Obama truth squad locked and loaded

    Barack Obama was running a hopeful campaign for change. And then he won in Iowa and became a real threat. Even with the popular vote wins in New Hampshire and Nevada, Obama is leading with more delegates. The Clinton's cordialities have been the first to go. What came next was pure WWF with Bill and Hillary doing a tag-team number on the Illinois senator.
    Earlier this week, on cable TV, he struck back. The Ebony/Jet poll now has Obama leading Clinton by 10 percent. His truth squad may be busy for some time to come. Here's a news story I wrote for this week's Afro American News.      

   

   

   

More combatant Obama heads towards S.C. finish

By Monroe Anderson
AFRO Staff Writer

Columbia, S.C.— As Saturday’s Democratic presidential primary looms, South Carolina is witnessing the transformation of Barack Obama from the congenial, well-tempered campaigner into “No More Mr. Nice Guy” who is slugging it out with the chief rival, New York Sen. Hillary Clinton.

The Illinois senator's conversion occurred following 10 days of rough and tumble skirmishes with the Clinton camp in Nevada and after Obama arrived in South Carolina Sunday to learn he was about to get more of the same.

Faced with an unexpected tough election challenge from the first serious African American contender for the presidency, Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton have been engaged in tag-team tactics in their attempts to discredit him, Obama campaign officials said.

David Axelrod, the Obama campaign's chief strategist, said that the Clinton campaign had given them two choices, "to allow ourselves to get painted in ways that are completely misleading" or to fight back.

As part of that fight back strategy, the Obama campaign has establish a "truth squad."

"If there's any misleading statements made, we're going to correct those misstatements," Axelrod said. 

Meanwhile, Obama’s South Carolina campaign is sticking to one strategy that helped it win Iowa caucuses; going after the youth vote.

Most of the volunteers and many of the paid staffers are in their 20s, and since beginning his campaign in South Carolina in earnest, Obama has spoken to overflow crowds at colleges and universities throughout the state.

On Tuesday, for example, he started at Furman University in Greenville before speaking to another large crowd three hours later  at Lanham University in Greenwood three hours.

He ended the day with an overflow “Stand Up For Change” rally at South Carolina State University in Orangeburg that featured singer Usher, comedian Chris Tucker and actress Kelly Washington.

On Wednesday, he started the day with a rally at Winthrop University in Rock Hill.

Meanwhile, his wife, Michelle Obama, has been doing much of the same, beginning with a talk Sunday at predominately Black Benedict College, and continuing this week with a four-day tour of the state.

The campaigns only really new twist is its plan to go head-to-head with Clinton about her accusations regarding Obama’s record in the Illinois legislature and his statements.

Clinton, her husband and campaign supporters have taken turns attacking Obama, who has won more delegates in the party's early elections, but after winning Iowa, has suffered close losses to the New York senator in New Hampshire and Nevada.

The former president recently said that the Illinois senator's claims about his anti-Iraqi war efforts were a "fairy tale," opined that putting Obama in the White House would be a roll of the dice and accused Obama of saying that "since 1992, the Republicans have had all the good ideas."

During the Nevada caucus race, the former president also claimed that Obama's union supporters were trying to suppress the vote of his wife's backers.

Obama has said none of the accusations are true.

Earlier this week, the Clinton campaign stuck to its story. "We understand Sen. Obama is frustrated by his loss in Nevada but facts are facts. Sen. Obama's allies in Nevada engaged in strong-arm tactics and intimidation against our supporters and his record against the war has been inconsistent," Clinton campaign spokesman Phil Singer said.

Former BET owner Bob Johnson was forced to apologize after attacking Obama about his use of drug during his young adulthood, something Obama had written about in his book.

Obama's strike-back reflex went public during the Democratic debate earlier this week when he and Clinton engaged in a verbal smack down, during the CNN/Congressional Black Caucus Institute-sponsored debate.  The frontrunners repeatedly interrupted each other, made charges and counter-charges and even cast personal attacks about their careers as lawyers.

The following, Obama unveiled his new strategy when he took on Clinton in a speech at Furman.

"In this time of economic anxiety and uncertainty, what this country needs most is a President who says what he means and means what he says,” Obama said.

On the day that the stock market opened down nearly 500 points, Obama charged that Clinton had been inconsistent on some economic issues.

Some Democrats and Obama supporters say they fear that if the Clinton and Obama campaigns keep up the attacks, they may hurt the party during the general election and that the two rivals should focus on the nation's big problems—the war and the economy.

But Axelrod said the campaign has no choice.

"This is not the fight that we choose, but we cannot walk away from it," he said.