Obama Exclusive (Audio): On V.P And Foreign Policy, Courting the Working Class, and Hard-Pressed Pennsylvanians

Here is the full audio from Senator Barack Obama's fundraiser hosted at a home in Pacific Heights in San Francisco on Sunday, April 6, 2008. Sheila Jackson Lee makes the introduction.

Some highlights - Obama responds to Krugman toward the end of the audio (46:20); Obama discloses his trip to Pakistan (40:17); Obama discusses fundraising successes (15 min); Obama discusses energy, fuel efficient cars (18 min); "When people tell me they've all stressed about racial discord, well, you know, try slavery for a while." (26:02).

Some of the quotes from this speech include:

"I would like somebody who knows about a bunch of stuff that I'm not as expert on. I think a lot of people assume that might be some sort of military thing to make me look more Commander-in-Chief-like. Ironically, this is an area--foreign policy is the area where I am probably most confident that I know more and understand the world better than Senator Clinton or Senator McCain."

"It's ironic because this is supposedly the place where experience is most needed to be Commander-in-Chief. Experience in Washington is not knowledge of the world. This I know. When Senator Clinton brags 'I've met leaders from eighty countries'--I know what those trips are like! I've been on them. You go from the airport to the embassy. There's a group of children who do native dance. You meet with the CIA station chief and the embassy and they give you a briefing. You go take a tour of a plant that [with] the assistance of USAID has started something. And then--you go."

"You do that in eighty countries--you don't know those eighty countries. So when I speak about having lived in Indonesia for four years, having family that is impoverished in small villages in Africa--knowing the leaders is not important--what I know is the people. . . ."

"I traveled to Pakistan when I was in college--I knew what Sunni and Shia was [sic] before I joined the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. . . ."

"Nobody is entirely prepared for being Commander-in-Chief. The question is when the 3 AM phone call comes do you have somebody who has the judgment, the temperament to ask the right questions, to weigh the costs and benefits of military action, who insists on good intelligence, who is not going to be swayed by the short-term politics. By most criteria, I've passed those tests and my two opponents have not."

"People are misunderstanding the way the demographics in this contest are broken up the way they are. Because everybody just ascribes it to white working class don't want to vote for the black guy. There were intimations of this in an article in the Sunday New York Times today--kind of implies it's sort of a race thing. That's not what it is."

"You go into some of these small towns in Pennsylvania, and like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing's replaced them. And they fell through the Clinton Administration, and the Bush Administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not. And it's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations."

I reported on parts of his speech in "Obama: No Need For Foreign Policy Help From V.P." (4/7/08), "Obama Courts Working Class Through 'Future Generations''" (4/10/08), and "Obama: No Surprise That Hard-Pressed Pennsylvanians Turn Bitter" (4/11/08).

Comments

[helloworld2008]

Mayhill Fowler is NOT an Obama supporter. She's a plant. She was probably sent to hang around to play "gotcha" in case Obama said anything Clinton could use. This bitter thing was the best she could do. (pretty lame, and ineffective)

-Fowler pretended to be a "donor" to sneak into a private function which was off the record
-Previously, Fowler gave hundreds of dollars to Fred Thompson, a republican whose policies are diametrically opposed to Obamas. Very suspicious.
-Fowler's husband is a weallthy energy/realestate guy who supports McCain
-Fowler attended Wesley with Hillary
-Fowler's Junehill blog was anti-Obama and pro-Clinton
-Fowler's column was smearing Obama week after week: "cocky" "flirting", moneygrubbing, etc. just for doing the typical politicking.

[SMP]

hey everyone....

This is not the "full" conversation..just pasted excerpts......want the full story....see a David Coleman article posted here on April 14th. He tells the REAL story..see he was THERE too!!!!


Mayhill Folwer......you are on the side of Hillary...it truely shows

[goodnrg]

Obama was introduced by Barbara Lee, not Sheila Jackson-Lee as Ms. Fowler states. Barbara Lee is a congresswoman in California, Sheila Jackson Lee is a congresswoman in Texas and a Clinton supporter. They are, however, both African American women, so she got that part right. Also, since Ms. Fowler lives in Oakland, Barbara Lee is actually her representative in Congress. OK, maybe she got the names mixed up, maybe she didn't vote, maybe she doesn't know who her representative is. But then again, she's not a "real" political reporter, or your average "real" Obama supporter, she's a "citizen journalist".

[lefthandedrn]

I agree! I thought, while reading Ms. Fowler's lead-in into her story that she couldn't have meant Sheila Jackson Lee. I know she is for Hillary and wondered what she was doing in California introducing Obama for a fundraiser. (That should have opened the media's eyes then and let them know that the person's journalism is questionable). Anybody and start and stop taping a person's conversation and make it seem like whatever they want. That's why that person should not have been allowed to post that garbage!

