Barack Obama: U.S. presidential election, 2008/Obama v. Clinton

AttackTimeline (on going negative)

 * "Attack Timeline: Edwards and Obama on attack," AttackTimeine.com (starts with February 2007 to present).
 * eriposte, "The Unloading on Hillary Clinton," The Left Coaster, December 15, 2007.
 * Larry C. Johnson, "Remember Punjab-Gate, Homophobia-Gate, Wasted-Lives-Gate?" Atlantic Free Press, December 16, 2007.

Racial politics

 * Ryan Lizza, "Minority Reports. After New Hampshire, a hint of racial politics," The New Yorker, January 21, 2008 (issue).

Economic stimulus package

 * "Fact Check: Sen. Obama Followed Hillary's Lead On Stimulus," The Fact Hub/Hillary Hub, January 18, 2008.

Yucca Mountain
In Nevada, Yucca Mountain "is more than a hot-button issue", it is "radioactive," Lynn Sweet wrote January 18, 2008, in the Chicago Sun-Times.

"Now, days before the Saturday [January 19, 2008,] caucus vote in Nevada, Clinton, at the debate and in a new paid radio spot running statewide, is highlighting the campaign donations Obama has taken from employees of Exelon.

"'So who will shut down Yucca Mountain once and for all? Hillary Clinton,' a narrator said. Her spot said, 'And Barack Obama? The Las Vegas Review Journal said Obama was, quote, "hip deep in financial ties" to one of America's biggest Yucca Mountain promoters ... nuclear giant Exelon.'

"According to an analysis by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics of donations over $250, Obama's presidential war chest has received $194,750 from 150 Exelon employees, with top executives sending in the checks. Exelon workers, bundled together, rank sixth in Obama's top donor groups.

"Though Exelon is a national company, almost all of the Obama contributors live in the Chicago area. Much of the money came in during the first months of the Obama campaign. The money from Exelon executives handed ammunition to Clinton."

Related external articles


 * Greg Sargent, "Hillary And Obama Duke It Out Over Hillary's Yucca Mountain Ad," TPMElectionCentral, January 17, 2008.
 * truthteller2007, "Barack Obama on Yucca Mountain Then and Now," MyDD, January 17, 2008.

Jay-Z and Obama
"But as the campaigns creep on, the stakes grow higher, and candidates craving star power are reaching out to the varsity team. Not even a day after losing the New Hampshire primary to Sen. Clinton, Sen. Obama announced that he would be harnessing the marketing talents of Jay-Z and Kanye West to spread his social message.

"Obama was careful to issue a statement decrying the hip-hop artists' use of the N-word in their music - and their degradation of women. Still, a vote - especially from a young, celeb-loving constituency - is a vote," Joe Piazza reported January 13, 2008, in the New York Daily News.

On January 14, 2008, the New York Post's Page Six reported:


 * "Presidential hopeful Barack Obama claims to run a clean campaign, but someone in his camp took a swipe at Hillary Clinton through the candidate's theme song.


 * "As Obama and his wife, Michelle, strolled triumphantly into his [private] victory party in Des Moines, Iowa, on Jan. 3, Jay-Z's 99 Problems was blaring. In it, Jay raps, 'I got 99 problems, but a bitch ain't one.'


 * "Some listeners took it as a not-so-sly reference to Hillary.


 * "'We didn't know he used that,' a shocked Clinton spokesperson said."

Related external articles


 * "At Obama Victory Event, Campaign Played Jay-Z's '99 Problems (But A Bitch Ain't One)'," AlterNet, January 14, 2008.
 * Taylor Marsh, "OBAMA: '99 Problems But A Bitch Ain't One'," TaylorMarsh.com, January 14, 2008.
 * Jeff Dinelli, "Jay-Z and Barack Obama," The Left Coaster, January 14, 2008.
 * hwc, "Obama's woman-bashing campaign song," MyDD, January 14, 2008.
 * "Did Obama Camp Use Rap to Call Hillary B-tch?" NewsMax, January 14, 2008.

