Obama Criticizes McCain on Flood Funding
EmailSen. Barack Obama pounced on Sen. John McCain’s vote against funding for levees and flood control programs as river waters continue to rise in the Midwest today.
"Now both Sen. McCain and I have traveled recently to the areas that have been devastated by floods," Obama said. "And I know that Sen. McCain felt as strongly as I did, feeling enormous sympathy for the victims of the recent flooding. And I’m sure they appreciated the sentiment, but they probably would have appreciated it even more if Sen. McCain hadn’t opposed legislation to fund levees and flood control programs, which he considers pork."
The Water Resources Development Act, which McCain voted against last fall, was vetoed by President Bush for being "fiscally irresponsible" but the bill survived because Congress voted to override the president’s veto — the first presidential override in Bush’s presidency.
Republicans were quick to point out that by grilling McCain on his vote, Obama in turn attacked his own national campaign co-chair Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., who also voted against the act.
Obama said there are "profound differences" between himself and Sen. McCain on the gas tax holiday as well.
"Sen. McCain has proposed a gas tax holiday that would take $3 billion a month out of the Highway Trust Fund and hand it over effectively to our oil companies," Obama said, and he pointed out that the nation’s infrastructure received a "D" from the American Society of Civil Engineers. "At a time when the Highway Trust Fund is beginning to run a deficit for the first time in history, I think that’s the last thing we can afford to do. That is the last thing we can afford to do," he said.
While telling mayors from around the country that he would be "a partner in the White House," Obama touted policies that he said would help on the state level.
"I’ll also launch a National Infrastructure Reinvestment Bank that will invest $60 billion over 10 years, and create nearly 2 million new jobs," Obama said to the U.S. Conference of Mayors. "Instead of building bridges to nowhere, let’s build communities that meet the needs and reflect the dreams of our families."
Obama also promised funding for teachers, police, housing and broadband Internet.
Santorum: Money Will Not Defeat Obama, Ideas Will 
Rick Santorum's Full Speech at CPAC 2012
McCain lies a lot. He making the claim that offshore drilling will provide short term energy relief, but govt estimates are that if approved today, it wouldn’t have much impact before the 2030s. He also misrepresents Obama as being anti nuclear, while the truth is Obama is for using nuclear as part of a package of alternatives. A McCain ad is suggesting that he is pro alternative energy, but it’s a lie. He only favors centralized alternatives like nukes, he opposes alternatives that encourage individual citizens to be energy independent, like wind, solar, geothermal and hydrogen exchange batteries.
Posted by: Javalation | June 21, 2008, 4:47 pm 4:47 pm
Look the Republican party is not pleased with McCain and John McCain is telling lies
I mean how else can he win the White House
Posted by: betty | June 21, 2008, 4:53 pm 4:53 pm
Arizona….
What ever makes you happy.
Now the big problem is trying to determine which is which.
Posted by: Omentum | June 21, 2008, 5:28 pm 5:28 pm
Samantha
McCains proposal was just a drop in the bucket. Obama is looking to give this project the resources that needed.
Enough of pandering. We need true solutions
Posted by: Omentum | June 21, 2008, 5:33 pm 5:33 pm
You McCain supporters have to know that Obama going to win
Why else would they bother to blog
Posted by: betty | June 21, 2008, 5:41 pm 5:41 pm
Old Mccain tried to sneak around on his wife Cindy with a lobbyist.
Trust me that one is coming back to bite McCain
I can’t wait for you Republicans to see that
Posted by: betty | June 21, 2008, 5:44 pm 5:44 pm
Not all african american will vote for OBAMA WHICH IS THE RIGHT WAY..
VOTE ON WHAT YOU BELIEVE YOUR CANDIDATE STANDS FOR
NOT COLOR
I’M VOTING FOR OBAMA BECAUSE I BELIEVE A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE THE RIGHT TO CHOOSE..
Posted by: betty | June 21, 2008, 6:07 pm 6:07 pm
And yet Samantha seems really proud of who to be a black woman who didn’t vote for Obama
And I say so what..Your vote is a drop in the Bucket
Obama is still going to be President and you will just be one of the 10% who didn’t vote for him
BIG DEAL..
