Amid wire service headlines reading “Obama Turns Tables on Clinton,” Senator Barack Obama has responded to Senator Hillary Clinton’s three-day-old offensive against his comments about small town voters being bitter — in a response combining pointed language, humor and lots of energy:
Democrat Barack Obama lashed out Sunday at rival Hillary Rodham Clinton, mocking her vocal support for gun rights and saying her record in the Senate and as first lady belied her stated commitment to working class voters and their concerns.
Watch the response and judge for yourself (your comments are welcome):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIxmi3e2Vmo
If the You Tube embed doesn’t work or show you the entire nine minutes CLICK HERE and watch it on You Tube’s site.
My reaction:
–Obama is showing he won’t wait long after being attacked before he counter attacks.
–He addresses most of the points that have drawn criticism, but clearly in a way that will not satisfy either McCain or Clinton partisans. He’s going after the more-undecided Democrats.
–He seems to ENJOY campaigning. I’ve only seen four candidates who truly seemed to enjoy it so much during my lifetime: the late Senator Hubert Humphrey (D), the late President Ronald Reagan (R), Bill Clinton during his first campaign for President, and Senator Teddy Kennedy anytime he gets in front of a crowd.
–In comedy when you repeat a punch line or phrase its a “call back.” Obama uses Clinton’s “Shame on you Barack Obama!” of a few weeks ago as a callback aimed at her.
Overall reaction: This clip (put on You Tube by the Obama campaign) suggests that although Clinton may be hard to knock out of the campaign, Obama should not be underestimated.
(Via Andrew Sullivan)
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.