OBAMA EXPECTS MORE SCRUTINY OF MCCAIN

GRESHAM, OR -- McCain will be getting his fair share of scrutiny from the press, his potential general-election rival Obama said here today.

During an event with mostly senior citizens, Obama was asked why the presumptive Republican nominee had not had to deal with much media scrutiny on issues like the Keating Five scandal. The voter felt the Illinois senator’s past had gotten all the focus. Obama said he thought part of the reason was that McCain’s candidacy had been written off several months ago, but that he had been able to come back and wrap up the nomination relatively early in the primary season, and that much of the focus had been on the exciting Democratic race.

“I would expect that the press will submit him to the same scrutiny that they are submitting me -- and if they don’t, I’ll have them talk to you because I can tell you would object,” he said. “I think people will lift the hood and kick the tires with John McCain, just like they do with me and just like they’ve done with Sen. Clinton. I think you’re applying for the presidency of the United States of America, then by definition you have given up your privacy and basically I think people are gonna want to know what you’ve done in your life and what you stand for.”

Obama, who was introduced by his wife Michelle, used his opening remarks to talk about fixing Social Security and encouraging Americans to save more money. He called the entitlement program "one of the most successful programs in our history” and said it was the difference between a comfortable retirement and potential poverty. He said the government had an obligation to fix it, and he criticized McCain for his support for a plan to privatize the program.

"We already know what the Republicans will be running on. John McCain has already said that he supports private accounts for Social Security -- in his words, "along the lines that President Bush proposed,” Obama said, adding that he thought privatizing the program was a bad, costly idea. "Sen. McCain’s campaign went even further a few weeks ago, suggesting that the best answer to the growing pressures on Social Security might be to cut cost-of-living adjustments or to raise the retirement age. I think there is another option that is fairer to working men and women. We have to protect Social Security for future generations without pushing the burden on to seniors who have earned the right to retire in dignity.”

More at link

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/05/18/1036625.aspx

terrorist and radical is a supporter for McCain.