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By SEAN MUSSENDEN and JAMES ROMOSER
Media General News Service
WAKE FOREST, N.C.--Hillary Clinton made an impassioned pitch to suburban North Carolinians yesterday, hoping to pare down Barack Obama's lead in the state before Tuesday's primary.
Obama, meanwhile, spent the entire day in Indiana, where he worked to erase the advantage most polls give Clinton heading into that state's equally important primary.
The two continued their weeklong battle over the wisdom of suspending the federal gas tax this summer, while both campaigns worked overtime in North Carolina and Indiana to get their supporters to the polls.
At stops in Wake Forest, Cary, Mooresville and Gastonia, Clinton once again called for the suspension of the federal gasoline tax, a move her campaign says would lower gas prices.
She talked about criticism from Obama, most energy economists and several key Democratic leaders in Congress who say that the plan would do nothing to lower prices while increasing oil-company profits.
"I think it's imperative that we try to obtain some immediate relief, and what I've proposed would do just that. There's a big disagreement in this campaign," she said at a rally in Wake Forest.
Later in the day, speaking at the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Mooresville, Clinton frequently compared the North Carolina primary to a stock-car race, saying that she is the best person to get "back in that driver's seat" because she understands the hardships of ordinary workers.
Her gas-tax plan has become the chief example of that theme. But energy economists say that her plan represents a fundamental misunderstanding of how petroleum markets actually work.
Initially, suspending the 18.4-cents-a-gallon tax would bring prices down. But because supplies of gasoline are so tight -- particularly in the summer when drivers travel more -- oil companies would be able to quickly rebound prices to pre-tax levels, economists say.
But most voters are not familiar with the complexities of oil economics. Rising gas prices are of particular importance in the commuter-heavy suburbs Clinton visited yesterday. At the rally in Wake Forest, Clinton's mention of cutting the gas tax drew loud applause.
Like many in this rapidly expanding suburb, Tommy Barham spends 45 minutes commuting to Raleigh. His gas bill has doubled to $500 over the last few years.
"The gas tax is a good start. We've got to do something for the working man driving to work every day," he said after hearing Clinton.
On a conference call last week, reporters asked a Clinton campaign spokesman to identify a single economist or oil industry expert to certify the wisdom of their plan. He could not.
Obama said yesterday that her proposal was full of "phony ideas, calculated to win elections instead of actually solving problems," The Associated Press reported.
Obama is not scheduled to return to North Carolina today. Clinton is scheduled to be in Indiana today, but her campaign said yesterday that she would visit High Point and Greenville on Monday.
Ferrel Guillory, an expert on Southern politics at UNC Chapel Hill, said that it made sense for Clinton to spend the final Saturday before the primary in North Carolina, where she is trailing, just as it made sense for Obama to spend one of the last campaigning days in Indiana, where he is trailing.
Recent polls in North Carolina show Obama with a 5- to 10-point lead. In Indiana, a Zogby survey released yesterday showed Obama with a 1-point lead, though five other recent polls gave Clinton an advantage of between 5 and 10 points.
"It's a tactical call for all of these candidates," Guillory said of their decisions to focus on Indiana today. "I don't think North Carolina voters should see it as some kind of slight."
Though Clinton has cut into the double digit lead Obama held in North Carolina in the middle of April, he still holds an advantage of between five and nine points in the latest statewide polls.
In Indiana, a new Zogby survey released Saturday showed Obama with a one point lead, though five other recent polls gave Clinton an advantage of between five and 10 points.
“It’s a tactical call for all of these candidates,” Guillory said of their decisions to focus on Indiana on Sunday. “I don’t think North Carolina voters should see it as some kind of slight.”
Even in their absence, the fight for North Carolina will continue. Both campaigns ramped up get out the vote efforts this weekend. The state’s new one stop early voting program wrapped up at 1 p.m. Saturday, and both campaigns rushed supporters to sites across the state before the deadline.
Thomas McDowell, a construction worker in Wake Forest, is in his mid-40s and had never voted before. After listening to Hillary Clinton speak, he ran to a nearby early voting station, registered and cast a ballot for her just before the office closed.
He almost didn’t make it in time, because Clinton showed up to the event more than an hour late.
“This is the first time I ever cared enough to vote,” he said. “I felt like I could make a difference.”
Sean Mussenden can be reached at 202-662-7668 or at smussenden@mediageneral.com.
