by John McCormick
ELKO, Nev. — As he campaigned in northern Nevada today, Sen. Barack Obama was clearly trying to make sure there were no misunderstandings, at least from his point of view, before Saturday’s caucuses.
In doing so, he repeated a riff he also delivered last night in Las Vegas, where he recounts a question from a debate earlier this week. An extended excerpt from the bit, which he delivers as if it were something of a comedy routine:
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“I was asked, what are your weaknesses…I said I’m not good at shuffling paper. My desk is a mess. I also need help filing things, and keeping on schedule. And so, then they went to the other candidates. One of them said, my biggest weakness is I am just too passionate about helping poor people. And then, the other person said, well, I’m just too impatient to fix all the problems here in America. And so, I said — what I wanted to say — was I’m sorry, I didn’t understand the question. I thought that you said, what are you biggest weaknesses. And I thought that meant, what are you biggest weaknesses. But now that I understand how Washington works, actually my biggest weakness is that I like to help old ladies across the street. I use that example, only because that is how Washington talks. They don’t say what they mean. They don’t answer the question, and so now, we’re seeing all these criticisms from some other candidates that don’t make sense.”
Obama also responded here to an ad being run by Sen. Hillary Clinton’s campaign that suggests she is the strongest opponent of a proposed nuclear waste storage site at Yucca Mountain, a hot-button issue in Nevada.
The ad suggests Obama is “hip deep in financial ties” to Chicago-based Exelon Corp., a nuclear plant operator that supports the Yucca site.
The Associated Press reported that executives and employees of Exelon have contributed more than $200,000 to Obama’s campaigns since 2004, citing PoliticalMoneyLine.com, which tracks campaign money.
“Sen. Clinton is putting out an advertisement implying that I’m in favor of Yucca Mountain,” Obama responded. “Now, I’ve never been in favor of Yucca Mountain, never voted for Yucca Mountain. I kept on saying, I’m opposed to Yucca Mountain. So, when you say that I’m in favor of Yucca Mountain, and I have repeatedly said, I’m not. What part of I’m not in favor of Yucca Mountain do you not understand? But that’s how politics works.”
Obama’s wife, Michelle, meanwhile, seemed to be making a veiled reference to Sen. Hillary Clinton, when she argued that she and her husband have had to struggle all their lives to get where they are today, while others have claimed to be “more prepared” or have more of a “right to power.”