the reflecting pool -- and saying, "Ya'll go home." The dream has died. It can't be done. It's too hard."

"Lost hopes? You know, this is what this campaign is all about."

NBC's Domenico Montanaro and Michelle Perry ask, Is t

[maximusveritas]

1. This was just Clinton's way of getting the heat off her comments on the issue

and of course the supposedly Clinton-hating media ate it up.

[babylonsister]

2. Exactly, and you have to hand it to her, it worked. nt

[suston96]

3. Obama is probably right - I haven't heard him make that claim....but.....

........posters here have many times, making me cringe as I recall what happened to those men.

[babylonsister]

5. He was accused of saying that on GMA in a D. Sawyer interview. I

watched it and he said no such thing. Sigh.

[Bicoastal]

4. Obama is such an awesome pol...

...they're right, he eludes to these two men somewhat frequently, but he never HAS said "I'm like JFK" or "I am the present day MLK." He puts the emphasis on the public every single time, not himself.

The Clinton's could learn something from him.

[Cha]

6. Yeah, but they won't..

they're too busy gagging on mark penn's fantasies.

[CoffeeCat]

14. LOL!

Zing! Good one, zidzi!

:hi:

[Cha]

15. Two Sparkles!

Leave it to the clintons to lie about Obama claiming to be like JFK and MLK..or maybe their surrogates told them that and they were too busy to check the facts. Like they'd care about the difference.

It's a good thing the m$$$m is getting rebuttals from Obama or we'd only have the clintons' version of history.

:hi:

[Mother Of Four]

16. Ok...That gave me a HORRIBLE mental

I just woke up (I have to lay down each afternoon...wonderful health Blech)

I'm sitting here drinking my coffee...

A lil dirty minded cause I'm half asleep....



Let me say no more :puke:

[lvx35]

9. That's why if hillary really made an ad hominiem attack here, she screwed up.

All she had to do is make reference to what Obama said, and point out how big accomplishments take experience, bringing herself up rather than bringing Obama down, and it would have played fine. Unfortunately that's not the way to get media attention it seems...

[no name no slogan]

23. I think you mean "alludes"

"eludes" means to avoid ;)

[Cha]

7. hillary is upping the

whine notch.

[ellisonz]

21. Is that even possible?

serious question.

:hide:

[Cha]

29. Oh gawd...wait until

South Carolina! They'll be whinging until the early morining hours.

[The_Casual_Observer]

8. My God, Obama is somehow able to say the oldest most cliche

shit & make it sound fresh & exciting! He's certainly got talent.

[alcibiades_mystery]

20. Actually, the oldest cliche is the "all style no substance" accusation

when faced with people beating you in an argument.

[Blue-Jay]

30. Only he said no such thing.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

10. he never claimed to be JFK or MLK but the people seem to like Obama as much

it's what the voters think not what Mrs Clinton thinks.

Obama is his own man

[Thrill]

11. She was asking for it with that False Hope comment

[Bitwit1234]

12. Well I will say I did not hear him say it but all his supporters are

saying it, and it stinks. No way no how can he be compared to either of those great men. That's not saying 40 years from now he might. But Obama does not have ANY THING AT ALL TO COMPARE HIM TO THEM. And if Martin L. King had heard Obama make fun of Ted Kennedy, after all Ted Kennedy has done for Civil Rights, King would turn completely over in his grave. Such disrespect.

[ellisonz]

27. I thought you were leaving?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=2624721#2625554

[hisownpetard]

33. Promises, promises...

:shrug:

[bunnies]

13. Obama did that in Rochester last night.

An incredible moment.

[goclark]

24. Missed it ~ Team Clinton needs to back off

and show us how much class and intelligence they have -- why are they trying to diss Obama?

He is the HOPE for huge numbers of young Democrats to join the party, win or not win.

I'm getting mighty tired of her bashing OBAMA!

And if I'm tired,so are a lot of others.

They are being very selfish in my view and I'm so disappointed.

[readmoreoften]

17. Well thank god he's not completely delusional. /nt

[KennedyGuy]

18. Oh please, Obama has MLK tourettes the same as Rudy and 911

Obama can't speak without sermonizing about MLK..

[truebrit71]

25. Funny...you make that sound like it's a BAD thing...

:eyes:

[KennedyGuy]

31. not good or bad..just is.

[alcibiades_mystery]

19. He flipped the script on her

[enough already]

28. She makes it very easy for him

In this case, she just lied. How hard is it for Obama to say "I never said that?" It's obvious her campaign has no fucking idea what to do at this point. They planned on her saying nothing and waltzing to the corona...er, nomination. It never entered their minds that a relative unknown offering a positive vision packaged with some personal charsima could take away her entitlement. She's flailing away now like a punch drunk fighter, just swinging wildly at anything that moves.

[rinsd]

22. No, he just had his surrogates and campaign do so.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

26. Obama: I did not claim to be any acronym or set of initials. QED. n/t

[Hekate]

32. If a candidate can't allude to his heroes without someone accusing him of claiming to BE them...

As it was, I thought the references he made to Kennedy and the space program were pretty good.

Hekate