At a New York fundraiser last night, President Obama contrasted his 2008 opponent with his 2012 one, BuzzFeed reports:
President Barack Obama told an audience in New York tonight that Mitt Romney is worse than his 2008 opponent Sen. John McCain.
“We have a very clear contrast this time. John McCain believed in climate change and believed in immigration reform,” Obama told an audience of about 200 donors who paid at least $5000 for a ticket to the event. “What we have this time out is a candidate who said he would rubber stamp a Republican Congress that wants us to go backward, not forward.”
This is how Obama’s going to rein in his base. The gay marriage endorsement will help increase enthusiasm significantly. But to get his base out at the polls, Obama also needs to give them a big reason to vote for him – avoiding four years of a right-wing, Tea Party-controlled government, or whatever, is a pretty good reason, in their minds.
It’s always amusing when Obama talks about how moderate and reasonable Sen. McCain is; nothing at all like these scary, new, extreme conservatives today. It’s a play off of that old “the-only-good-conservative-is-a-dead-conservative” trope. McCain’s far from dead, but now that he’s no longer a political threat, Obama can speak honestly about McCain’s history as a moderate and an aisle-crosser.
Back in 2008, of course, McCain was blasted by Democratic groups for the same things Romney is being attacked for now – being an extreme right-winger. From a Democratic National Committee press release in Feb. 2008:
Throughout this campaign season, McCain has been working overtime trying to remake himself into a candidate the right wing of the Republican Party can accept in 2008. Along the way, he has cast aside his principles by flip-flopping on signature issues like campaign finance and immigration reform, and embracing the very same “agents of intolerance” and shady campaign tactics he once denounced.
Campaign McCain’s “extreme makeover” may help him pander to the right wing, but the rest of America has figured out that a vote for John McCain is a vote for a third Bush term. Whether he is pining for a 100-year war in Iraq, calling for Roe v. Wade to be overturned, supporting efforts to make the same Bush tax cuts he once opposed permanent, supporting President Bush’s veto of health care for 10 million children, or applauding the president’s decision to commute Scooter Libby’s sentence, John McCain has promised four more years of the same failed Bush policies that have undermined our economy and made America less secure.
Characterizing Romney as an extreme conservative is almost as ridiculous as calling McCain one. And it’s another example of why, at least from a campaign perspective, it doesn’t matter how moderate the Republican candidate is. He will always be portrayed as a radical, out-of-mainstream figure.
Obama: “We have a very clear contrast this time. John McCain believed in climate change and believed in immigration reform,” “What we have this time out is a candidate who said he would rubber stamp a Republican Congress that wants us to go backward, not forward.” n nI challenge everyone in this forum to provide evidence proving Obama's statements above are incorrect! Romney *has* pushed a far tougher agenda on immigration reform than McCain did, hasn't he? And he *is* a global warming sceptic whereas McCain (along with 97% or so of the climate science community) was not. Finally, does anyone really disagree that conservatives *hope* president-elect Romney will rubber-stamp whatever Paul Ryan,Jim DeMint & co. forward to his desk? n nIt's true Romney really does not stand for anything at all, as revealed by his long track record of reversals. But we supposedly have to take his campaign promises seriously, which is all Obama was doing in his New York speech. n n
Go away lefty, since when does a candidate have to be for the Global warming farce or for immigration reform? We can't help it that McLame was a horrible candidate and was for Shamesty.
Barack Obama 's line of attack will be effectively with the already convinced blue state voters. It is mostly a waste of time with the purple state ones. His "evolution" on gay marriage has probably destroyed his campaign. A slight majority of likely voters will now support Mitt Romney.
Romney IS extreme Right of OBAMA – true. n nUnfortunately, from MY POV, Romney is still very Left of ME, and what I consider to be NORMAL CONSERVATIVE – not the least related to "Extreme Right" which is in fact EXTREME LEFTIST NAZI and Supremacist donkeys, just another Branch of Socialism, just like Communism and Fascism – just separate national Political Parties of Marxism. n nBut if he doesn't pick some Leftie Liberal RINO as the VEEP, I'll prolly vote for Romney, since the only vote I have for Obama is "GUILTY of Felony AS CHARGED"! n nI don't think we can convict Obama of Treason – he would have to be able to prove he is an American Citizen, first – so it would have to be a Charge of Spying and espionage and subterfusion and insurgency. No one has been able to do that, so far. I mean, prove that he is a USA Citizen. n nAnd he is not willing to sign a sworn affidavit of such, either.
Rose, I am thinking the best of all possible worlds is (a) NoBama NoCare tossed by SCOTUS, (b) taking back the Senate, (c) impeaching B. Hussain but not convicting him in the Senate, as was done to Clinton. That would neuter Obama and we then would be able to get one of the Tea Party leaders ready for a 2016 run while if we elect Romney, we will both be stuck with him for 8 years and then loose the 2020 election just like we did in 2008. n nAnd the larger issue here — we ought to have gone with a real conservative. When even a RINO gets called right-wing, we might as well have gone with the real thing… n n