Obama v. Clinton v. Edwards on war in Iraq/Iran

 * Greg Sargent and Eric Kleefeld, "Compare and Contrast: Hillary and Obama's Votes on Iraq," TPM Cafe/Election Central, March 29, 2007.
 * Eric Kleefeld,"Compare and Contrast: Hillary, Obama and Lieberman's Votes on Iraq," TPM Cafe/Election Central, March 30, 2007. (Note that Lieberman votes with Republicans, dispelling notion that Hillary is in "lock step" with Lieberman.)
 * Eric Kleefeld, "A Handy Chart of Hillary's and Edwards' Votes on Iraq," TPM Cafe/Election Central, April 6, 2007. (Note the number of Edwards' missed votes.)
 * Editorial: "A Difference on Iran? Barack Obama's unconvincing attack on Hillary Clinton's 'saber-rattling'," Washington Post, October 21, 2007.
 * eriposte, "The Leading Democratic Candidates - Clinton, Edwards and Obama - on Iraq and Iran," The Left Coaster, November 5, 2007.
 * eriposte, "How Senator Clinton Alone is So Devastatingly Wrong On Iran," The Left Coaster, November 6, 2007.
 * eriposte, "The Awesome Differences on Iran Between Sen. Obama and Sen. Clinton," The Left Coaster, November 9, 2007.
 * eriposte, "Clinton, Obama and Edwards on Training of Iraqi Forces," The Left Coaster, November 10, 2007.
 * Steve Soto, "A Short History of Recent U.S. Presidential Politics - Part 3: Bringing Honesty and Integrity Back to the White House," The Left Coaster, November 14, 2007.
 * "Sen. Obama Falsely Suggested He Opposed Kyl-Lieberman 'At The Time Of The Vote'," The Fact Hub/Hillary Hub, November 15, 2007.
 * Jane Hamsher, "Clinton and Obama Shadow Boxing Over Iran Vote (Or Lack Thereof)," Firedoglake Blog, December 3, 2007.
 * "Fact Check: Sen. Edwards and Sen. Obama on Iran’s nuclear threat;" "Sen. Obama Shifts On Using American Forces In Iraq To Blunt Iranian Threat" and "Sen. Obama Shifts On Iran Negotiations," The Fact Hub/Hillary Hub, December 4, 2007.
 * eriposte, "12/4/07 NPR Democratic Debate: On Misleading and On Enabling George W. Bush," The Left Coaster, December 6, 2007.
 * "Sen. Obama Shifts on Using American Forces in Iraq to Blunt Iranian Threat," The Fact Hub/Hillary Hub, December 6, 2007.
 * "Obama All Talk No Action on Foreign Policy," Anglachelg's Journal Blogspot, December 12, 2007.
 * SusanUnPC, "Obama Talks the Talk, But Where's the Walk?" No Quarter Blog, December 12, 2007.
 * Taylor Marsh, "The Wilsons Talk Clinton and Foreign Policy," TaylorMarsh.com, January 13, 2008.
 * eRiposte, "Tim Russert Peddles Fraudulent 'Fairy Tale' Claim to Help Sen. Obama's Campaign," The Left Coaster, January 14, 2008.

The Republicans' choice

 * dpANDREWS, "Obama has Republicans Licking Their Chops," MyDD, December 11, 2007.
 * eriposte, "The Titanic: The Obama Campaign Tries to Preemptively Self-Destruct (in the General Election)," The Left Coaster, December 12, 2007.

Campaign tactics and going negative
In February 2007, prior to Sen. Barack Obama's (D-Ill.) official announcement that he was entering race for the 2008 Democratic nomination, David Axelrod, Obama's senior strategist, told Tom Bevan of RealClearPolitics:


 * "If you have a difference over an issue that's something different than a gratuitous personal attack," Axelrod said. "But the real point is the premise that if you can inspire people and if you can give them something real to believe in, you can advance your campaign without tearing everybody else down. And that is our premise and we're going to try and see if it works. If it does work, then we truly have changed our politics for the better. If it doesn't, then it doesn't. But that's the only kind of campaign that he [Obama] really can run."


 * So, I quickly followed up, Obama won't go negative?


 * "I . . . I . . . I don't . . . I would not say that he won't draw contrasts where contrasts should be drawn," Axelrod hedged. "But if you're asking me, do we have a strategy to tear people down? We don't. And maybe that's incredibly naive, and maybe that is not feasible in modern politics. But we believe it is, and we believe it's important to run a campaign like that."

"There's a great deal of nuance here, of course," Bevan wrote "One person's idea of an ad 'drawing a contrast' on an issue could easily be characterized by another as an 'attack.' My interpretation of Axelrod's remarks is that Obama will play as rough as he needs to on the issues while recognizing the inherent risks and contradictions posed to his candidacy by getting too aggressive. In other words, he'll change the tone as much as he can without giving away the race."

