Clinton camp: Obama like Ken Starr
WASHINGTON (AP) - March 6, 2008 Clinton spokesman Howard Wolfson said Obama's statement that he
plans to be more critical of Clinton's record is reminiscent of the
attacks the Clintons endured during the investigations in the
1990s.
"Our point here is to point out that after a campaign in which
many of the questions that voters had in the closing days centered
on concerns that they had over his state of preparedness to be
commander in chief and steward of the economy, he has chosen
instead of addressing those issues to attack Senator Clinton,"
Wolfson told reporters in a conference call. "They've announced
that this is what they are going to do.
"I for one do not believe that imitating Ken Starr is the way
to win a Democratic primary election for president. But perhaps
that theory will be tested," he said.
By raising Starr's name, Wolfson revived memories of the
investigation that led to former President Clinton's impeachment.
But many Democrats feel the Starr investigation was politically
motivated, and injecting Starr into the debate is one more way for
Clinton to depict herself as a victim of enemies out to get her.
She's already complained recently about the media being against
her.
After losing three out of four contests Tuesday night, Obama
told reporters Wednesday that he plans to increase his criticism of
Clinton's record in coming days.
His campaign also has been attacking her for refusing to release
her tax returns. The Clinton campaign said all the Clintons'
returns since they left the White House will be made public around
April 15.
Obama spokesman Bill Burton said the comparison to Starr is
"absurd" when Clinton has been calling for more scrutiny of
Obama's record.
"We don't believe that expecting candidates for the presidency
to disclose their tax returns somehow constitutes Ken Starr
tactics, but the kind of transparency and accountability that
Americans are looking for and that's been missing in Washington for
far too long," Burton said in a statement. "And if Senator
Clinton doesn't think that the Republicans will ask these very same
questions, then she's not as ready to go toe-to-toe with John
McCain as she claims."
Wolfson offered two examples that he argued were similar to the
tactics that Starr used in his investigation.
He cited a memo from the Obama campaign that called on Clinton
to release "her tax returns, the accompanying schedules, and
attachments." The memo cited a Wall Street Journal editorial that
said Bill Clinton released their tax returns from 1980 forward when
he ran in 1992. "But they steadfastly refused to release their
returns for prior years, and only later did we learn that 1978 and
1979 were the tax years when Mrs. Clinton reported her 10,000
percent cattle-futures trading profit," said the editorial excerpt
included in the memo.
He also cited two quotes this week from Obama senior adviser
David Axelrod. In one, Axelrod complained to Time magazine, "We
still don't have the records from the Clinton library." And on
ABC's "This Week" Sunday, he referenced the Whitewater land deal.
"I would think that the Clinton campaign would be the last person
to be wanting to characterize any real estate transaction as
unusual," Axelrod said.
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