Nice young Obama man visits Southern Nevada, makes fun of smelly old opponent

If you're a state legislator, and the person who is about to lock up your party's presidential nomination is meeting with people to discuss a leading local and national issue in the middle of your very own legislative district, well, politically, it doesn't get much better than that. The presumptive nominee thanking you for all your hard work on this important issue right there in front of your constituents as the local teevee news cameras look on ... ah, good times.

Unless you're Assemblyman Ruben Kihuen. Barack Obama landed in the center of Kihuen's district in North Las Vegas Tuesday to talk about the housing/lending/foreclosure/credit crisis and its accompanying collapse of capitalism as we know it, and Kihuen was nowhere to be found.

Must have been something he endorsed.

But enough with the Nevadacentric amusements. Nevada and other states are battleground states (the LAT is the latest to make that observation), so Obama was campaigning in the neighborhood to a) say what he would do about the housing/mortgage fiasco if he was president, and b) make fun of John McCain.

At the risk of being flippant (as if that's a concern), the latter is actually more important than the former at this point in the proceedings. Obama is not, as yet, president, and will not be for another eight months. Even after his inauguration, it's still going to take an undetermined amount of time to enact legislation designed to stabilize the mortgage industry, provide bonds to help families stave off foreclosure, penalize predatory lenders, implement regulatory standards and transparency and take the other steps Obama has proposed to address the housing crisis — assuming such legislation can or will be passed.

Making fun of McCain, on the other hand, is something Obama can do now. So he did.

After meeting with locals who got taken by predatory lenders and are trying to fight off foreclosure, Obama motorcaded to the College of Southern Nevada and noted that McCain was "having a different kind of meeting" Tuesday.

"He's holding a fundraiser with George Bush behind closed doors in Arizona. No cameras. No reporters. And we all know why. Senator McCain doesn't want to be seen, hat-in-hand, with the president whose failed policies he promises to continue for another four years."

Yes, Bush-McCain in '08.

Showing perhaps a little more in the way of economics chops than he is customarily assigned, Obama reiterated the interconnectedness between the housing crisis and the mortgage crisis and also the accompanying credit crunch that is now sweeping through student loans and other forms of lending while drawing connections to impacts on retirement security and the need for reform of bankruptcy laws that were written at the behest of credit card companies.

Obama suggested that McCain, by contrast, really and truly must have been telling the truth when he said he doesn't know jack about the economy. McCain "is so out of touch" that he gave a speech on the economy the other day without talking about "a foreclosure crisis that has put so many families on the brink of catastrophe, and put our economy on the brink of a recession."

Oh issues, schmissues. Fortunately, CNN'S Candy Crowley was on hand, and by the time the Gleanermobile safely returned to its docking bay, she was on the teevees explaining that Barack Obama's uncle couldn't have liberated Auschwitz, as Obama apparently said somewhere, because Auschwitz was liberated by the Soviets.

Frankly, the logic seems flawed. If Obama is a Muslim, and an evildoer, and an America-hating black radical just like the Rev. Wright, wouldn't that make his uncle a Soviet communist?

Comments

[dave404]

Obama's great uncle liberated Nazi labor camp Buchenwald. Wrong uncle and wrong Nazi camp, but the essential point remains unchanged.

Hey, I just finished reading a biography on president Calvin Coolidge (sorry don't recall author). Calvin Coolidge was much loved by Ronald Reagan (it's from Coolidge and his Sec'y of Treasury, Mellon, that we got "trickle down economics), so much so that RR upon moving into the WH took down some dead president's dusty picture in the White House and put up Cal's. So why mention this? Read on!

Seems that Coolidge wrote to Charles Andrews, an Amherst professor and friend, during the course of the Great Depression (precipitated by CC's hands off economic theory). "In other periods of depression," Coolidge told the professor, "it has always been possible to see some things which were solid and upon which you could base hope, but as I look back I see nothing of man. BUT THERE IS STILL RELIGION, WHICH IS THE SAME AS YESTERDAY, TODAY AND FOREVER."

So, either Obama plagerized a great free market conservative president, adored by no less a conservative than president Reagan, or, Obama's philosophical observation about God and guns is universal.

[CollegeStudent]

John McCain's still alive?
no shit

[kickboxermomma]

The Auschwitz gaffe is so minor. At least Obama wasn't claiming to have liberated Auschwitz or that he was dodging bullets.Obama will take Nevada. The Republican Party is in disarray and Barrs is the Liberatarian candidate. We will be seeing some incredible Democratic grassroots organizing here and huge turnouts.

N O M C C A I N. N O T N O W!
N O T E V E R!

[CollegeStudent]

"N O M C C A I N. N O T N O W!
N O T E V E R!"

KBM-It was nice of you to put that in to big print to make it easier for McCain and his staff to read.

[Hillary 2008!]

Now Hugh, why in the world would Ruben Kihuen be seen in his legislative district with Barack Obama when his candidate is technically still in the race? I'm a faithful Hillary supporter, and I respect Ruben Kihuen wholeheartedly for standing his ground and being loyal to the person he endorsed and has supported since last November. I'm sure he'll support the democratic nominee when the time comes.

IF Obama obtains the nomination, he will desperately need Ruben Kihuen to win Nevada in the general. We all know his endorsement was decisive in Hillary's January 19th caucus victory, and I'm sure it will again be in the general election. His grassroots organization and the respect he has from his community is simply unparalleled.

Maybe you shoud show him a little bit more respect-- he just might be what your candidate needs to win in November.

[KidFromVegas]

With no disrespect intended, Hillary 2008...

"...he will desperately need Ruben Kihuen to win Nevada in the general. We all know his endorsement was decisive..."

"Desperately & Decisive" are a bit over-inflated from reality. His presence would have reflect the final results from the State Convention.

NO McCain, not now, not ever!!!

KidFromVegas... I agree, "desperately" was over-inflated, but I must agree with "decisive". All the presidential candidates were not after Kihuen for no reason. The man delivers votes, especially many Latino votes. Latinos listen to him and follow him very closely. It's going to be difficult for Obama to win Nevada- or the southwest for that matter- without the Latino vote.

As for the convention... I'm sure the results would have been different had the State Convention been held in Clark County- which is where Clinton's base is.

Obama-Clinton 2008!!!