Obama defends his patriotism, quarrels with McCain
By CHARLES BABINGTON and MATT APUZZO
Associated Press
May 13, 2008
Page 2 of 2
In New York, Sen. Chuck Schumer, one of Clinton's major supporters, endorsed the idea of Clinton and Obama running together.
''Hillary and Barack have both run very strong and great races, and I think they'd be a strong ticket together,'' Schumer told a breakfast.
After the speech, Obama stopped at Schultzie's Billiards hall, where he showed greater skill at pool than he had at bowling last month in Pennsylvania.
As a small crowd oohed and ahhed at his third consecutive good shot, Obama said his skill was ''the sign of a misspent youth. I wasn't doing wholesome things like bowling.''
Still, Obama lost to Iraqi war veteran Paul Scott, 24, because he accidentally knocked in the eight ball prematurely.
Obama told reporters he will have to consistently fight rumors that he doesn't say the Pledge of Allegiance, among other falsehoods widely spread on the Internet. ''This is something that's been systematically fed into the bloodstream,'' he said. He said he had no idea who is doing it.
Obama's campaign announced Monday that he will visit politically neglected Florida and Michigan, as he pivots to a general election strategy.
It will be his first time in either state since signing a pledge nine months ago not to campaign in them because they violated national party rules with early primaries.
All the Democratic presidential candidates agreed to boycott Michigan and Florida. Clinton won both states, although Obama's name was not on the Michigan ballot, and no delegates were awarded. Restoring the delegates is a major part of Clinton's longshot strategy for the nomination.
Clinton's last best hope is to use strong showings in West Virginia and Kentucky to make the case that Obama is weak among key Democratic constituents.
Obama's campaign announced a five-state tour over the next two weeks that includes stops in remaining primary states South Dakota and Oregon but is dominated by swing states where he hopes to run well against McCain.
Obama leads in delegates needed to secure the Democratic nomination. He'll try to rebound from Tuesday's expected loss in West Virginia by campaigning this week in Missouri, a state that President Bush won in 2000 and 2004.
On Wednesday, he planned two stops in Michigan -- the swing Macomb County and the GOP stronghold of Grand Rapids. He plans to spend three days starting May 21 in Florida, with stops in Tampa, Orlando, Palm Beach County and Miami. The area is a popular stop for political fundraising, but the Obama campaign says the candidate will mostly be appealing for votes.
''Our schedule reflects the fact that we are still fighting for votes and delegates in the remaining contests but also that we are going to places that are going to be competitive in the fall,'' said Obama spokesman Bill Burton.
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Associated Press writer Nedra Pickler in Washington contributed to this report.
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