If Elected, Obama Would Want McCain to Play Role of ‘Loyal Opposition’
EmailABC News’ Sunlen Miller reports: Sen. Barack Obama received an intriguing question during his town hall in Titusville, Fla.: What role would he have Sen. John McCain — and Sen. Joe Lieberman — play in his administration if he is elected?
The presumptive Democratic nominee first joked that he was being set up to get in trouble, but then answered, “Sen. McCain, I would have him serve in the role of loyal opposition, in the minority.”
Obama said that there is an important function to the role in his mind: “It’s important to have an opposition that is keeping you on your toes and giving you a hard time and calling you out if you’re not doing what you say you’re going to do.”
The Illinois Senator did not comment on the role Lieberman would play in an Obama administration.
With 93 days left until the election, Obama fought back criticisms earlier in the day that he was being too presumptuous about his presidential prospects.
“If I was presumptuous or taking this for granted, I wouldn’t be working this hard this week. I’m beat,” he said, laughing, “So obviously we think that we’re in a tight race. And we think that this is going to be a close race all the way through.”
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I hope that this happens.
I don’t want McCain to win and give us a third term for Bush.
Posted by: Sandy | August 2, 2008, 12:58 pm 12:58 pm
What does Obama stand for?
Posted by: Susan | August 2, 2008, 12:59 pm 12:59 pm
Susan,
No one knows what Obama stands for. He has been in politics for such a short time and shifted on almost everything.
This Democrat will not vote for Obama
Posted by: Jeff | August 2, 2008, 1:00 pm 1:00 pm
Liebermann will hold his usual role as the “Senator for Israel” no matter who wins.
Posted by: JR | August 2, 2008, 1:01 pm 1:01 pm
I find it frightening that someone with so little experience could even be close to becoming president. How did America let this happen?
Posted by: Susan | August 2, 2008, 1:02 pm 1:02 pm
Jeff , we all know what McCain stands for, “the continuation of all Bush policy”.
Posted by: JR | August 2, 2008, 1:02 pm 1:02 pm
Chenney & Rumsfeld have more experience then McCain, do we want any one of them as our President? A great President is one who has good intentions,can inspire Americans and the world to find new directions for the sake of our children and our grand children.
Posted by: Ira Vatandoost | August 2, 2008, 1:27 pm 1:27 pm
SUSAN PAY ATTENTION MORE LAY OFF FOX NEWS!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: angie | August 2, 2008, 1:47 pm 1:47 pm
how about mccain can go to the iraq and afghanistan border and see how things are going!!!
Posted by: angie | August 2, 2008, 1:48 pm 1:48 pm
“Loyal Opposition???”
This ain’t a parlimentary system of Government, BUDDY! Or are you going to change that too??
The arrogance of the ONE is megalomaniacical.
Posted by: doug | August 2, 2008, 2:03 pm 2:03 pm
There are some sad and misinformed people here. The personal attacks on either candidate will not help the US economy, bring the troops home any earlier, or restore our integrity to the world. No wonder this country is in such sad shape…judging from all the shallow crap I read on here. If you dispise Obama, then vote for a third Bush term. Otherwise. take your chances with the new candidate….I promise you he can not be any worse than our current President. Don’t let your party loyalty blind you to reality and destroy a future for the next generation.
Posted by: dmac1 | August 2, 2008, 2:20 pm 2:20 pm
Ira also know that when Jommy Carter was in office trying to get us off oil we were 30 % dependent …now we are 60% dependent and Bush did nothing but make things worse.
Posted by: dl | August 2, 2008, 2:42 pm 2:42 pm
Mccain (after he gets out of the clutches of the oil lobby) and Gore should also be the team to negotiate an environmental truce with US china and india.
to ge tthem to tone down the global warming crap.
Posted by: dl | August 2, 2008, 2:44 pm 2:44 pm
This kind of talk leads us to believe that the Obama thinks that the Obama is inevitable. I think the Obama is referring to the loyal opposition to the house of royalty.
=======================================
Bow Your Heads! It is time to pay the Obama.