As a blessing, most of the voters in every state know Senator Obama and ignored that article and snipet of his actual words. What makes me mad is that MSNBC & CNN spent 4 days talking about that crap! They jump onto any negative bandwagon about Obama and ride it until everyone is sick and tired of it. They think if they spin it enough, it will force us to believe that it is true.

Unfortunately, Huffingtonpost.com is getting the credit and blame for running the article and tape first, and I think Huffingtonpost is a wonderful form of information. They need to check olther sources before publishing. I hope they didn't pay Ms. Fowler for the hatchet job. I hate for them to fall the way of FOX, MSNBC and CNN.

I am so glad Mr. Coleman stepped forward and wish he would go on MSNBC and CNN (FOX doesnt matter) and make these statements and tell the full truth.

[marymansour]

Thanks a million for posting something that may bring that good man down. Hope you enjoy having John McCain as your next president. The witch Hillary has no chance against McCain.

SHAME, SHAME, SHAME upon you for generations to come.

[montefuego]

Shame, shame is the truth.
Something is wrong with a person who first of all, would betray a confidence (the affair was supposed to be private, and so 'off the record'), and do intentional damage to a cause she is supposed to believe in. No person is flawless, and so Obama, like all of us, must assume the protection of friends and persons of like mind. Ms Fowler is a Judas, an Iago, a betrayer of conscience and a higher cause. Shame on you for pretending to be his supporter. I wonder how you treat your friends. Very sad what you have done.

[helloworld2008]

Actually Fowler might not be that upset if McCain won. Check out this info about her husband:

As the wife of attorney James C. Fowler (a UCSB undergrad; UC Berkley J.D. circa 1968), a Mc Cain supporter and boat lover who owns a 43 foot yacht via some kind of revokable trust he established, and who is a partner with the prestigious firm Bingham & McClutchen, which list's Mehran's firm as a client on it's website, specializes in real estate law, does work in the energy sector, and who's clients also ocassionaly include people who buy military bases that have been closed, Mayhill Fowler inhabits that rarified air of the truly rich and truly elite. Evidently the irony was lost on this Wesley Girl, who married so well, when she wrote her article disparaging Barack Obama as an "elitist".

[carmellaC]

I agree--perhaps you could have given a moment's thought to the impact of this posting. You had to know this had the potential of derailing Obama. Too bad you aren't a McCain supporter.
MORE SHAME--You brought our best hope down.

[SCitizenNYS]

Mayhill Fowler, two comments:
First, I do not believe that you support Obama. If you did than you would not have posted this land mine. I had to dig throughout this website to get the Total Statement in Context and I do Agree with what he is saying. I cannot believe that you thought that the News Media would not Report this in a Positive Way. You should have known that they would Make it as Negative as Possible, select only the words that would convey the most Negative Image possible in an effort to Sway Voters Opinion to Hillary.
Secondly, Hillary Clinton and John McCain who are Multi-Millionaires cannot relate to us Ordinary People who are "BITTER" about losing our Jobs to on-shore, off-shore and Near-shore Outsourcing; Losing our Homes; Losing the ability to support our families; and losing the ability for us to have a Healthy Economy where our dollar has Buying Power.
We need HELP fixing this REAL problem in Upstate NY and throughout the Country. Obama is not an "Elitist". Obama is the poorest Elitist that I know, i.e., Hillary with her $100+ millions household income and McCain with his Multi-millions. They are the True Elitist . This is why they are trying to point to Obama so that you do see who they Really are.

[SCitizenNYS]

Living in Rochester NY/upstate NY where we are Losing Jobs and Homes to Hillary Clinton's "Best Sourcing" Strategy. I totally agree with Obama stated in total Context vs the Negative Slant and SPIN that Hillaryhas put on it. He was trying to explain that it was Not Race that was causing Voters to Not Vote for him But Failed Adminstration under Clinton and the Bush(s) i.e., over 25 years of Failed Campaign Promises to restore Jobs and rebuild the Industry in various areas of Pennsylvania.
Hillary promised 200,000+ jobs as each of her Campaign Promises and Have Failed to Delivered. Instead of Focusing on Revitalizing Upstate as she promised, she has been too busy Positioning herself to Campaign for President. She is Not concern with this issue.
Upstate New Yorkers are Bitter and Antipathy against Outsourcing and Non-US Citizens who use H1 Visas to bring low cost workers to America where they live and take Jobs from Degreed Highly Qualified US Citizens. Upstate NY has lost Manufacturing, IT, Administrative and caller center jobs to Canada-Asia Pacific Realm, India, Mexico and other countries. Upstate New Yorkers are "Bitter", Bitter, Bitter....
Outsoucing Destroys families by losing jobs, homes and the ability to support your Families. Why Should Americans have to be the ones without JOBS... Of course, Hillary with her $100m dollar household income has demonstrated to Upstate NY that she Does not Care or Cannot Relate to our Plight.