Related external articles
 * Lanny Davis, "It's Time for Sen. Obama to Explain His Record," The Huffington Post, December 11, 2007.

Triangulation and Progressivism
Triangulation is a term which Obama has tossed around in reference to Hillary Clinton.

According to the Wikipedia


 * "Triangulation is the act of a candidate presenting his or her ideology as being "above" and "between" the left and right sides of the political spectrum. It involves adopting for oneself some of the ideas of one's political opponent. The logic behind it is that it not only takes good ideas away from your opponent, but that it insulates you from attacks on that particular issue. It is a tactic commonly used in third way politics."

Related external articles
 * Tom Hayden, " Tom Hayden Responds to Sen. Obama Triangulation on Iraq," DemocracyRising, November 12, 2007.
 * eriposte, "Barack Obama's War On Of Triangulation," The Left Coaster, December 9, 2007.
 * eriposte, "Hillary Clinton: The Calculating Triangulator Who Will Say Or Do Anything To Get Elected!" The Left Coaster, December 11, 2007.
 * David Mizner, "Edwards and Obama," MyDD, December 11, 2007.
 * Mike Allen and Ben Smith, "Liberal views could haunt Obama," The Politico, December 11, 2007.

Elitism

 * "Obama: 'Stoop So Low as McDonalds'," Political Radar Blog/ABC News, December 14, 2007.

Obama on "electability" and experience
On November 8, 2007, Obama "mounted his most forceful argument to date that he is more electable than chief rival Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), demonized by Republicans and used as their punching bag for more than a decade.

"Obama, not mentioning Clinton by name, said he could appeal to Republican and Independent voters in a general election because he has no history of 'generating anger among Republicans.'"

Obama "went out of his way to belittle Clinton's experience as first lady" in a November 26, 2007, interview with ABC's Nightline, wrote Terry Moran, who interviewed Obama, and Julia Hoppock and Melinda Arons for ABC News. "'I think the fact of the matter is that Sen. Clinton is claiming basically the entire eight years of the Clinton presidency as her own, except for the stuff that didn't work out, in which case she says she has nothing to do with it,' Obama said, and added, referring to his relationship with his wife, Michelle, 'There is no doubt that Bill Clinton had faith in her and consulted with her on issues, in the same way that I would consult with Michelle, if there were issues,' Obama said. 'On the other hand, I don't think Michelle would claim that she is the best qualified person to be a United States Senator by virtue of me talking to her on occasion about the work I've done.'"

Related external articles
 * News Release: "Hillary Clinton’s Remarks Today on Her Experience and Vision for a New America," HillaryClinton.com, December 3, 2007.
 * "Mr. Clinton Questions Obama's Experience," Political Radar Blog/ABC News, December 14, 2007.
 * Big Tent Democrat, "Obama vs. Bill Clinton?" Talk Left, December 15, 2007.
 * eriposte, "The Campaign Debate on Qualifications and Experience," The Left Coaster, December 16, 2007.
 * Wayne Slater, "Experience from 1972 stumping in Texas helped shape Clinton's campaign. lections '08: Lone Star stumping gig in '72 race helped shape own bid," Dallas Morning News, December 16, 2007.
 * Paul Krugman, Opinion: "Big Table Fantasies," New York Times, December 17, 2007.
 * Steve Clemons, "Obama vs. Clinton on Putting Legislative Machinery to Work," The Huffington Post, December 17, 2007.
 * Jay Newton-Small, "Obama's Foreign-Policy Problem," TIME, December 18, 2007.
 * Joseph C. Wilson, "The Real Hillary I Know--and the Unreal Obama," The Huffington Post, December 21, 2007.
 * eRiposte, "Why I Have More Foreign Policy Experience than Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama," The Left Coaster, December 29, 2007.

Obama: Clinton is a "corporate Democrat"

 * eriposte, "Is Hillary Clinton a 'Corporate Democrat?' - Part 4: The Special Interests of Obama and Clinton," The Left Coaster, November 27, 2007.

Obama: Clinton is running a "'textbook' campaign"
On November 20, 2007, eriposte at The Left Coaster dissects Obama's allegation that Hillary Clinton is running a "'textbook' campaign". On November 21, 2007, eriposte followed up on this with another post, this time featuring the "'textbook' campaign" of a different candidate.

