OrangeEmpire
The White Debonair
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- Nov 28, 2005
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FARMINGTON HILLS, MICH. -- A fired-up Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., took on his opponents -- "these people," he said incredulously, in a familiar refrain -- for shamelessness and dishonesty.
"I have said repeatedly that there should be no contradiction between keeping America safe and secure and respecting our constitution," Obama said. "During the Republican convention, you remember during the Republican convention, one of them, I dont know if it was Rudy or Palin...rhey said Well, ya know, Senator Obama is less interested in protecting you from terrorists than...reading them their rights."
(It was Palin, who said "Al Qaeda terrorists still plot to inflict catastrophic harm on America -- he's worried that someone won't read them their rights?")
"Now, let me say this," Obama continued, "first of all you dont even get to read them their rights until you catch them. So I dont know what, they should spend more time trying to catch Osama bin Laden and we can worry about the next steps later. Hah! I mean seriously! These folks.
"Catch em first!"
Obama said his position on this "has always been clear. It has always been clear. If youve got a terrorist, take em out. Take em out. Anybody who was involved in 9/11 take em out."
But, the former constitutional law professor argued, "what I have also said is this: that when you suspend habeas corpus -- which has been a principle dating before even our country, its the foundation of Anglo-American law -- which says very simply if the government grabs you, then you have the right to at least ask, 'Why was I grabbed?', and say, 'Maybe youve got the wrong person.'
"The reason you have that safeguard," he said, "is because we don't always have the right person. We dont always catch the right person. We may think this is Mohammed the terrorist, it might be Mohammed the cab driver. You may think its Barack the bomb thrower, but it might be Barack the guy running for president."
"The reason that you have this principle is not to be soft on terrorism, its because thats who we are," Obama said as the crowd rose to its feet, applauding. "Thats what were protecting. Dont mock the constitution! Dont make fun of it! Dont suggest that its un-American to abide by what the founding fathers set up! Its worked pretty well for over 200 years!
"These people!" Obama said.
Obama also mocked the new TV ad put out by the McCain campaign claiming that Palin "stopped the Bridge to Nowhere."
"I gotta admit these folks are shameless," Obama said, "because the record is indisputable," he said, describing how Palin had originally supported the project.
"I wouldnt do that," Obama said. "I mean, I'm not perfect --"
"Yes, you are!" shouted a woman in the crowd.
"No, no, no, no," Obama said. "Talk to Michelle shell tell you. But what I'm not going to do I'm not going to describe in an ad that I did something that is opposite of what I did."
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