Clinton says she knows the needs of working people
FT. WAYNE, Ind. — Towering above the crowd of Hillary Clinton supporters at Indiana Tech, power forward Darko Bilandzic and guard Bradley Webster fed Clinton’s hoop dreams of a Hoosier victory Sunday.
Though Clinton’s rival Barack Obama has let himself be photographed for two weeks playing Indiana’s favorite sport of basketball, these Division 2 college players, a Croatian immigrant and an African-American, say they’re voting for Clinton Tuesday.
“I’m voting for the lady I’m looking at,” Bilandzic, 24, said.
“What she said about gas -- that hits me right in the wallet,” Webster said, hitting his pocket.
Clinton is hoping to ride voter discontent about rising gas prices to victory Tuesday with her proposal for a summer gas-tax holiday, even though she is taking heat from economists who agree with Obama that it’s a "gimmick" that would give little relief to drivers while diverting money from road repair.
Pressed during an interview on ABC Sunday to name a single economist who supported her plan, Clinton said, "I’m not going to put in my lot with economists." She dismissed critics of her plan as "elites" and said she knew the needs of working people.
"Who understands what you’re going through?" she asked the crowd at Indiana Tech. "People drive a lot of long distances in Indiana. I’ve driven a lot of long distances in Indiana. I think between my husband, my daughter and me, we’ve made 95 stops in Indiana. We believe Indiana matters."
Clinton said she watched as a pick-up truck driver spent $63 to fill just half a tank of gas.
"$95," one voter called out.
"$102," called another.
Obama told NBC’s Tim Russert Sunday, "I learned from a mistake" voting for a gas tax holiday in Illinois when he was a state senator and the gas companies raised the prices to cover the tax cut, taking the savings away from drivers.
Clinton’s highest-ranking supporter here, Sen. Evan Bayh, tried to lower expectations, telling the Sun-Times that Clinton started way behind rival Barack Obama. "He has outspent her 2-1, and he has won every other state that borders Illinois. I think it’s very close. It could go either way."
A new poll has Obama and Clinton in a statistical tie here, though he is still ahead in North Carolina.
Obama and his wife, Michelle, have made about 28 stops around Indiana, a campaign spokesman said. He is due to visit Ft. Wayne this afternoon.
Obama spent the first 20 minutes of his interview with Russert fielding questions about his former pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, whom Obama had hoped to make "yesterday’s news" by now.
But Wright was still fresh on the mind of Sally Anepper, 53, a registered Republican in the audience at Indiana Tech deciding whether to vote for Clinton or John McCain Tuesday, not Obama.
"His pastor’s anti-American comments really bothered me," she said.
Why haven’t Obama’s proven skills on the basketball court been enough to win over Webster, the guard on Indiana Tech’s basketball team?
"I’m still waiting for my game of one-on-one with Obama — then I’ll consider voting for him," Webster said. "Hillary, she sticks to her guns. She’s for the people."