OBAMA FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN PRESIDENT O8
Posted by: betty | June 21, 2008, 6:40 pm 6:40 pm
A person like Samanthra who thinks that not voting for the First African American candidate makes her feel good to have to be that person say.
OH I’M BLACK I DIDN’T VOTE FOR HIM..
TO MOST African American THIS is a proud moment in history..For mother and grandmother who have never in their time seen anything like this is such a joy for them..
For many Africans American who didn’t believe this could happen this is a joyful moment for them..
And for Samantha and the other 10% of African American because OF Martin Lurther King. Lincoln AND JFK..
African American such as yourself are free to vote now,,free to say I don’t want to vote for an African American..
Well there were people who didn’t want to vote JFK..and like JFK Obama has risen above the rest..so I say to you..blogger..
SOOO WHAT.
Posted by: betty | June 21, 2008, 6:45 pm 6:45 pm
This is free country and I will what I want..
Rather you like or not..
If you support Obama as you say you do because we all know people on this blogs
TELL LIES..
Than asking me to shut up isn’t something a REAL OBAMA SUPPORTER WOULD DO..
Posted by: betty | June 21, 2008, 6:53 pm 6:53 pm
The only problem Obama will have getting elected in november is Michelle.With Michelle with him he will never be elected president of the USA.
Posted by: Walter | June 21, 2008, 6:55 pm 6:55 pm
OBAMA promises funding for teachers, police, housing,for everything under the sun, for everything that you want him to say he will promise funding and more funding….and it will all come with HIGHER TAXES! Samantha has it exactly right, this candidate is a joke and I think the American people are just waking up to see this…his funds last month dropped–hopefully a trend.
Posted by: Ann | June 21, 2008, 8:11 pm 8:11 pm
Does anybody count how many articles are being post for Obama as oppose to McCain?.. the ratio is 8 to 1… Obviously He gets nods with ABC also on MSNBC, CNN and CBS… Only Fox news gives equal time to both…Please count the discrepancies daily..
Posted by: graymatter | June 21, 2008, 8:29 pm 8:29 pm
i’m wondering when the states are going to stop relying on the federal government. And take the responsibility of not taking care of their towns.
Posted by: doiy | June 21, 2008, 8:35 pm 8:35 pm
so i am curious how did obama vote on the issue? and how did her vote? real question no sarcasm please.
just wondering, anybody know?
Posted by: sonia trevino | June 21, 2008, 9:30 pm 9:30 pm
If anyone out there thinks that McCan’t is running for President because he wants to help average people….. or that he wants to help ANYONE other than the corporations, lobbyist and the rich…… they need to rethink this whole election thing…
OUR COUNTRY BEFORE PARTY!
We cannot allow our country to suffer 4 more years of Bush thru McCan’t.
Obama 08
Posted by: Amy | June 21, 2008, 11:11 pm 11:11 pm
Amy, you seem to have pegged Old Man McCain. Somewhere.
When he sounds like George Bush one day and Al Gore the next, how do we know where to categorize him?
Just like Obama, McCain says whatever the people want to hear in whatever crowd he’s speaking to.
Our wonderful two-party system… we have two “unelectable” candidates, except ONE of those two yo-yo’s will be our next President!
Posted by: Rhys | June 22, 2008, 12:18 am 12:18 am
GOP are thieves:
It won’t Happen In Your Lifetime!
No You Can’t!
Posted by: reaganfan | June 22, 2008, 1:45 am 1:45 am
Obama is just sounding like a hack politician.
What will he quibble about today?
Posted by: Regina | June 22, 2008, 7:12 am 7:12 am
Will not even consider voting for Obama: No experience, No ideas of his own, owes everything to George Soros, the “Daily Kos” and the “Huffington Post” Would like to seem him on TV answering questions without a teleprompter. Would like to know if he could even make a speech without the help of a teleprompter. Of course, as I’ve seen written elsewhere, we have little choice for president this election year. That has been caused by the high cost of running for president. The laws should be changed so that those running for election must use only the money contributed by the collection from those marking the spot on their tax returns, but raising the figure to $100.00 per party. Divide the money between the three, yes three parties and let the games beging. Keep the rich away from Washington, change the laws that those in congress can only serve two terms and then get out. If the President can only serve two terms we know Congress is no better.
