Gunning for Obama

Summary
A mailer sent from Clinton's campaign to the homes of selected Indiana voters just before the Democratic primary goes after Obama for allegedly shifting his position on guns to suit his audience. The mailer's not outright wrong in any of its statements. But the facts muddy the picture.

Obama's state Senate campaign in 1996 did say in a questionnaire that Obama favored banning handguns. But Obama says he personally didn't answer the question, and that he's never felt that way.

Obama has said he supports the Second Amendment as an individual right to bear arms. But he's also said he believes that government can regulate that right.

Obama did say small-town Americans could be "bitter," and that they "cling to guns" and religion and other traditions. He actually said that those feelings were tied to being disappointed by politicians' empty economic promises.

Analysis
We're a little late for the voters of Indiana, who went to the polls today to choose between Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination. The mailer, which was obtained by Talking Points Memo, appears to have arrived at people's homes over the weekend. But with upcoming primary contests in West Virginia and other states with strong hunting traditions, and with the general election campaign yet to heat up, we suspect this issue will be back.

The front of the post card features a rifle and an inset photo of Sen. Barack Obama, who is vying with Sen. Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination. "Where does Barack Obama really stand on guns?" it asks. Flip it over for the answer: "Depends on who Barack Obama is talking to." It lists three bullet points:

First, Barack Obama told a group in Chicago he favored a ban on the manufacture, sale and possession of handguns.
Then, Barack Obama told people in Idaho he was for the 2nd Amendment, in order to get their votes.
And just this month, Barack Obama accused people in rural places and small towns of being "bitter" people who "cling to guns."
It closes with the line "What does Barack Obama really believe?"

Quarrel over a Questionnaire
Taking the postcard's points in turn, the first one refers to a questionnaire his campaign filled out for a community group in Chicago when he first ran for Illinois state Senate in 1996. This isn't the first time this candidate survey has come back to haunt him — nor is it the first time we've written about it. At the debate in Philadelphia last month, Obama denied that his handwriting was on the questionnaire completed for the Chicago nonprofit, Independent Voters of Illinois-Independent Precinct Organization.