Hint: Who are actually running "'textbook' campaign"(s), may surprise you.

Related external articles
 * B Merryfield, "Obama's 'grassroots' 'textbook' campaign," The Daily Kos, November 23, 2007.

Bashing Bill (not Hillary) for the 1990s
At the November 10, 2007, JJ dinner in Las Vegas, Obama told the "rapturous crowd" "I don't want to spend the next year or the next four years re-fighting the same fights that we had in the 1990s," Kenneth Baer reported in the New York Daily News. "Yet throughout his speech, Obama did just that, by reviving a persistent argument, popular among the left of the Democratic Party, that Bill Clinton and the New Democrats sold out liberal principles for cheap electoral gains," Baer wrote.

"It's clear who Obama was talking about when he said that 'triangulating and poll-driven positions' kept the last Democratic administration from tackling the 'problems that we've talked about year after year after year.' What's needed, Obama said, is a Democratic President who will lead 'not by polls, but by principle; not by calculation, but by conviction'. ... This may be red meat to Iowa caucusgoers. But it doesn't stand up to historical scrutiny," Baer wrote.

Robert Novak's rumor of a rumor (twice removed)
On November 17, 2007, the article "Hillary vs. Obama" by Republican smear master Robert Novak, a "seasoned conservative columnist with a long history of publishing falsehoods, distortions and gossip", appeared online in which Novak wrote


 * "Agents of Sen. Hillary Clinton are spreading the word in Democratic circles that she has scandalous information about her principal opponent for the party’s presidential nomination, Sen. Barack Obama, but has decided not to use it."

"His sourcing consisted of 'word of mouth' and unnamed 'experienced Democratic operatives.' Two days later, on Fox News, where Novak is a commentator, he confessed that he had heard a rumor from someone who had heard a rumor from someone. In short, he had no facts, perhaps explaining why Novak has been dubbed No Facts for years," Larry Johnson wrote November 20, 2007, at TPMCafe.

"Clinton communications director Howard Wolfson’s categorical statement would seem to have put an end to this pseudo-event: 'The Clinton campaign has nothing to do with this item'," Johnson wrote, "But it did not end. Instead, it is being kept artificially alive" by the Obama campaign. Based on the contents of the November 2007 editorial "How to Beat Hillary (Next) November" by former White House advisor to President George W. Bush Karl Rove, Johnson asked "Is Obama wearing a wrist bracelet that says, 'what would Karl Rove do'?"


 * "Obama's tactics appear in sync with Rove's script. His feigned victimhood is a negative attack on Senator Clinton’s character to drive the numbers, which in turn Obama hopes will determine the nomination. While posing above the fray, but executing Rove's strategy and exploiting Novak's innuendo, Obama has embraced the audacity of hype," Johnson wrote. (emphasis added)

"[A]fter a dismal performance at the last debate [Obama] and his team decided to take one from the Karl Rove playbook by following Novak's lead, then ignoring Clinton's statements in order to keep the story going, then doing a press conference that was as cynical as it was calculating and contrived, which considering it was lies Obama was forwarding against Clinton is the very definition of the swiftboating he was attacking. Obama also did this after he'd ducked yet another policy forum, this one on climate change," Taylor Marsh wrote November 20, 2007.

