Obama slams McCain in inaugural radio address
By Walter Alarkon
Posted: 08/09/08 07:18 AM
In his inaugural radio address, Sen. Barack Obama said news of the federal budget deficit paired with reports of a surplus for Iraqis show “exactly what’s wrong with Washington.”
Obama (Ill.), the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, argued that the $10 billion spent by the U.S. taxpayers monthly on the Iraq war has not all been utilized by the Iraqi government. The money could have been used for U.S. schools and infrastructure and to lower costs for consumers, said Obama.
He went on to criticize Republican candidate John McCain (Ariz.) for supporting policies backed by President Bush, such as an “open-ended” role for the U.S. military in Iraq and tax cuts for wealthy Americans.
“The American people are worse off than they were eight years ago,” Obama said, adding, “Sen. McCain talks about putting our country first, but he is running for a third term of the very same policies that have set our country back. We can’t afford to take that chance. We can’t afford to keep running up record deficits while we favor the few over the many. We can’t prioritize a misguided war in Iraq over the urgent needs of the American people.”
http://thehill.com/campaign-2008/obama-slams-mccain-in-inaugural-radio-address-2008-08-09.html