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Obama questions Clinton's trade stance, fights back on charges of 'elitism'
(Associated Press WorldStream Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) WASHINGTON_Barack Obama called into question Hillary Rodham Clinton's opposition to free trade agreements on Monday, intensifying his attacks on his rival for the Democratic presidential nomination as he sought to detract from his remarks that threatened to cost him crucial votes among working-class voters.
The two presidential candidates continued to hammer each other Monday after a weekend of criticism stemming from Obama's comment that some small-town voters are bitter over their economic circumstances and "cling to guns and religion" as a result.
Obama uttered the words at a private fundraiser in San Francisco last week and Clinton has seized on them in seeking the edge in Pennsylvania, which holds its primary April 22.
Sen. John McCain joined in the attack Monday in a speech at The Associated Press annual meeting in Washington.
"I would like to respond briefly to the comments one of my opponents made the other day about the psychology and political mind-set of Americans living in small towns and other areas that have experienced the loss of industrial jobs."
The Arizona senator looked back to members of the 1930s Depression-era generation in the United States and said: "Their (religious) faith had given generations of their families purpose and meaning, as it does today. And their appreciation of traditions like hunting was based in nothing other than their contribution to the enjoyment of life."
With eight days remaining in the fierce battle for Democratic votes in Pennsylvania _ an economically hard-hit northeastern state that holds the biggest remaining primary _ Obama criticized the former first lady on the North American Free Trade Agreement and the pending Colombian trade deal. Opponents of the free-trade pacts claim they cost American jobs.
NAFTA went into force while Bill Clinton was president; the Colombia pact is backed by the former president and Clinton was forced to demote her chief strategist last week for working with the Colombian government to support the treaty's passage in Congress.
"Around election time, the candidates can't do enough for you," Obama said. "They'll promise you anything, give you a long list of proposals and even come around, with TV crews in tow, to throw back a shot and a beer."
Clinton did that at a stop Saturday at Bronko's restaurant in Crown Point, Indiana, on Saturday.
Obama and Clinton spoke to the Alliance for American Manufacturing.
"Here's what you can't do. You can't spend the better part of two decades campaigning for NAFTA and PNTR for China, and then come here to Pennsylvania, and tell the steelworkers you've been with them all along," Obama said. "You can't say you are opposed to the Colombia trade deal, while your key strategist is working for the Colombian government to get the deal passed."
In response, Clinton spokesman Phil Singer said, "Senator Obama's speeches won't hide his condescending views of Americans living in small towns."
Clinton said her husband made mistakes related to NAFTA but that she planned to fix them. Clinton said she would either address the NAFTA problems leading to job losses, or would tell Canada and Mexico that the United States is pulling out of the agreement.
Both candidates are hoping to secure the endorsement of the influential United Steelworkers union, which backed Democrat John Edwards before he dropped out of the race. Steelworkers president Leo Gerard introduced Obama to the crowd, saying, "We're tired, we're frustrated, we're angry and we need somebody who's going to stand up for fair trade."
Clinton, who is trailing Obama in the popular vote and pledged delegates, has pounded Obama since Friday, when audio from his San Francisco appearance was posted on The Huffington Post Web site.
At the San Francisco fundraiser, Obama tried to explain his troubles in winning over some working-class voters, saying they have become frustrated with economic conditions: "It's not surprising, then, they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations."
According to the latest AP tally, Obama leads Clinton in the convention delegate count 1,639-1,503, including superdelegates _ party elders and elected officials who can vote for whichever candidate they chose, regardless of the popular vote in state primaries and caucuses.
Neither candidate will be able to clinch the 2,025 delegates needed to win the nomination without the approval of superdelegates.
Obama planned to further address the question of which candidate was most in touch with middle-class voters when he speaks at the afternoon session of the AP annual meeting.
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AP writers David Espo, Beth Fouhy and Kimberly Hefling contributed to this report.
Copyright ? 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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