Related external articles
 * Ben Smith, "Obama on Novak on Clinton on Obama," The Politico, November 17, 2007.
 * Mike Allen and Ben Smith, "Obama: Don't 'swift boat' me," The Politico, November 17, 2007.
 * Glenn Thrush, "Novak column inflames Clinton-Obama feud," Newsday, November 17, 2007.
 * Eric Kleefeld, "Obama Slams Hillary For Reports Of Dirt-Mongering," TPMElectionCentral, November 17, 2007.
 * Steve Benen, "Novak and Clinton and Obama ... oh my," Talking Points Memo, November 18, 2007.
 * "Clinton Camp Says It Has No Dirty Secrets About Obama After Columnist Bob Novak Suggests Alleged Scandal," Fox News, November 18, 2007.
 * "Novak Stands by Obama Dirt Story, Compares Clinton Campaign Tactics to Nixon," Fox News, November 19, 2007.
 * Chrish, "Novak appears on FOX and Friends to defend rumor-mongering column," News Hounds, November 19, 2007.
 * Holden Caulfield, "Obama Joins the Vast Right-Wing Attack Machine," MyDD, November 19, 2007.
 * Taylor Marsh, "Barack Obama Resorts to Chicago Style Politics," TaylorMarsh.com, November 19, 2007.
 * Greg Sargent, "Novak Admits That Hillary/Obama 'Smear' Column Is Second Hand," TPMElectionCentral, November 19, 2007.
 * Sam Stein, "Novak Admits Smear Column Is Even Weaker Than It First Appeared," The Huffington Post, November 19, 2007.
 * Rod McCullom, "This is What Barack Obama Should Tell Bob Novak: 'Put Up or STFU!'" The Huffington Post, November 19, 2007.
 * Digby, "Mission Accomplished," Hullabaloo Blogspot, November 19, 2007.
 * "Fox News' Hill claimed Obama's reaction to Novak's thinly sourced column means he 'could have something to hide'," Media Matters for America, November 19, 2007.
 * "CNN's Beck falsely asserted that Novak 'said it was an insider on the Clinton campaign'," Media Matters for America, November 20, 2007.
 * "Dick Morris vouches for Novak: 'He's never proven wrong. He's always right,'" Media Matters for America, November 20, 2007.
 * Howard Kurtz, "Clinton Team Is Quick to Bat Down Rumors," Washington Post, November 24, 2007.

Town meetings: Iran, immigration and terrorism
Speaking November 18, 2007, at a town meeting in Grundy Center, Iowa, Obama took the last question of the evening from a woman who asked what "specifically" he was going to do about terrorism. As the New York Times' Jeff Zeleny wrote, "As [their] exchange continued, the volume and intensity increased in Mr. Obama’s voice." The exchange was captured and posted online at both YouTube here and Fox News here. See both versions to include both the woman's question and Obama's response.

"When Clinton had her back and forth [October 7, 2007,] with activist Randall Rolph (who later came out for Obama), the headlines went from 'Clinton Gets Snippy with Iowan Over Iran' to 'Clinton's Iran Vote Prompts A Harsh Back-and-Forth.' Even though Clinton apologized to Rolph for the misunderstanding that wasn't good enough either. Headlines flew. Rolph got his picture in The New York Times. Andrew Sullivan squealed, 'She's arrogant!'," Taylor Marsh wrote November 19, 2007. "But Obama gets into it with a senior citizen in Iowa, with his voice raised to shrill, but the media barely notices.

"At one point in the back and forth Obama talks about Chicago being a better target for terrorists than some little town in Iowa; that he has children so you bet he's concerned. That's when it's all in for wingnut talking points all 'round. The notion that we'll be hit here is certainly possible, but the real dangers have to do with things spinning out of control 'over there' with our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan the real targets [are] bogged down so they can't respond elsewhere. Dueling U.S. terrorism points of interest seem just a bit unseemly to me, especially when it uses the same fear card Democrats are trying to avoid, well at least most Democrats," Marsh wrote.

"The coverage of Clinton compared to Obama has been noted by Journalism.com. He gets fawning praise, or silence when he mixes it up with a senior citizen, while she gets dissected to the bone for her back and forth with a committed activist. He sucks up Novak's spin, while the press parrots Mr. Obama's hit on Clinton, never mind it came from Mr. Unethical. You can sense the hack pack press getting excited. Meanwhile, the real news in the Iowa poll is the falling of John Edwards not the 'Clinton slips in Iowa.' But Edwards is not nearly as good a story," Marsh wrote.

