Obama: Foes using ‘old tricks’

SUMTER, S.C. — Sen. Barack Obama mocked Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton yesterday as someone who shifts positions based on the political wind, while former President Bill Clinton blamed the press for fanning the flames of the latest Democratic fight.

Mr. Obama, of Illinois, evoked Mrs. Clinton’s voting record and past debates as he worked to portray himself as a straight talker.

Mr. Clinton, also campaigning in South Carolina while his wife holds events in other states, told a reporter, “Shame on you” for keeping a story about the Clinton-Obama feud alive. It was the second time in as many weeks that he directed frustration toward reporters.

The Obama stump speech differed only slightly from what he has given in states across the country, but some of his comments were pregnant with suggestion that when he talked about “folks” who aren’t being straight, he meant Mrs. Clinton.

He said folks in Washington will “try to pretend you said something you didn’t say, try to pretend you didn’t say something you did.”

“We know that game, but that’s the kind of politics that we’ve got to change,” he said. “We’ve got to have straight-talking folks who will tell you the truth and be honest with you.”

He cited Mrs. Clinton’s answer that she voted for a bankruptcy bill she had hoped wouldn’t pass, her mailer accusing him of proposing a trillion dollar tax increase for Social Security and her insistence that he has been praising President Reagan.

“Don’t get confused when you start hearing a whole bunch of this negative stuff. Those are the same old tricks,” he said. “They’re trying to bamboozle you. It’s the same old okey doke.”

Also yesterday, former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina criticized Mrs. Clinton for campaigning elsewhere in advance of Saturday’s primary here.

“Right after the debate, she flew out and she’s been gone and she won’t be back until I don’t know — later in the week or until primary day,” he said, according to ABC News. “If she’s not going to spend time here the week before the South Carolina primary, what do you think the chances are she’s coming back after the primary? And what are the chances she’s coming back when she’s president?”

But Mr. Clinton, still popular here, promised his wife would be dedicated to South Carolinians as he crisscrossed the state and answered voters’ questions on policy. He also scolded the press, saying the focus on the Obama-Clinton spat is denying local voters the policy discussion they deserve.

He added that he thinks Mr. Obama landed the first political punch.

“He started it by saying my wife was untruthful months and months ago,” he said. “I have nothing bad to say about him. But the factual statements I made are accurate, and I would never had made them if someone else hadn’t made them.”

After concluding a campaign stop at Hugers Restaurant in Charleston, he blamed the press for blowing his comments out of proportion and the Obama campaign for trying to take the election away from South Carolina voters by focusing on him and not the issues.

“Not one person here asked about that, not one. The people of South Carolina don’t care about it, but the Obama people keep feeding it to you, and you suck it up, and you are taking this election away from them,” Mr. Clinton said. “And all you want is another story. Shame on you.”

One voter asked Mr. Clinton about “race baiting” in the campaign and how to encourage young people to look past it.

“You have to let them know that a lot of the edgy stuff is not about race; it’s an honest and open debate … and the race and gender thing is just incidental,” he said. “An election is a contest, and the people who run against each other honestly think they should win. We should be celebrating this and not act like we wouldn’t have disagreements on the issues and differences of opinion on the same set of facts.”

Mr. Clinton for the most part stuck to the issues, mostly talking about the economy, the housing foreclosure crisis and his wife’s early work with the Children’s Defense Fund and as first lady in Arkansas and then in the White House.

He said Mrs. Clinton deserved to win because she is the most qualified with “eight years of White House experience.”

“It was real experience … she worked on our health care policy, and when it didn’t work out, she worked on and fought for the [children’s health care] policy that has led to millions of children having health care,” he said. “And we doubled the adoption rate, and she led that effort for us.”

In Sumter, Mr. Obama did not mention Mr. Clinton, but when talking about his “hope message,” he reminded voters of the former president’s comment that started the squabble. “It’s no fairy tale,” he said.

Dr. Brenda Williams, a physician from Sumter, did not mince words when she introduced Mr. Obama as having “standards without compromise.”

“Some people will allow themselves to be lowered down to a lower standard,” she said.

Mr. Obama seemed at ease on the stump, especially when his standard lines such as “People are working harder for less” were met with “Uh-huh” and some rose to their feet to shout, “That’s what I’m talking about!”

He also talked about local issues, including the state’s dilapidated schools, promising more spending on early childhood education and federal cash for towns to build new schools.

“You can’t drive by a new prison and an old school. Kids aren’t stupid,” he said. “If they see a brand spanking-new jail and an old run-down school that tells them something about our society, that tells them something about our priorities.”

It was hard to find an undecided voter in the crowd.

“He sees what we see. He’s not about fictitious language; he’s straight to the point that’s true,” said Shonda English, a music minister from Sumter.

Patricia Lewis, a retired first-grade teacher from Sumter, lauded the Clintons and said they helped black people by battling poverty and increasing the minimum wage.

“You can’t forget what people have done for you, but that doesn’t mean you can’t change,” she said, punctuating her last word with a grin and a wave of her red Obama “Stand for a change” sign.

“Barack Obama is going after what the people really need,” she said.

Miss English summed it up: “Bill Clinton has lost a lost of his savoir-faire. I like Clinton, but I love Obama.”

Even though Mr. Obama now holds a significant lead in polls here, in part due to his strength with black voters, he reminded people yesterday he needs them to show up Saturday.

“If you’re not going to vote for me, vote for somebody. Your vote really matters this time because this is a close race,” he said. “Don’t stay home, don’t stay home, don’t stay home.”

• Brian DeBose reported from Charleston, S.C.