Mac Sees Obama as Nominee

The New York Times
February 15, 2008
McCain Calls for Obama to Use Public Financing
By JEFF ZELENY and STEVEN GREENHOUSE

OSHKOSH, Wis. — Hammering Senator Barack Obama for a fourth straight day, Senator John McCain said here on Friday that he expects Senator Obama to abide by his pledge use public financing for his general election if Mr. McCain does so as well.

“It was very clear to me that Senator Obama had agreed to having public financing of the general election campaign if I did the same thing,” he said after a town hall meeting here. “I made the commitment to the American people that if I was the nominee of my party, I would go the route of public financing. I expect Senator Obama to keep his word to the American people as well.”

Asked if he would use public financing even if Mr. Obama did not, he said: “If Senator Obama goes back on his commitment to the American people, then obviously we have to rethink our position. Our whole agreement was we would take public financing if he made that commitment as well. And he signed a piece of paper, I’m told, that made that commitment.”

Mr. Obama did not rule out the possibility of accepting public financing, but declared on Friday, “I’m not the nominee yet.”

“If I am the nominee, I will make sure our people talk to John McCain’s people to find out if we are willing to abide by the same rules and regulations with respect to the general election going forward,” Mr. Obama told reporters at a news conference in Milwaukee. “It would be presumptuous of me to start saying now that I am locking into something when I don’t even know if the other side will agree to it.”

Last year, Mr. Obama sought an advisory ruling with the Federal Election Commission to see whether the campaign could opt out of public financing in the primary and accept it in the general election. It was merely an inquiry, he said, not a pledge to accept the financing.

If he wins the Democratic nominating fight with Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, Mr. Obama said, “my folks will sit down and see if we can arrive at a common set of ground rules.”

Candidates who accept public funding are eligible for about $85 million paid for by a $3 checkoff on tax return forms, according to The Associated Press.

Before arriving for a campaign rally in Oshkosh on Friday afternoon, Mr. Obama spoke to reporters in a wide-ranging 30-minute news conference in Milwaukee. He accused Mrs. Clinton of attacking him for suggesting he attempted to weaken legislation to regulate the nuclear industry.

“I understand that Senator Clinton, periodically when she’s feeling down, launches attacks as a way of trying to boost her appeal,” Mr. Obama said. “But I think this kind of gamesmanship is not what the American people are looking for.”

Both parties continued trying to build momentum from declarations of support. On the Republican side, Mr. McCain didn’t use the word “endorsement” or confirm that it was on its way, but he was visibly pleased when he said he would travel to Houston Monday morning to meet with former President George Bush.

When he was asked if this was a sign that the Republican Party is rallying around his candidacy, Mr. McCain said: “I hope so, because former President Bush is one of the more respected — most respected — people in our party. He is certainly, maybe the finest gentleman in our party in the view of one and all. He’s a great man, a great American hero going all the way back to World War II, so I’d be honored to be in his company at any time.” (And, in addition to a broad grin, he allowed himself a wink.)

And showing the enduring nature of his newly minted nickname of “Mac,” which gained popularity with shouts of “Mac is back!” in New Hampshire, a sign at his town hall meeting in this dairy state said “Wisconsin Loves the Mac and Cheese.”

On the Democratic side, the Service Employees International Union gave Mr. Obama its highly prized endorsement on Friday afternoon.

The S.E.I.U.’s endorsement is especially coveted because the union has 1.9 million members and has a rank and file that is far more politically active than most other unions. Moreover, its political action committee is expected to collect more than $30 million this campaign, making it one of the biggest PACs in the nation.

In a telephone news conference announcing the endorsement, Andy Stern, the union’s president, said: “This is about more than one election. It’s about building for the next generation of America. Barack Obama is creating the broadest and deepest coalition of voters we’ve ever seen.”

The union’s executive board cast ballots by e-mail and fax on Thursday night, and union officials were unable to finish the tallying until Friday.

With John Lewis, the Democratic Congressman from Georgia and former civil rights leader, indicating on Thursday that he might switch his support to Mr. Obama from Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, the S.E.I.U.’s endorsement is expected to further build momentum for Mr. Obama. Mr. Stern, like Mr. Lewis, said it would not be a good idea for superdelegates to ultimately choose the nominee in what could be a highly divided Democratic convention in August.

“We think the voters should make the decision, not elected officials and superdelegates,” Mr. Stern said in an interview. “We are very much hoping that by the time we get through the primaries, we will have a nominee without having to count on the superdelegates to make a decision. It would be a bad proposition for America and certainly for the Democratic Party.”

Last October, the service employees’ executive board was too divided between Mr. Obama, Mrs. Clinton and John Edwards to agree on an endorsement. But the board did give the union’s state chapters the go-ahead to make endorsements on their own. Many S.E.I.U. members and state chapters backed Mr. Edwards, and his withdrawal from the race helped pave the way for the endorsement of Mr. Obama.

The service employees’ chapters in Nevada and California endorsed Mr. Obama shortly before contests in those states. Nonetheless, Mrs. Clinton won both those states, with the union’s leaders saying that if they had made that endorsement several weeks, rather than several days, before those contents, that might have given them time to mount a campaign that made a big difference.

The union’s New York chapter was the only S.E.I.U. chapter to endorse Mrs. Clinton, helping her rack up a big victory in the state’s primary on February 5. Union officials said that New York S.E.I.U. leaders abstained in Thursday’s endorsement vote.

On Thursday, another large union, the United Food and Commercial Workers, with 1.1 million members in the United States, also endorsed Mr. Obama. As a result of these two endorsements, as well as that of Unite Here, which represents hotel, restaurant, apparel and laundry workers, Mr. Obama has the backing of three unions that have large Hispanic memberships and especially strong ties to the nation’s immigrant community.

Jeff Zeleny reported from Wisconsin and Steven Greenhouse from New York.




Copyright 2008 The New York Times Company