[10/13] ABC's Imtiyaz Delawala and Ron Claiborne report: Gov. Sarah Palin significantly ratcheted down the rhetoric in her Sunday evening at an outdoor rally in Rush Run Park in St. Clairsville, OH. Unlike rallies earlier in the week that at times whipped up the crowd to a frenzied state, she made no mention of Sen. Barack Obama’s connection to former anti-war radical William Ayers, and used nearly-apologetic language when making criticisms of the Democratic presidential nominee.
* * *
Later Saturday, Lewis issued a statement saying a careful review of his remarks "would reveal that I did not compare Sen. John McCain or Gov. Sarah Palin to George Wallace."
"My statement was a reminder to all Americans that toxic language can lead to destructive behavior," Lewis said. "I am glad that Sen. McCain has taken some steps to correct divisive speech at his rallies. I believe we need to return to civil discourse in this election about the pressing economic issues that are affecting our nation."
* * *
In a statement, Obama-Biden spokesman Bill Burton writes that, while Obama does not agree with the comparison of McCain's campaign to those of segregation advocate George Wallace, he does believe that Rep. John Lewis is justified in his condemnation of "the hateful rhetoric that John McCain himself personally rebuked just last night," as well as Palin's assertion that the candidate "pals around with terrorists."
Here's the full statement: “Senator Obama does not believe that John McCain or his policy criticism is in any way comparable to George Wallace or his segregationist policies. But John Lewis was right to condemn some of the hateful rhetoric that John McCain himself personally rebuked just last night, as well as the baseless and profoundly irresponsible charges from his own running mate that the Democratic nominee for President of the United States ‘pals around with terrorists.’ As Barack Obama has said himself, the last thing we need from either party is the kind of angry, divisive rhetoric that tears us apart at a time of crisis when we desperately need to come together. That is the kind of campaign Senator Obama will continue to run in the weeks ahead,” said Obama-Biden spokesman Bill Burton.
* * *
McCain has written about Lewis, praising his actions in Selma, Alabama, during the civil rights movement. The Republican nominee even said during a summer faith forum that Lewis was one of three men he would turn to for counsel as president.
But the Arizona senator blasted Lewis' remarks, and called on Obama to repudiate them.
"Congressman John Lewis' comments represent a character attack against Gov. Sarah Palin and me that is shocking and beyond the pale," he said in a Saturday afternoon statement released by his campaign.
"The notion that legitimate criticism of Sen. Obama's record and positions could be compared to Gov. George Wallace, his segregationist policies and the violence he provoked is unacceptable and has no place in this campaign. I am saddened that John Lewis, a man I've always admired, would make such a brazen and baseless attack on my character and the character of the thousands of hardworking Americans who come to our events to cheer for the kind of reform that will put America on the right track.
"I call on Sen. Obama to immediately and personally repudiate these outrageous and divisive comments that are so clearly designed to shut down debate 24 days before the election. Our country must return to the important debate about the path forward for America."
* * *
Georgia Rep. John Lewis, a civil rights-era icon, invoked segregationist Gov. George Wallace of Alabama in accusing John McCain and Sarah Palin of fanning the flames of hatred at Republican campaign events.
"What I am seeing reminds me of too much of another destructive period in American history," Lewis said in a statement released to FOX News. "Senator McCain and Governor Palin are sowing the seeds of hatred and division, and there is no need for this hostility in our political discourse."
"George Wallace never threw a bomb. He never fired a gun, but he created the climate and the conditions that encouraged vicious attacks against innocent Americans who were simply trying to exercise their constitutional rights," Lewis added. "Because of this atmosphere of hate, four little girls were killed on Sunday morning when a church was bombed in Birmingham, Alabama."
* * *
During each of his rallies, Obama thanked his GOP rival for toning down the heated rhetoric that has been coming from both the McCain campaign and its supporters.
“I appreciated his reminder that we can disagree while still being respectful of each other,” Obama said, adding, “I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again - and I expect all of my supporters to understand this – Senator McCain has served this country with honor. He deserves our thanks for that. Every veteran deserves our thanks.”
* * *
WITH his electoral prospects fading by the day, Senator John McCain has fallen out with his vice-presidential running mate about the direction of his White House campaign.
McCain has become alarmed about the fury unleashed by Sarah Palin, the moose-hunting “pitbull in lipstick”, against Senator Barack Obama. Cries of “terrorist” and “kill him” have accompanied the tirades by the governor of Alaska against the Democratic nominee at Republican rallies.
Mark Salter, McCain’s long-serving chief of staff, is understood to have told campaign insiders that he would prefer his boss, a former Vietnam prisoner of war, to suffer an “honourable defeat” rather than conduct a campaign that would be out of character – and likely to lose him the election.
McCain believes the attacks have spun out of control. At a rally in Lakeville, Minnesota, the Arizona senator became visibly angry when he was booed for calling Obama “a decent person”. He took the microphone from an elderly woman who said she disliked Obama because he was “Arab”, saying, “No ma’am, no ma’am”.
When another questioner demanded that he tell the truth about Obama, he said: “I want everybody to be respectful and let’s be sure we are.”
* * *
A allegation by Republican U.S. vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin that Barack Obama has ties with terrorists is "offensive," an Obama spokesman says.
Palin, governor of Alaska and running mate of Republican U.S. presidential nominee John McCain, Saturday accused Obama, a U.S. senator from Illinois and McCain's Democratic opponent, of associating "with terrorists who targeted our own country."
It was an apparent reference to Obama's dealings with University of Illinois at Chicago Professor William Ayers, who in 1969 co-founded the militant anti-Vietnam War group Weather Underground.
Obama campaign spokesman Hari Sevugan told CNN Palin's comments were "offensive" and "not surprising" given the McCain campaign's statement that "they would be launching Swift Boat-like attacks in hopes of deflecting attention from the nation's economic ills."
CNN said its own investigation of Obama's links to Ayers found they were confined to the two men working together on a non-profit group to raise funds for a Chicago school improvement project and a charitable foundation, adding there was nothing to suggest anything inappropriate.
"What's clear is that John McCain and Sarah Palin would rather spend their time tearing down Barack Obama than laying out a plan to build up our economy," Sevugan told CNN.
* * *
Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, speaking at a fundraiser in Colorado, accused Barack Obama of "palling around with terrorists."
Palin claimed Obama is close to Bill Ayers, a leader in the 1970s radical Weatherman group who is now a college teacher and activist in Chicago, The Denver Post reported. She said a campaign aide had suggested that "the gloves are off, the heels are on."
The Alaska governor met with Blue Star Mothers at a diner before her appearance at a breakfast fundraiser at Centennial Airport. The group brings together mothers of military service members.
At the fundraiser, Palin said she and Sen. John McCain, the Republican presidential nominee, view the United States as "a force for good in the world."
"Our opponent, though, is someone who sees America, it seems, as being so imperfect, imperfect enough, that he's palling around with terrorists who would target their own country," she said.
Ayers and Obama live in the same Chicago neighborhood and served together on a non-profit group's board for several years.
No comments:
Post a Comment