Congress is rated by the public about 22%, somewhat less that the current President. Also, let’s drill anywhere we can for oil so we will have enough for the next twenty years or so while new sources of energy can be developed. Build Nuclear Power Plants in every state. Damn those that are trying to bring down the USA from within preventing new drilling, new nuclear plants, etc.
Posted by: Bert Lasagna | June 22, 2008, 10:19 am 10:19 am
Obama A double talking Fool.
Obama can not run on his own merit. Because he has none
He can only blame others in hope to make himself look better.
He has rarely shown up for his job to vote on anything. Plus he does not want to vote on anything. He would be held accountable and does not want to get blamed for anything. Then he would not be able to change his mind.
Posted by: seah | June 22, 2008, 10:30 am 10:30 am
Obama EXERCISING AN OPTION cannot break a system, when the system allows a candidate to opt out!
Aim of public financing is to get INDIVIDUAL sums of big monies out of the campaign.
Obama forgoing lobbyist and PAC , and sticking with grassroots financing, accomplishes the objective.
.
Obama did not make a deal with anyone but himself. Signing a piece of paper that McCain’t DID NOT sign is binding on no one!
McCain GAMED the public financing system, and use it as collateral to gain bank loan when his campaign was in trouble.
That IS a violation of the campaign financing law, which is now being investigated.
Obama EXERCISING OPTION is not illegal.
It is pragmatic. Good leaders ARE pragmatic!
Posted by: Patriot | June 22, 2008, 12:53 pm 12:53 pm
Senator Obama’s campaign has stated time and again that he does not take money from lobbyist, special interest or foreign entities. It seems over half of his contributions are NOT from individuals contributing less then $200 but large corp. such as oil companies and finance/banks. He does not tell the truth, the whole truth and never has.
Obama backing out of public financing is just another flip-flop. I will not vote for the liar/socialist.
Posted by: Mary | June 22, 2008, 1:07 pm 1:07 pm
Obama always criticizes but never has a detailed and constructive answer to that which he criticizes. But he’s a good BS’er — some people just keep ignoring his emptiness.
Posted by: A | June 22, 2008, 1:19 pm 1:19 pm
I hate to break any bubbles. but if you look at the aol.com straw poll the latest is McCain 61% Obama 39% with over 92,000 votes cast. McCain is winning every state.
Posted by: mich mike | June 22, 2008, 2:40 pm 2:40 pm
The whole campaign season has just really lost energy and spark without Hillary. Blah, blah, blah — two guys going at each other. So what? Like we never saw that before. The whole dizzying, fun process has become “Who cares?”
Posted by: LonghornMama | June 22, 2008, 3:03 pm 3:03 pm
ok, whether you agree or disagree wit hthis issue, anyone else think its a little funny how MUCH obama promises?! i mean, do his supporters actually believe he will be able to fulfil his promises when he gets in the white house? just look at the end of this article. that sums it all up.PROMISES, PROMISES, PROMISES.
Posted by: tim | June 22, 2008, 4:09 pm 4:09 pm
by the way, if mccain wins the election, with practically no TRUE supporters, compared to obama having a TON of mindless TRUE supporters, what will that say about our system? i mean, i dont have the answer really, but im just saying, i know the republicans are a joke right now. they have been for awhile, but to me, if mccain wins, its only because the average american still leans toward conservatism. god i hope he wins. im not a fan of him at all, but i hope americans have not lost their common sense.
Posted by: tim | June 22, 2008, 4:14 pm 4:14 pm
Davis: Bob Barr will have no effect
on the election!
No way Obama wins the election, Period!
Landslide? What are you smoking?
If anybody gets crushed in this election
it will be your Empty Suit Candidate!
He has no solutions to any of our problems! At least no intelligent
solutions! Obama has decided that we
have to tough it out and pay $4, $5 or
$6 dollar a gallon gas while making
vague references to renewable energy!
