Obama Rama

Obama says

Democrats must

hold White House

accountable

BY JEFF ZELENY

Link Here


CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - (KRT) - Sen. Barack Obama urged fellow Democrats on Saturday not to automatically view President Bush's proposed reconstruction of the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast with a cynical eye, but said: "It is absolutely imperative that we call him on his bluff."

"In the immediate aftermath of the hurricane, I think it's important that we don't just assume that George Bush is lying when he says he's finally been awakened to the fact that there is poverty and racism in our midst," said Obama, D-Ill. "It's tempting to do so, especially when he decides to put Karl Rove in charge of reconstruction."

Rove, the top political adviser to the president, will play a role through his position as deputy White House chief of staff, but he has not been tapped to supervise the rebuilding.

In an address at Harvard Law School's "Celebration of Black Alumni," Obama said Democrats shared responsibility for failing to make a larger issue of poverty in the United States. But he said it was the opposition party's duty to hold the White House accountable for fixing problems exposed by Hurricane Katrina.

"We should trust although we should verify," said Obama. "We should actively reach out to him and say, `Mr. President, we believe, in fact, that those differences were as disturbing to you as they were disturbing to us.'"

A majority of the hurricane victims in the squalid shelters of New Orleans were black, a fact that touched off a debate about whether racism had a role in the sluggish rescue efforts. Obama, the only African-American in the U.S. Senate, said he does not believe the administration was racist.

As a huge federal reconstruction project begins, and political debate about it intensifies, Obama urged Democrats to look forward rather than criticizing the government's leadership and response to the hurricane.

"There is a certain danger of smugness and self-satisfaction on the part of those who didn't vote for George W. Bush. There is a certain sense of `I told you so,'" Obama said.

"I share the anger and I share the outrage," he added. "But what I also want to do is accept some responsibility. The truth is that we haven't been entirely on the case either. We've been a little complacent."


--Ok Obama... welcome to the party, Senator. It is about damn time. Geez, we've only been waiting what.... Ummm since last NOVEMBER.--