Obama dismisses idea of being Clinton's VP (+video)
Page 1 of 2 View as a single page 1:27PM Tuesday March 11, 2008Watch Video: Obama not running for vice president
Your Views
Could Obama beat John McCain in the US election? Could Clinton?
Send us Your Views
Read Your Views
Race for the White House
Clinton's ad girl an Obama supporter (+video)
Clintons push Hillary-Obama ticket (+video)
COLUMBUS - Barack Obama on Monday ridiculed rival Hillary Clinton's repeated hints she would take him for the No. 2 spot on her presidential ticket, accusing her of playing political games in their hard-fought Democratic nominating race.
Obama, campaigning in Mississippi ahead of the state's contest on Tuesday, said he has won more states than Clinton and is leading in delegates who will decide the Democratic candidate to face Republican John McCain in November.
"I don't know how somebody who is in second place is offering the vice presidency to somebody who is in first place," Obama, an Illinois senator, told supporters. The crowd booed when he mentioned Hillary's idea.
"I'm not running for vice president. I am running for president of the United States of America," Obama added. "I am running to be commander in chief."
Obama said the New York senator and former first lady was playing a political game, denigrating his abilities at the same time she promoted the idea of placing him in a secondary role.
"I do not believe Senator Clinton is about change because in fact this kind of gamesmanship - talking about me as vice president, but maybe he's not ready for commander in chief - that's exactly the kind of double-speak, double-talk that Washington is very good at," he said.
Clinton has raised the idea of a joint ticket with Obama several times since she saved her campaign with big wins in three of four contests last week, including the states of Ohio and Texas.
Her suggestions are aimed at paving the way for the idea of putting her at the top of the ticket even though she trails Obama in the close race, analysts said, while building a bridge to his sizable bloc of supporters.
Clinton has hammered Obama as unready for the Oval Office and too inexperienced to handle the task of commander in chief. Her campaign on Monday lined up former military officers to question Obama's national security credentials.
Obama took note of Clinton's repeated attacks and said the vice president's primary role would be to take over if the president died or was incapacitated.
"If I'm not ready, how is it that you think I would be such a great vice president? Do you understand that?" he asked.
Asked about the contradiction of touting Obama as a vice presidential candidate while condemning his ability to lead, Clinton spokesman Howard Wolfson implied there was still time for Obama to prove himself before the Democratic Party convention in Denver in August.
'LONG WAY TO GO'
"We do not believe Senator Obama has passed the commander in chief test," Wolfson said. "But there is a long way to go between now and Denver."
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/2/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10497466