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Posted by: WestCoastMessenger | August 2, 2008, 4:13 pm 4:13 pm
!!!
How generous of him to bestow such a lesser, but important honor…sheesh.
Posted by: wade | August 2, 2008, 4:23 pm 4:23 pm
What does McCain stands for?
He is just an old bag.
Posted by: Omentum | August 2, 2008, 6:06 pm 6:06 pm
McCain is an opportunist.
Posted by: Omentum | August 2, 2008, 6:07 pm 6:07 pm
The Republicans are terrified of Obama. He will have the power of the people and he is not on the Republican’s side. He is for the people. He will not owe any big companies anything because he is not accepting money from them. The Republicans will not have any control over him and it’s driving them crazy. They will have no way of intimidating him.
Posted by: Tina | August 2, 2008, 7:33 pm 7:33 pm
It was a time when I liked and respected Senator McCain a lot and voted for him in primaries. It has been painful to see his principles and what I thought core beliefs sacrificed to the altar of political opportunism. It is a Faustian tragedy that left me betrayed…certainly he has lost the votes in my family.
Posted by: N Kanavis | August 2, 2008, 9:35 pm 9:35 pm
Interesting that no-one called McCain presumptuous when he called himself president some time ago. Anointed himself and actually spoke of what we would see in his administration. Presumptuous?
Guess that is different to a black man being presumptuous (replace with “uppity” here) and then of course you have the other word that goes with that n****r. He is supposed to know his place. Shine shoes, whatever but NEVER have the gall to think that he can be POTUS!
The racism here is unmistakable.
Posted by: Vivienne | August 2, 2008, 10:05 pm 10:05 pm
Why is it that the people who will suffer most from electing McCain are the ones who so fervently support him? McCain will mean four more years of tax breaks for the wealthy. Obama will give tax breaks to the working class.
McCain and the republican party should be ashamed of themselves for feeding on the fears, and apparently stupidity, of hardworking people.
Posted by: AnthonyAfterwit | August 2, 2008, 10:39 pm 10:39 pm
Lieberman will lost his committee status
Posted by: phyllis | August 2, 2008, 10:51 pm 10:51 pm
Presumably, you are familiar with today’s (August 2, 2008) headlines saying that Iran has flatly turned down the Western Powers’s demand that Iran stop its nuclear program. The Western Powers are apparently unanimous in their belief that the Iranians plan to build atomic bombs. The West is on record as saying they will not allow this to occur.
Therefore, we may have to go to war with Iran to stop them from building nuclear bombs. If this is so, who in their right mind would want Mr. Emptysuit, Barak Obama, as our Commander-In-Chief? Even the left wing media must see that we would be out of our ever-lovin’ minds to install the guy in short pants in the Oval Office.
Posted by: GroversCorners | August 2, 2008, 11:22 pm 11:22 pm
“Sen. McCain, I would have him serve in the role of loyal opposition, in the minority.”
Then Obama woke up.
Posted by: waggdogg | August 2, 2008, 11:22 pm 11:22 pm
CHANGE IS THE ONLY THING THAT’S CONSTANT IN THIS LIFE. BRAZE UP! CHANGE IS COMMING TO THE WORLD AND OBAMA IS THE VEHICLE.
Posted by: ABEL ULOKO | August 3, 2008, 7:11 am 7:11 am
Yes the election will be tight that he’ll use the money he raised thru the Internet to register millions of African-Americans in the so-called red states, lease thousands of buses so he can take them to polling places (plus cash allowances they’d call reimbursements). This was his strategy in the Caucus states, and he thinks it will work during the election. Sorry Media he will not spend most of them for TV ads so your making him a darling will backfire.
Posted by: zoilodel | August 3, 2008, 8:21 am 8:21 am
Omentum
king Obama is for what people are you kidding me he is a joke.
Posted by: agadac | August 3, 2008, 8:51 am 8:51 am
i do not believe in obama’s good stories about change. i do not believe he can accomplish anything he says he is going too. what we need is someone who can accomplish some realistic goals, rather than talking to the american people like we are children and telling us things that we cannot attain. i mean honestly, i could go around talking about change for a year and a half and still not do anything about anything.
