A Clinton-Obama Slugfest

But when the amendment came up for a vote, Obama was standing next to Sen. Paul Sarbanes, D-Md., the senior Democrat on the banking committee and the leader of those opposing the landmark bill, which would make it harder for Americans to get rid of debt. "You know, this is probably not a smart amendment for us to vote for," Obama recalled Sarbanes telling him. "Thirty percent is sort of a random number."

Obama joined Sarbanes in voting against the amendment. ... Obama's deferral to Sarbanes was just one example of the freshman senator learning to navigate a chamber famous for its egos.

As for whether the 30 percent cap was too high, that's certainly a matter of opinion. Sen. Mark Dayton of Minnesota, sponsor of the amendment, said on the Senate floor that such a cap "is still consumer abuse" but is much better than rates of more than 300 percent, which he said were being charged by some loan operations in the country. The nonpartisan Government Accountability Office said in a September 2006 report that the rates credit card companies charge to those who commit a "violation of terms" averaged 27.3 percent in 2005. Seven of the 28 cards the GAO examined charged rates of more than 30 percent.

In last night's debate, Clinton also said she had opposed the overall bankruptcy bill, which made it more difficult for consumers to erase debt by declaring bankruptcy; Obama opposed it, too. She didn't vote on the final bill, which passed by a 74-25 vote, because it was the day of her husband's heart surgery.

Also, Obama mischaracterized Clinton's comments on her vote for an earlier, 2001 bankruptcy bill. He said:

Obama: In the last debate, Senator Clinton said she voted for [the 2001 bill] but hoped that it wouldn't pass. Now, I don't understand that approach to legislation.

That's not exactly what Clinton said. Moderator Tim Russert asked if she regretted voting for the 2001 bill. She answered:

Clinton (Jan. 15 debate): Sure I do. It never became law, as you know. It got tied up. It was a bill that had some things I agreed with and other things I didn't agree with. I was happy it never became law. I opposed the 2005 bill as well.

"I Was the One"
Yes, there was another candidate in this debate. He got a couple of good swipes in at his adversaries, but we haven't addressed them here because they were mostly accurate. But former Sen. John Edwards echoed a misleading claim he made in a TV spot we criticized earlier, choosing his words only somewhat more carefully this time. He said, "The last time I saw one of [CNN's] polls that had all three of us against John McCain, I was the one that beat John McCain everywhere in America." That's literally true, but still misleading.

Actually, the most recent CNN poll, released 10 days ago, shows both Obama and Hillary beating McCain in a hypothetical head-to-head matchup. Edwards was not in that poll. The one he refers to, which "had all three of us" matched against McCain, is from early December. In that one, Edwards was indeed the only one of the three who was ahead of McCain, though Obama did tie him. That, of course, was long before a single vote was cast in a caucus or primary.

Clarification, Jan. 24: In the "Borrowed Time" section, we originally included part of Clinton's remarks that may have confused readers. The story now includes a clearer quote from Clinton. She voted for the amendment to limit the interest rate on credit to 30 percent. Obama voted against it.

Reprinted with permission from Factcheck.org .

Sources
Gonzales, Nathan. "The Ever-'Present' Obama; Barack has a long track record of not taking a stand." Wall Street Journal, 14 Feb. 2007.

Hernandez, Raymond and Christopher Drew. "It's Not Just 'Ayes' and 'Nays': Obama's Votes in Illinois Echo," 20 Dec. 2007.

Brokaw, Tom. "Boom! Voices of the Sixties." New York: Random House, 2007.

Clinton, Bill. "Remarks by the President at Ronald Reagan Building Dedication." 5 May 1998. The White House, 22 January 2008.

Obama, Barack. Afternoon with Barack Obama, video by James Ball. 14 Jan. 2008.

Dorning, Mike and Christi Parsons. "Carefully crafting the Obama 'brand'." Chicago Tribune, 12 June 2007.

Dayton, Mark. Comments on Senate floor, 2 March 2005.

U.S. Government Accountability Office. "Credit Cards: Increased Complexity in Rates and Fees Heightens Need for More Effective Disclosures to Consumers," Sept. 2006.

Barbaro, Michael. "As a Director, Clinton Moved Wal-Mart Board, but Only So Far." The New York Times. 20 May 2007.

Fouhy, Beth. "Clinton feels heat over Wal-Mart ties." The Associated Press, 12 March 2006.

Drew, Christopher, and Mike McIntire. "An Obama Patron and Friend Until an Indictment." The New York Times, 14 June 2007.

Novak, Tim. "Obama and his Rezko ties." Chicago Sun-Times, 23 April 2007.

MacFarquhar, Larissa. "The Conciliator." The New Yorker, 7 May 2007.

With Brooks Jackson, Justin Bank, Joe Miller and Lori Robertson

© 2008