[whyputaname]

{{ If you don't like the mortgage industry's practices, then read their documents before you sign them, don't buy more house than you can afford, and don't take out loans that you can't honor.}}

Now this is something I can agree with.
____________________________________________________________

Tsk Tsk

If you feel that bad then go over and help them. But your assumption of the US allowing this to happen is totally ignorant.

There are people who live in those countries and if it is a problem then maybe they should stand and fight for "their country", because it is not our fight!

If this was going on here then I would think that would a problem

[Paintingislife]

Keep out of North Carolina, sweetie.

[justcheckin8888]

Make that South Carolina too. In fact don't even decide to visit the entire east coast, mid-west, south, northwest, nor California. Just stay home you Benedict Arnold.

[lexiemarsh]

As a San Franciscan transplant, I know firsthand how annoyingly elitist and self-righteous we can appear and often times are. I am kind of upset, however, that at a venue where Obama was told there would absolutely be no reporters, Mayhill has the audacity to sneakingly tape his speech. She's as much a fraud as Obama is an elitist, if we're throwing stones and slinging mud. And, after growing up in the Midwest and living on both coasts later, I kind of agree with what he said. Go Obama!

[JohnFromCapeCod]

Its too bad that CNN/FOX/MSNBC did not report the full speech so the voters could hear the comments in the full context in which they were made. It it true that Sen.Obama said that his comments were "off the record" "informal" Did you inform anyone there you were recording him?

I personally think that when a person runs for Political Office its hard to believe that anythingthing the say or do during the campaign is "Off the Record. The only exception of course is converstations made at their homes to family members. Did you offer this tape to the varoius "News" agencies
and insist it be used in full context?. I don't know if you have the time to respond to these questions
with all thats going on before the 22nd, but certainly would appreciate anything you can do to resolve these questions.

PEACE
John

[whiteboyblues]

This is the last time I will click on a Mayhill Fowler article, that is unless you sneak into a McCain and Hillary fundraiser event

[MrsJones]

I'm confused and hope someone can enlighten me:

This article states that the introduction given for Obama was given by Sheila Jackson Lee, who has consistently been a HRC backer and served as a co-chair of her campaign. Has Lee switched camps or is this article inaccurate?

[TinaGirlla]

I keep asking myself why it took months for Hillary's flat out lies to come to light, and how sad it is that any issue is being made of this.

The Clintons have gone from respected politicians to a circus act behind this campaign.

How many other folks remember the moment when you realized you wanted a woman for president, but you just couldn't ignore HRC's lies and constant double talk?

If she can't run a campaign (without resorting to playground politics), then how can she run a country? I really want to know how anyone can believe she could manage the United States when she has had so much trouble with her campaign? I really would like someone who supports HRC to explain it to me.

[mix2007]

"This is something he will probably have to address more, as it's a figure sure to be analyzed and exploited by the Republicans should he ultimately win the nomination."

Well said. Fowler betrayed Obama with off the record remarks. She's a sneak.

Go check her previous articles. She labels Obama "cocky" every week!

A real dishonest character. She apparently gave money to Fred Thomspon's campaign.

[sandpiper1]

Lets face it folks, Mayhill Fowler is a slag for Hillary Clinton. If there's any satisfaction, Hillary was booed at a campaign ( I think it was earlier today) when she tried to gain mileage out of it.
I gather most people who have heard about it, agrees with his sentiment, so good for him.
"
A politican looks forward only to the next election. A statesman looks forward to the next generation". Thomas Jefferson

[kikiva]

Thank you Mayhill Fowler for bringing out the truth about Obama's feelings about ordinary working-class americans like myself. You have done voters a great service by bringing these 'hidden' remarks out in the open.

[SCitizenNYS]

Apparently you did not understand his comment. We in upstate NY are Ordinary working class people who have Lost our Jobs, is losing our houses and ability to support our families. He trying to explain that reason that people are Not voting for him is not "Race" related as indicated in the NY Times but more of 25 years been of broken promises to restoration of Jobs and Instustries by the Clinton and Bushs Administration .
Upstate New Yorkers are "Bitter". Hillary Clinton Promised upstate NY, which includes Rochester, that she would deliver 200,000+ jobs over the pass 6 years and have not. We have and still is losing homes, industries, the abilities to provide for our familities and jobs to outsourcing.