Obama: Clinton "ducking" Social Security

 * "Obama: Clinton 'dodging' Social Security," Associated Press/CNN, October 27, 2007.
 * Jeff Dinelli, "Obama Says Hillary Ducking.....Social Security???" The Left Coaster, October 29, 2007.
 * Matt Stoller, "Paul Krugman Guts Obama on Social Security," Open Left, October 29, 2007.
 * kos, "Gays, social security, and the loss of a real choice this primary," The Daily Kos, October 29, 2007.
 * Jeralyn Merritt, "Obama, Hillary and Social Security," Talk Left, October 29, 2007.
 * David Folkenflik, "Clinton, Obama Spar over Social Security in Ads," NPR, November 2, 2007.
 * Linda Douglass, Transcript: "Barack Obama On Hillary, Iraq And More," National Journal On Air, November 8, 2007.
 * "Obama Misrepresents Hillary's Views On Social Security," The Fact Hub/Hillary Hub, November 8, 2007. Also see "Barack Obama’s Social Insecurity," Hillary is 44.org, September 20, 2007, and "Is Barack Obama A Closeted Ripublican," Hillary is 44.org, October 29, 2007.
 * Jonathan Singer, "Extremely Disappointing Language from Obama on Social Security," MyDD, November 9, 2007.
 * Taylor Marsh, "Social Security is Not in 'Crisis'," TaylorMarsh.com, November 10, 2007.
 * Paul Krugman, "Why, Barack, why?" New York Times, November 11, 2007.
 * Dave Johnson, "Senator Obama, Please Stop Echoing Right-Wing Lies About Social Security!" The Huffington Post, November 11, 2007.
 * Big Tent Democrat, "Obama on MTP: The Third Rail," Talk Left, November 11, 2007.
 * Eric Kleefeld, "Obama Endorses Changes To Social Security Tax Cap," TPMElectionCentral, November 12, 2007.
 * eriposte, "A Short History of Recent U.S. Presidential Politics - Part 3: Bringing Honesty and Integrity Back to the White House," The Left Coaster, November 14, 2007.
 * Ed Kilgore, "The Left's Obama Problem," TPM Cafe, November 15, 2007.
 * "Sen. Obama's Shifting Stance on Social Security," The Fact Hub/Hillary Hub, November 15, 2007.
 * Paul Krugman, "Played for a Sucker," New York Times, November 16, 2007.
 * Eric Kleefeld, "Hillary And Obama Trade Blows Over Social Security," TPMElectionCentral, November 19, 2007.
 * Big Tent Democrat, "The Problem With Obama: Axelrod Edition," Talk Left, November 23, 2007.

Obama: Clinton too old to unite U.S.
"Meanwhile, the Democrats have done the very Republican thing of finding a favorite candidate and sticking with him (her, actually). And so, as Sen. Barack Obama loses his way, and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton loses her voice, a quiet desperation is creeping into the campaign to beat Clinton," Rick Klein and Jacqueline Klingebiel wrote November 8, 2007, ABC News' The Note.

"Obama, D-Ill., added another piece to his scattershot criticism of Clinton yesterday: He's making it a 'generational fight,' Michael McAuliff writes in the New York Daily News. 'I think there's no doubt that we represent the kind of change that Sen. Clinton can't deliver on, and part of it is generational,' Obama told Fox News."

See video posted on YouTube.

Related external articles
 * Michael McAuliff, "Barack Obama says Hillary Clinton too old to unite U.S.," New York Daily News, November 8, 2007.
 * johnnygunn, "Most Definitely – Not Ready for Prime Time," The Daily Kos, November 8, 2007.
 * Michael Hess, "Obama Loses Our Vote. But Not for Being Too Young," BBSNews, November 8, 2007.
 * Taylor Marsh, "Did Obama Actually Imply Clinton Is Too Old?" TaylorMarsh.com, November 9, 2007.
 * Also see blame the Baby Boomers.

Transparency: paper trail / official records
Obama, "who is making government transparency a centerpiece of the latest phase of his campaign, does not always practice what he preaches when it comes to his own business," the Chicago Sun-Times' Lynn Sweet pointed out November 5, 2007.

While Obama is accusing Clinton "of being secretive and slowing down the release of her official first lady papers in the Clinton Library, documents that could help buttress -- or erode -- her claim of presidential experience", Sweet wrote, Obama's own record on transparency is lacking, including
 * "where Obama is storing his--not the State of Illinois--state senate records."
 * "earmarks Obama sought in 2006, before he was running for president."
 * other than names, the city and state for his campaign bundlers, "information that is available to his campaign"
 * "Obama, as all major candidates, declines most of the time to disclose details about most fund-raising events."
 * does not post his meeting schedule on the internet


 * Also see Barack Obama's contributions to campaign endorsers.