Media General News Service
WAKE FOREST, N.C.--Hillary Clinton made an impassioned pitch to suburban North Carolinians yesterday, hoping to pare down Barack Obama's lead in the state before Tuesday's primary.
Obama, meanwhile, spent the entire day in Indiana, where he worked to erase the advantage most polls give Clinton heading into that state's equally important primary.
The two continued their weeklong battle over the wisdom of suspending the federal gas tax this summer, while both campaigns worked overtime in North Carolina and Indiana to get their supporters to the polls.
At stops in Wake Forest, Cary, Mooresville and Gastonia, Clinton once again called for the suspension of the federal gasoline tax, a move her campaign says would lower gas prices.
She talked about criticism from Obama, most energy economists and several key Democratic leaders in Congress who say that the plan would do nothing to lower prices while increasing oil-company profits.
"I think it's imperative that we try to obtain some immediate relief, and what I've proposed would do just that. There's a big disagreement in this campaign," she said at a rally in Wake Forest.
Later in the day, speaking at the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Mooresville, Clinton frequently compared the North Carolina primary to a stock-car race, saying that she is the best person to get "back in that driver's seat" because she understands the hardships of ordinary workers.
Her gas-tax plan has become the chief example of that theme. But energy economists say that her plan represents a fundamental misunderstanding of how petroleum markets actually work.
Initially, suspending the 18.4-cents-a-gallon tax would bring prices down. But because supplies of gasoline are so tight -- particularly in the summer when drivers travel more -- oil companies would be able to quickly rebound prices to pre-tax levels, economists say.
But most voters are not familiar with the complexities of oil economics. Rising gas prices are of particular importance in the commuter-heavy suburbs Clinton visited yesterday. At the rally in Wake Forest, Clinton's mention of cutting the gas tax drew loud applause.
Like many in this rapidly expanding suburb, Tommy Barham spends 45 minutes commuting to Raleigh. His gas bill has doubled to $500 over the last few years.
"The gas tax is a good start. We've got to do something for the working man driving to work every day," he said after hearing Clinton.
On a conference call last week, reporters asked a Clinton campaign spokesman to identify a single economist or oil industry expert to certify the wisdom of their plan. He could not.
Obama said yesterday that her proposal was full of "phony ideas, calculated to win elections instead of actually solving problems," The Associated Press reported.
Obama is not scheduled to return to North Carolina today. Clinton is scheduled to be in Indiana today, but her campaign said yesterday that she would visit High Point and Greenville on Monday.
Ferrel Guillory, an expert on Southern politics at UNC Chapel Hill, said that it made sense for Clinton to spend the final Saturday before the primary in North Carolina, where she is trailing, just as it made sense for Obama to spend one of the last campaigning days in Indiana, where he is trailing.
Recent polls in North Carolina show Obama with a 5- to 10-point lead. In Indiana, a Zogby survey released yesterday showed Obama with a 1-point lead, though five other recent polls gave Clinton an advantage of between 5 and 10 points.
"It's a tactical call for all of these candidates," Guillory said of their decisions to focus on Indiana today. "I don't think North Carolina voters should see it as some kind of slight."
Though Clinton has cut into the double digit lead Obama held in North Carolina in the middle of April, he still holds an advantage of between five and nine points in the latest statewide polls.
In Indiana, a new Zogby survey released Saturday showed Obama with a one point lead, though five other recent polls gave Clinton an advantage of between five and 10 points.
“It’s a tactical call for all of these candidates,” Guillory said of their decisions to focus on Indiana on Sunday. “I don’t think North Carolina voters should see it as some kind of slight.”
Even in their absence, the fight for North Carolina will continue. Both campaigns ramped up get out the vote efforts this weekend. The state’s new one stop early voting program wrapped up at 1 p.m. Saturday, and both campaigns rushed supporters to sites across the state before the deadline.
Thomas McDowell, a construction worker in Wake Forest, is in his mid-40s and had never voted before. After listening to Hillary Clinton speak, he ran to a nearby early voting station, registered and cast a ballot for her just before the office closed.
He almost didn’t make it in time, because Clinton showed up to the event more than an hour late.
“This is the first time I ever cared enough to vote,” he said. “I felt like I could make a difference.”
Sean Mussenden can be reached at 202-662-7668 or at smussenden@mediageneral.com.