Obama Campaign holds conference call about FEC complaint against Clinton group

The Obama Campaign held a conference call today to talk about their FEC complaint against a pro-Clinton group called the ALP, or American Leadership Project. The campaign claims that they are a “so-called” 527 political group that is run by Jason Kinney, who happens to be the son of a Hillary Clinton Indiana state co-chair.

Yesterday, the ALP began running an attack ad that is apparently misleading against Obama. Barack Obama’s Campaign Chief Counsel Bob Bauer and state Representative Matt Pierce were on the call to discuss the complaint.

Bauer stated “now the law needs to be enforced to send the ultimate message” while Pierce commented, “clearly this didn’t make sense to me” going on to say “who are these people, I really don’t know.”

Working families stand to struggle under McCain’s health care plans

Sen. John McCain made remarks on health care reform earlier today in Florida, and a news conference was held this afternoon to analyze and critique the plan with participants Roger Hickey, co-director of Campaign for America’s Future, Jacob Hacker, author and professor at Yale University, and Karen Ackerman, political director for AFL-CIO.

Hickey said the ideas McCain put forward today would disrupt the health care system, dismantle the employer provided system, and force millions of people who currently get decent health care to have to try to find health care on their own. He said McCain’s plan to tax health care premiums will stop companies from providing health care employee benefits, so that instead individuals must buy insurance on their own. He also said McCain’s reform will abolish regulations that currently exist in some states to hold insurance companies to a standard, so people can instead buy insurance from any program regardless of what state they live in. He said this plan will benefit the insurance industry, but will not address the cost spiral that is afflicting health care in America, nor will it decrease the number of uninsured Americans.

Hacker said he feels Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama have proposed good health care plans, but that McCain’s proposal is inadequate to address the interwoven problems of rising health care costs and declining coverage. He said the real problem for most Americans is the risk of losing coverage, or not being able to get coverage if they are unhealthy, and that McCain’s reform does nothing to address these problems. He also said the plan threatens to shift costs from companies and payrolls to American families and individuals, and that the tax credit number is going to be very small.

Ackerman also emphasized that McCain’s health care “scheme” will push people out of employer provided insurance to deal with insurance alone, will make it harder for people with pre-existing health conditions to find insurance. She said the grassroots efforts of AFL-CIO will try to make sure voters across the country know that insurance companies and lobbyists for the insurance companies stand to benefit from McCain’s plan, while hurting working families already struggling to stay afloat.

Obama: Wright's comments contradict everything I've done in my life

Presidential candidate Barack Obama responded to the "objectionable and offensive" comments made by his pastor the Rev. Jeremiah Wright earlier this week at the National Press Club. Obama said he was "appalled" by the Reverend's statements and that he "had enough" of the minister who acted "disrespectfully" toward him by not only making incendiary, hateful comments, but by claiming that the Senator's opposition to them was just "political posturing," as well.

Obama fully rejected everything the Reverend said, and claimed Wright had become someone the Senator claimed he had not seen during his time at Wright's church. Obama said the relationship between himself and the Reverend was now "severely strained," and that he was "saddened and disappointed" by the pastor who married him and his wife and baptized his children. Obama delivered an emotional speech, doing everything in his power to condemn and distance himself from the "ridiculous" Reverend.

Obama said Wright's comments were an "insult" to his campaign. Also, Obama said that the people of Wright's church were "good people," and that the impact of the Reverend's comments will ultimately be decided by the results of the fast approaching Indiana and North Carolina primaries.

Obama's outright denouncement of the pastor was passionate, and occasionally anger filled. The Senator was noticeably hurt by Wright's comments, as he did everything in his power to explain that he now fully opposes the Reverend, a much more emphatic cry of disapproval than Obama gave in Philadelphia following Wright's initial incendiary remarks.

McCain health care reform puts decisions in the hands of families, not the government

Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign held a press conference call to discuss his remarks on health care reform delivered earlier today in Tampa, Florida. Doug Holz-Eakin, senior policy adviser, and Carly Fiorina, RNC Victory 2008 chair, described the health care plan and its goals and proposed outcomes.

Holz-Eakin said McCain wanted to create a plan with better health care at a lower cost, where insurance can move with someone from job to job, and that addressed the fears of people with pre-existing conditions. He said McCain looked, and will continue looking, at experiments by states to find successful health care programs, and he plans to work with Congress to provide funding.

Fiorina said the plan is designed to put patients in control of their health care, rather than doctors, hospitals or the government. She said it allows patients to choose and purchase health insurance from anywhere in the country, and that the competition and choice will drive down costs. She emphasized the transparency of McCain’s plan, and its focus on making sure costs cover treatment and not simply tests and procedures. She said the plan also focuses on prevention and wellness, since many diseases that contribute to the costs of health care are preventable and treatable conditions. She also said McCain believes in drug competition, and that everyone must be covered.

Fiorina said the fundamental difference between McCain’s health care plan and the plans proposed by Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama is that McCain’s plan puts the choice, power, and decision of insurance in the hands of families, while Clinton and Obama propose putting the federal government in charge of health care. She also said McCain’s plan depends on the powers of the free market, which will drive the costs down.

Clinton Campaign Says “Tide is Turning”

The Clinton Campaign held a conference call today with a star-studded lineup. Senator Evan Bayh (IN), Governor Jon Corzine (NJ), Governor Jennifer Granholm (MI), Governor David Paterson (NY), Governor Ed Rendell (PA), and Governor Ted Strickland (OH) were all part of the conference call to hail the work done in Pennsylvania and offer their continued support for Senator Clinton. Gov. Rendell said that he feels Clinton has demonstrated her power in the big, crucial states indicating that in the main election, she can win. Senator Bayh also commented that Clinton was the best person to address the economic issues at hand.