Oct 6, 2007 3:19 pm US/Eastern
Obama Says War Blocks Progress On Domestic Issues
OTTAWA, Ill. (AP) ―
Barack Obama said Saturday that health care and other domestic needs will be neglected until the Iraq war ends, and that he had the judgment and ideas to lead the country.
"When this war is over, we can finally get back to facing the challenges we face here at home, the challenges you're grappling with every day," the Democratic presidential candidate told about 600 people at a union conference.
The first-term Illinois senator said the war now costs between $10 billion and $12 billion a month. He noted that President Bush had vetoed a $35 billion measure expanding a children's health program and wants almost $190 billion for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
He promised action on low wages, health care, affordable college education and retirement security. "You deserve a president who's got your back," Obama said.
Obama reminded the crowd of United Auto Workers members that he opposed invading Iraq at a time when most other politicians - including chief rivals Hillary Rodham Clinton and John Edwards - supported it. Obama expressed his opposition in the fall of 2002 when he was a state senator and considering a run for the U.S. Senate.
Obama, who has served less than three years in Washington, has been offering his early opposition to the war as evidence that sound judgment is more important than experience on Capitol Hill. He said his background as a community organizer, civil rights attorney and state lawmaker matter more than time in Washington.
"I may not have the resume that Washington likes, but I believe I have the experience that America needs right here and right now," he said.
On labor issues, Obama said if elected he would support legislation making it easier for unions to organize and preventing companies from permanently replacing striking workers.
He also sought to walk a fine line on free trade.
Obama supports the idea of simplifying international trade, and he warned the union crowd that "we're not going to stop globalization in its tracks." But he spoke out against trade agreements that make it easier for other countries to do business in the United States but not for U.S. companies to do business overseas.
He called for updating the North American Free Trade Agreement with Mexico and Canada to guarantee workers have the right to organize and that they get training for new jobs when their old ones are eliminated.
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