Obama: U.S. needs on backburner
OTTAWA -- Barack Obama warned Saturday that health care and other domestic needs will be neglected until the Iraq war ends, and he presented himself as the right mix of sound judgment and new ideas to solve the problem.
The war now costs between $10 billion and $12 billion a month, Obama said, noting that President Bush had vetoed a $35 billion children's health care expansion while seeking $190 billion for the war next year.
"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.
He promised action on low wages, health care, affordable college educations and retirement security. "You deserve a president who's got your back," Obama said.
He reminded the crowd of United Auto Workers members that he opposed invading Iraq at a time when most other politicians -- including his chief rivals, Hillary Rodham Clinton and John Edwards -- supported it.
Obama, who has served less than three years in the U.S. Senate, has been offering his early opposition to the war as evidence that sound judgment is more important than Washington experience. He said his experience 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.
That argument was persuasive for Scott Houldieson, an Indiana resident who works at a Ford factory in Chicago.
"I just think he's an exciting breath of fresh air," said Houldieson, who said Obama's position on Iraq was important. "He had it right to begin with. We need people who get it right the first time."
But others said they prefer Clinton and her familiarity with Washington power struggles, first as the first lady and now as a New York senator.
"I think she's stubborn. She's fought those battles," said Merlyn "Mouse" Schmidt of Waterloo, Iowa.
Obama accused Bush of leading the most anti-union administration in generations.
As president, Obama said, 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.