'Not quite halfway' to White House, Obama sees pressure from Dems
RIVER EAST | Cheers local supporters, rips Bush remarks
Barack Obama told about 300 hometown donors Thursday that in his battle for the White House -- "we are not quite halfway there."
But as the battle shifts from the primary to the general election, the campaign must be ready to fight not just Republicans, but Democrats who will seek to dilute the platform of change he has run on.
"There's a lot of pressure for everybody to go back to doing the textbook thing, bringing in all our 'wise' men and women and those who say that, 'Nice job, but now it's serious. ..,'" Obama said to laughter. "We're going to not only have to fight the Republicans, and all the nonsense that is going to be coming out of them -- and I am impressed with the degree with which it has started coming out very quickly -- we're also going to have to engage in an internal battle to make sure we remember what we are doing.''
Obama made an apparent reference to President Bush's criticism in Israel earlier Thursday of those who would ''negotiate with terrorists.''
When Obama said people ''remember a time when you had a bipartisan foreign policy that didn't interject the kind of politics we just saw today,'' the crowd at Chicago's River East Arts Center broke into applause. Obama earlier issued a statement accusing Bush of politicizing his speech in Israel and misrepresenting Obama's position.
Obama told the supporters, who gave donations ranging from $1,000 to $5,000, that their financial and moral support gave him and his wife comfort on the road.
''It is very important for me to know I've got this base here,'' Obama said. ''There are times that Michelle and I are on the road and we're getting battered and bruised and buffeted by the various political winds. Knowing we've got good friends, strong supporters, knowing we've got a city we belong to, makes all the difference in the world."
Obama told his supporters not to worry about the long primary campaign.
"I know there are those who are stressed and distressed about -- how would I describe it? The marathon. There are people who are concerned about whether or not the party can come together. I am absolutely confident the Democratic Party will be unified in November."