blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/06/obamas-answer-o.html
Jake Tapper is ABC News' Senior National Correspondent based in the network's Washington bureau. He writes about politics and popular culture and covers a range of national stories.
A Former Lobbyist, Natch Obama's Answer on the Johnson Conundrum June 10, 2008 11:42 AM ABC News' Sunlen Miller today asked Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, how he could "rail against Countrywide Financial Corp as an example of insiders and today's economy while your VP search is headed by someone who got questionable loans from Countrywide?"
"Well, look," Obama said, "the, the, I mean - first of all I am not vetting my VP search committee for their mortgages, so you're gong to have to direct -- " "But shouldn't you?" "It becomes sort of a, um, I mean, this is a game that can be played - everybody, you know, who is tangentially related to our campaign, I think, is going to have a whole host of relationships -- I would have to hire the vetter to vet the vetters. I mean, at some point, you know, we just asked people to do their assignments. "Jim Johnson has a very discrete task," Obama continued, "as does Eric Holder, and that is simply to gather up information about potential vice presidential candidates. They are performing that job well, it's a volunteer, unpaid position. And they are giving me information and I will then exercise judgment in terms of who I want to select as a vice presidential candidate. "So this - you know, these aren't folks who are working for me," Obama said. "They're not people you know who I have assigned to a job in a future administration and, you know, ultimately my assumption is that, you know, this is a discreet task that they're going to performing for me over the next two months."
Did Obama claim that Johnson and Holder -- two of the three people heading up his VP search committee -- aren't "work"ing for him? I suppose that's because they're unpaid, but my stars, that's a lot of high-level, time-consuming sensitive effort to not be considered "working" for Sen. John McCain presidential campaign spokesman Tucker Bounds just pounced on this, saying "It's preposterous for Senator Obama to claim that the leader of his VP selection committee isn't working for him. Barack Obama has castigated Countrywide Financial, but now that Jim Johnson has been exposed for taking sweetheart deals from Countrywide's CEO - Obama is in a state of denial. It's that brand of weak leadership and hypocrisy that shows why Barack Obama has no record of taking courageous stands or making change in Washington."
Guess you were to busy setting up a fight to film for you tube! Posted by: cramos | Jun 10, 2008 7:14:13 PM Barack Hussein Obama is certainly the best LIAR in history. or is the name selection meant to convey Jewish support for the anti semite OBAMA The Jewish people will not vote for him my little faker...... Clinton Democrats will not vote for your candidate Posted by: cramos | Jun 10, 2008 7:10:24 PM Because I criticize Obama - I am a racist? With supporters like some some of you, Obama surely doesn't need any more detractors. Posted by: Jimbo | Jun 10, 2008 6:26:11 PM Obama is making a lot of rookie mistakes. Posted by: shalom | Jun 10, 2008 6:13:58 PM Well as an Obama supporter I think that it would be great to have a vetting team that did not need vetting themselves... however I also think these people are not running for office or holding office and they are going to perform an information gathering task and present that to Senator Obama. Since Graham from McCain's camp is at the top of the mortgage crisis debacle cleary benefiting from the deregulation that caused it... I can see why the McCain camp wants to try to diminish that by using this association but its just too minimal. Posted by: lb | Jun 10, 2008 6:09:55 PM As we speak, Obama has got to be under a great deal of pressure to put Hillary on the ticket. The Republicans are not going to help lunch Hillary in, they know that could be disaterous for them. The Republicans are waiting for him to pick his VP or for convention. Watch when this happens,it will be like "Who let the dogs out" I'm going to bet he will nip this Hillary stuff in the bud and pick his VP before August. Posted by: Toby | Jun 10, 2008 5:49:41 PM Jeremy: do you really think folks wanna read that book you posted? You actually said something positive about the Clinton Administration... And now you are so upset that she lost, until you're considering voting for John McCain.. Posted by: shalom | Jun 10, 2008 5:22:54 PM BHO is a leftist liberal product of corrupt Chicago politics who hypocritically preaches all kinds of platitudes for others but in his public life has failed to demonstrate with his own actions. His record in the Illinois legislature and later in the US Senate contains absolutely nothing but a record of doing what is politically expedient. Senator Obama and Carter are noble men who love this country and are serving exceptionally well.... Posted by: shalom | Jun 10, 2008 5:17:31 PM A non-issue! A rich man gets favorable loan deals that any other rich person would get as well. I wish reporters had more sense than they are demonstrating in this election cycle. How about doing some work for a change and do some investigating? Posted by: cfoster | Jun 10, 2008 5:16:53 PM Mr Coffee, Oh, and I consider Bloomberg to be brilliant. Perhaps not a great motivational speaker, but very practical and intelligent - a realist. Posted by: JA | Jun 10, 2008 5:12:08 PM Mr Coffee, You are uninformed. I had full access to the lecturer (Barack Obama), and I was a UC Law student. The reason why I audited it is because it was a fluff course, on race and politics/law, not part of the core curriculum. Correction: Good bumper sticker 'Country Before Party" Posted by: Willie | Jun 10, 2008 5:06:57 PM Look, this guy Obama is not a very smart person. I don't care what everyone else is saying about how intelligent he is. Obama has a long history of hanging out with unintelligent political type people and really not doing anything except talking about how change is needed. The guy smokes cigarettes, that should tell you how much intelligence he's got. Posted by: David | Jun 10, 2008 5:03:51 PM How is it possible this is the man the DNC wants to run our government. There is no way that I would ever vote for him, but I get just a little more disgusted and discouraged everyday. Posted by: shalom | Jun 10, 2008 4:59:31 PM Carter vs Reagan: Carter did pave the way by his bold stance against the Soviet Union.... If Carter did not have a bunch of folks on the other side of the isle undermining him so much, then perhaps his administration would have received an applause from you, bud..... LOL Posted by: not fooled 08 | Jun 10, 2008 4:10:36 PM You people have all forgotten the new rule: Anything that calls into question anything at all that Obama or any of his associates has ever done, said, or thought, is just a "game" that is played by people who practice politics as usual. It is just a "distraction" from the real issues (like for example calling into question whether McCains advisors are lobbyists). Posted by: Chris NY, NY | Jun 10, 2008 4:07:24 PM Well nothing new here on Obama, there will be plenty of this denial and scattered thinking in the future. I 'm a HRC supporter and I think the situation is playing out nicely. Hillary is having a much deserved rest from all the unwarrented negative media coverage and Obama is not basking in the sunlight of a presumptive nominee,but more like a rabbit caught in the headlights of the media and the GOP. When it all blows over Hillary can become the real nominee and ultimately the next president. Posted by: mary | Jun 10, 2008 4:06:50 PM --RuthieM---Just because you blog it doesn't make it so. You are so right about that but you are so wrong about the electibility and qualifications of Senator Obama. Suggest you do comphrensive research before blogging again. Obama is an empty suit and the people he associates with are not the best or most honest people. I don't think he even has a chance at winning in November. Posted by: Maggie | Jun 10, 2008 3:59:01 PM Hillary speaks for me: You are correct. One of my...
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