McCain has proposed a plan that includes
off-shore drilling now and conservation and wind, solar, nuclear power etc!
Your Empty Suit would bomb our ally,
Pakistan and talk to the leaders of Iran, Syria, Cuba, and Venezuela without
preconditions! Duh!
Your Empty Suit agrees with the
recent Supreme Court decision to give
rights to terrorists who cut off people’s heads without batting an eye!
What a No Nothing Fool!
He’ll be lucky if he does as well as Kerry did, but I doubt it!
Posted by: reaganfan | June 22, 2008, 4:28 pm 4:28 pm
“The economics of what Sen. Obama is proposing should be at least as troubling. A high-income entrepreneur would see his or her federal marginal tax rate rise to 53% from 37.7% under Sen. Obama’s tax plan. He proposes a 4.6 percentage point hike in the personal income tax rate, a loss of some itemized deductions, and a 12.4 percentage point hike in the Social Security payroll tax. This would take a successful entrepreneur’s effective marginal tax rate higher than what it was under Jimmy Carter or Richard Nixon, when the maximum tax on an entrepreneur was 50%.” –Economist Lawrence Lindsay.
Posted by: Dennis | June 22, 2008, 5:55 pm 5:55 pm
Sounds like Obama wasn’t so helpful after all. I’ve removed the names of the person they were responding too. This is from a local newspaper post.
“I read with interest the June 18 letter from of Danville, who expounded on Barack Obama’s trip to Quincy to “volunteer” as a sandbagger. Well, , being a 28-year member of the Illinois National Guard during the flood of 1993, I and lots of other folks spent all summer on the Illinois and Mississippi rivers.
What I saw was a politician, with the TV cameras rolling, partially filling one sandbag with three partial shovelfuls of sand and immediately beginning to shake hands with onlookers.
You are right; not all country folk are stupid.”
Posted by: win | June 22, 2008, 6:05 pm 6:05 pm
obama is gonna win by a land slide the people are sick of the last 8 years and they are ready to take their chances with obama than vote for a third term bush people are ready and want CHANGE and with mccain there will be none of that only the same so its simple obama will win mccain will lose!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: angie | June 22, 2008, 6:14 pm 6:14 pm
Obama is not going to win — his 6 point lead is within 2-sided margin of error. Continue the wishful thinking.
Posted by: amy | June 22, 2008, 6:35 pm 6:35 pm
Just wait till the election ads come out and show Obama’s relationship with a former terrorist named William Aires. Also this comment he made in his book.
Quote from the book, Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama: “I will stand with the Muslims should the political winds shift in an ugly direction.”
Posted by: C Taylor | June 22, 2008, 8:31 pm 8:31 pm
McCain is on the correct side of this issue, because we must have some priorities in spending on infrastructure. McCain has been on the side of trying to reduce wasteful and unneccessary spending on less important issues. Haven’t the Democrats been pleading for the last several campaigns that we need massive rebuilding? Obama pretends he knows what is going on. His national campaign co-chair should explain to him why she voted with McCain against the bill.
While promising everything to everyone, Obama has no idea what is going on. He is just saying what his handlers tell him to say. They must have forgotten to check with the co-chair. As far as the gas problem, it is now when people are needing gas to get to work, to drive trucks. Obama promises no help to rescue them now. We remember New Orleans very well. Too little too late.
Posted by: georgia | June 22, 2008, 9:18 pm 9:18 pm
Obama is confused and really has nothing offer flood victims.
To attack McCain is kind of humorous.
Posted by: Kottaras | June 22, 2008, 11:36 pm 11:36 pm
We do not have a great pick on either side of the parties but to make a choice because he is black or if she is a woman with no experiences in the right area, you will be wishing for Bush again in four years when you can not find it safe to get on a plane or train.
Posted by: Phillip | June 23, 2008, 8:49 pm 8:49 pm
I vote NoBama !!!!
I vote McCain – Palin !!!!
Posted by: Abe Bird | October 7, 2008, 2:14 am 2:14 am