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| Senator Obama Says Dean Using 'Religion to Divide' |
| 2005-06-09 |
| Washington (CNSNews.com) - Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) criticized Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean Wednesday night for using "religion to divide." Obama told reporters gathered at the Rock the Vote awards dinner at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C., that Dean needs to tone down his rhetoric. Dean said on Monday that the Republican Party was "pretty much a white, Christian party." "As somebody who is a Christian myself, I don't like it when people use religion to divide, whether that is Republican or Democrat," Obama said. "I think in terms of his role as party spokesman, [Dean] probably needs to be a little more careful and I suspect that is a message he is going to be getting from a number of us," Obama explained. "We are at a time in our country's history that inclusive language is better than exclusive language," he added. Former Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe, also attending the Rock the Vote event, empathized with Dean. "I was [DNC] chairman for four years -- it's a tough job -- he's doing a great job," McAuliffe told Cybercast News Service. "I gave one piece of advice [to Dean]. I said 'Howard, you are about to become a human fire hydrant,'" McAuliffe said, referring to a conversation he had with Dean before he became DNC chairman. Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona seemed pleased that Dean had made the latest in a series of controversial statements. "Howard Dean is the gift that keeps on giving," McCain told Cybercast News Service outside the Rock the Vote event. |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #18 LH et al.: Obama? Give me a break. |
| Posted by: someone 2005-06-09 22:38 |
| #17 Hmmmmm, is he smellin' a Hillary-Obama ticket in '08? |
| Posted by: Xbalanke 2005-06-09 16:07 |
| #16 McCaine better watch what he says, people will start to think he is a Republican or something. |
| Posted by: bigjim-ky 2005-06-09 14:58 |
| #15 Rove needs to tell Howlin' Howie to scale it back a bit and wait just a little longer between soundbites. The Donks are starting to get suspicious. |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2005-06-09 12:20 |
| #14 Dean must not have received the memo to use class and race to divide. |
| Posted by: BH 2005-06-09 12:19 |
| #13 Be wary of wolfs indeed! But I like the dog-pile on Deans Gaffe-a-Day tenure as teh DNC chief. Mccain is right "the gift that keeps on giving." |
| Posted by: Cyber Sarge 2005-06-09 12:18 |
| #12 But its OK to use a person's race right? |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2005-06-09 12:06 |
| #11 obama looken liker promisin career ahed of him. grate speeker. |
| Posted by: muck4doo 2005-06-09 11:54 |
| #10 I like Barack Obama too. |
| Posted by: closedanger 2005-06-09 11:51 |
| #9 "Not in Our Name." |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2005-06-09 11:39 |
| #8 Hsilica: do you mean "dropping the Pilot?" |
| Posted by: mom 2005-06-09 10:49 |
| #7 I'd, er, um, like to, er, introduce, um, Osama Bin... Osama... Obama. |
| Posted by: Ted Kennedy 2005-06-09 10:48 |
| #6 That's it for Dean, standby for dropping the Pilor |
| Posted by: H Silica 2005-06-09 10:46 |
| #5 His instincts are good, almost a classic liberal instead of the typical (socialist) liberal. But it doesnt matter: they will bend him to the partisan dark side in DC. Its already begun with him tacitly backing the demagogery going on with judges. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2005-06-09 10:39 |
| #4 So what do you figure, Barack? 2012 to make the big move? Good to start early and distance yourself from the Loon Wing as soon as possible. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2005-06-09 10:19 |
| #3 Be careful of the wolf in sheep's clothes! |
| Posted by: TMH 2005-06-09 10:11 |
| #2 It's hilarious how they keep trying to downplay his gaffes by claiming he "doesn't speak for the whole party" -- What purpose does a party chairman serve, in that case? McCain's quote is spot on, and given the success of the compromise he helped engineer to end the filibustering and get those judges approved he's starting to earn back my approval. At the time I thought the compromise was pandering to a defeated, whiny party who can't accept that they lost the election, but it's starting to look like an end run that will give the Republicans everything they wanted. |
| Posted by: Dar 2005-06-09 10:06 |
| #1 i really like this Barack Obama. |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2005-06-09 09:45 |