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Radnor, Pennsylvania: Democratic presidential contender Hillary Clinton said on Friday that rival Barack Obama could not stand the pressure of the White House after the Illinois senator complained about tough questions at a debate.
Clinton said Obama's complaints about questions posed to him in their televised debate on Wednesday night raised doubts about whether he was tough enough to stand up to the scrutiny of the presidency.
The debate questions, which focused on a series of controversies and comments involving Obama, drew complaints on Thursday from the Illinois senator and from viewers. "I know some of my opponent's supporters and my opponent are complaining about the hard questions," Clinton, a former first lady, told a rally.
"Well, having been in the White House for eight years and seeing what happens in terms of the pressures and the stresses on a president, that was nothing," she said. Clinton had earlier complained about moderators' treatment of her in previous debates.
Obama spokesman Bill Burton accused Clinton of hypocrisy. Obama fired back at Clinton at a rally on Friday in Philadelphia that drew 35,000 people, according to the director of security at the Independence Visitor Center.
Calling her a "tenacious opponent," Obama said Clinton's message is that nothing can change "say-anything, do-anything, special interest-driven" politics in Washington.
"Her message is, 'The Republicans have been doing this stuff over the last two decades, and I've learned how to play the same kind of game, so you might as well elect me because we can't expect significant change in Washington'," he said.
Musical turn
Perhaps this is what the Funkmeister, that other Clinton, meant when he sang about painting the White House black: There's Barack Obama, fresh from Wednesday's debate dust-up, beleaguered but still standing, acknowledging that he's taken hits from his opponent, some mighty hits, but you know, it's okay, because that's politics. Ultimately, you've got to...
And then he, pay attention now, brushes the dirt off his shoulders. Repeatedly. The crowd leaps to its feet, applauding and laughing.
Talk about a major Jay-Z move. People, we're talking about a seminal moment in the campaign, the merging of politics and pop culture: in which a presidential candidate references a rap hit and a dance move.
Within hours, there were video mash-ups on the web depicting Obama dusting himself off as Jay-Z urges, "If you feelin' like a pimp ... go and brush your shoulders off. ... Get that dirt off your shoulder."
So was Obama's action a deliberate Jay-Z reference? Obama's campaign spokesman would say only this: "He has some Jay-Z on his iPod."
- Los Angeles Times-Washington Post News Service
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