Posted by: lee | August 3, 2008, 6:31 pm 6:31 pm
To Jeff the “so called Democrat” above:
Got news for you. You’re not a Democrat.
Posted by: Leslie | August 3, 2008, 8:17 pm 8:17 pm
had a 950 on the S.A.T. college boards test, but being 1/2 black was allowed to enter the univ. oh n. Carolina..despite not meeting the standards.(free)
became a senator by making himself “unopposed” he used the “rules”,to assure that. He was financed by ayers (whom he became friendly with)
as a senator,his record shows he cast “more ..abstentions.. than any, and made 6 mistakes when he did vote.
was friends and had business dealings with a radical muslim–tony rezco-slumlord-, not providing heat and water to tenants.
spent 20 + years, had 2 children baptized, got married in Trinity church.
this church’s founder was james cone..the founder of a racist religion, called ..black theology..(racism of black theology to learn of it)
his spiritual mentor was rev.his model..was rev. wright
then he told that rev. wright was not a spiritual advisor.
took him 20 years to break away from trinity church..but never denounced its preachings.
was a community organizer with his friend of 20 years, rev. phlegar.
wished to not pledge the flag..
then he did wish to pledge the flag..
wished not to wear flag pin..
then wished to wear flag pin.
only legislative accomplishment is “the global poverty act”..this tax would cost the average american $2,000 a year..to “help” countries like..say libya..oh..iran..other ..:poor: nations.
became democratic. nominee by slandering his opposition ..who if tried to oppose him,, he cries ..RACISM>>
now ..with continued media help..staged to be president.
oh!..forgot..he stands for ..change…that is very important.
see?..we know lots about him..
see?
oh..he is married to a wife who thinks america is a mean place..
hmm?
mean??
then..move!..
right?
anyKa
Posted by: anyka | August 3, 2008, 9:01 pm 9:01 pm
McCain is betting the farm
on the notion that there
are enough people who wouldn’t
vote a black man POTUS.
They would rather elect a
whitey moron.
Posted by: anon | August 3, 2008, 9:34 pm 9:34 pm
Every time I’ve heard Obama speak of McCain, he’s had something positive to say. Every time I’ve heard McCain speak of Obama, he’s had something negative to say.
As for those who decry McCain’s or Obama’s “flip-flopping” consider how well we’ve done with Bush, who never changes his mind, but “stays the course,” even when he’s proven wrong. I’d rather have someone as POTUS who is open to new ideas and who is willing to change his mind, his stance, and his position when he encounters new information or circumstances. A person who refuses to change his/her mind when it’s appropriate definitely is consistent – and consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.
Posted by: Kaelindaria | August 4, 2008, 12:35 am 12:35 am
I would like to know how Obama is truly “for the people” of AMERICA. His plans and policies designed to “help” only help those who have made poor financial designs and will hinder the rest of us. Raising our taxes under his direction is inevitable; he can preach about taxing the “rich” all day, but there will not be enough coming in to fund his programs and handouts if the taxes aren’t raised largely across the board. I agree that people need help in some circumstances; I do NOT agree that the government should be shelling out billions of dollars to help people who bought beyond their means and ended up defaulting on mortgages when the economy started to sag. If you’re paying your bills every month, saving nothing, and barely breaking even then you are spending beyond your means. I do not want to be responsbile for bailing those people out. Nor do I want to be responsible for shelling out thousands of dollars a year to pay into broken welfare and social security systems. If Obama wants to help America then he needs to find a way to promote personal responsibility in order to create individual success and stop encouraging people to rely on others to bail them out every time they fail.
Posted by: Heather | August 4, 2008, 9:01 am 9:01 am
On the subject of “flip-flopping”, I am reminded that one definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over – each time expecting a different result. And I think I would rather have a flip-flop than a shoe cast in concrete.
Posted by: Jordan | August 4, 2008, 10:44 am 10:44 am