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Surrogate Ups the Ante on Obama Attacks

Clinton warm-up speaker sets a new standard for nasty

By Jonas Oransky, Newser Staff

Posted Feb 20, 2008 5:20 PM CST

(Newser) – Political surrogates often get stuck with the dirty work, but one Clinton-backing union leader came “close to redefining the genre” last night, the New York Times’ John M. Broder reports: R. Thomas Buffenbarger called Barack Obama a “silver-tongued warrior with a microphone…dancing to the tune of billionaires.” The Clinton camp reserved comment, voicing only pride in “the support of the machinists."

Said Buffenbarger of Obama, “There he is with his nose in the air pontificating when the coast is clear and as soon as anyone throws a punch he’s in a bum’s rush to get away.” The Illinois senator’s camp could hardly match the New Yorker’s for crudeness, coming closest when deeming Hillary “more of the same divisive, say-or-do-anything-to-win politics of the past.”

[Images (5)]

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R. Thomas Buffenbarger, the international president of the Machinists union called Senator Obama the %u201Csilver-tongued warrior with a microphone,%u201D %u201Cdancing to the tune of billionaires.%u201D (Skills2Compete (YouTube))

Democratic presidential hopeful, Sen. Barack Obama gestures while speaking at a campaign rally in Dallas, Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2008. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez) (Associated Press)

Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., speaks at a rally Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2008, in Youngstown, Ohio. (AP Photo/Mark A. Stahl) (Associated Press)

Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., speaks at a rally Monday, Feb. 18, 2008, in Youngstown, Ohio. (AP/Photo Mark A. Stahl) (Associated Press)

Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., speaks at a campaign rally in Youngstown, Ohio, Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2008. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) (Associated Press)

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R. Thomas Buffenbarger, the international president of the Machinists union, speaks in this YouTube video. (Skills2Compete (YouTube))

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Surrogate Ups the Ante on Obama Attacks