Related external articles
 * Lynn Sweet, "Obama's stealth," The Hill, October 7, 2004.
 * David Jackson and Ray Long, "Obama knows his way around a ballot. Some say his ability to play political hardball goes back to his first campaign," Chicago Tribune, April 3, 2007.
 * David Jackson and John McCormick, "Critics: Obama endorsements counter calls for clean government," Chicago Tribune, June 12, 2007.
 * Digby, "New rules," Hullabaloo Blogspot, November 4, 2007.
 * Lynn Sweet, "Living in a glass house. Obama's push for Clinton to disclose her first lady papers raises questions about his own transparency" and "Obama record on transparency lacking. Where are his state senate records?" Chicago Sun-Times, November 5, 2007.
 * "Time's Halperin didn't check with Sun-Times columnist before falsely claiming that column was product of Clinton campaign opposition research," Media Matters for America, November 5, 2007.
 * "Barack Obama Falsely Claims That Hillary Controls Release Of White House Records," The Fact Hub/Hillary Hub, November 8, 2007.
 * "FactCheck.org Updates Item On Clinton Presidential Records," The Fact Hub/Hillary Hub, November 9, 2007.
 * John McCormick, "Obama hammers his rivals," Chicago Tribune, November 9, 2007.
 * John McCormick, "Obama pressed on Springfield records," The Swamp Blog/Chicago Tribune, November 9, 2007.
 * Aswini Anburajan, "Obama on His State Senate Records," First Read/MSNBC, November 9, 2007.
 * Lynn Sweet, "Sweet web column: Obama says his state papers 'could have been thrown out.' Where is the stuff?" Chicago Sun-Times, November 9, 2007.
 * Mike Allen, "Obama records requests prove fruitless," The Politico, November 11, 2007.
 * John McCormick, "Tribune interview transcript on Obama's records," The Swamp/Chicago Tribune, November 12, 2007.
 * "Obama Dodges on Own Records," NewsMax, November 12, 2007.
 * SF Bay, "Obama does have State Senate Records - lots of them," MyDD, November 12, 2007.
 * "Fact Check: Sen. Obama on Records," The Fact Hub/Hillary Hub, November 12, 2007.
 * Digby, "For the record," Hullabaloo Blogspot, November 13, 2007.
 * Mike Baker and Christopher Wills, "Obama Says He Has No Illinois Records," Associated Press (DemocraticUnderground), November 14, 2007.
 * eriposte, "A Short History of Recent U.S. Presidential Politics - Part 3: Bringing Honesty and Integrity Back to the White House," The Left Coaster, November 14, 2007.
 * Matt Margolis, "No Paper Trail for Obama," Blogs for Victory, November 14, 2007.
 * Mike Allen, "Clinton says wife's schedules out soon," The Politico, November 29, 2007.
 * Mike Allen and Ben Smith, "Liberal views could haunt Obama," The Politico, December 11, 2007.
 * Jake Tapper, "Questions, Questions," Political Punch/ABC News, December 12, 2007.

Debates

 * "Obama tries to turn heads of Clinton admirers by taking regular — yet subtle — jabs," Associated Press (International Herald Tribune), July 18, 2007.
 * William A. Arkin, "Clinton 1, Obama 0," Washington Post, July 26, 2007.
 * Lynn Sweet, "Naive? Clinton charge puts Obama on attack," Chicago Sun-Times, July 29, 2007.
 * John McCormick and Rick Pearson, "Cheers and boos from bloggers. Democratic candidates banter over Iraq, the influence of lobbyists at boisterous debate in Chicago," Chicago Tribune, August 5, 2007.
 * John Whitesides, "Clinton, Obama spar at labor union debate," Washington Post, August 7, 2007.
 * Roger Simon, "Democrats woo labor but bash each other," The Politico, August 7, 2007.
 * Dan Balz, "Obama and Clinton Take the Gloves Off In AFL-CIO Debate. Democratic Hopefuls Court Union Support," Washington Post, August 8, 2007.
 * Lynn Sweet, "Obama turns to his favorite weapons. When in doubt, blame Washington," Chicago Sun-Times, August 8, 2007.

Battle over Hollywood fundraiser

 * Maureen Dowd, "Obama's Big Screen Test," New York Times (Welcome to Pottersville Blogspot), February 20, 2007. re David Geffen and Hillary Clinton
 * Eric Boehlert, "Dissecting Maureen Dowd's Obama hit piece," Media Matters for America, February 20, 2007.
 * Jake Tapper, "Obama Mines Hollywood Gold, but Takes Heat From Clinton," ABC News, February 21, 2007.
 * Nedra Pickler, "Clinton, Obama Trade Barbs Over Donor," Associated Press (Washington Post), February 21, 2007.
 * Susan Milligan, "Clinton, Obama slug it out early. Candidates clash over a fund-raiser's criticism," Boston Globe, February 22, 2007.

Other related external articles

 * eriposte, "Will Sen. Edwards Create a Website Against Sen. Obama's 'Politics of Planting'?" The Left Coaster, December 17, 2007.