Obama knocks McCain, says primary fight not hurting

ALLENTOWN - Sen. Barack Obama took shots at likely Republican nominee John McCain on foreign and energy policy yesterday and disagreed with prominent Democrats who are fretting that the fight for the presidential nomination has dragged on too long.

"I think it is a good thing, it's a healthy thing, that so many people are passionate," Obama said during an evening rally at Muhlenberg College here. "I think Democrats will be unified when this whole thing is over - I am absolutely convinced of that. . . . Whatever the differences between Sen. Clinton and myself, they pale in comparison to the differences between either of us and John McCain."

His remarks were at odds with calls from some of his backers, including Vermont Sen. Patrick J. Leahy, for Clinton to drop out of the race.

Obama began the day by winning the endorsement of freshman Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, one of nearly 800 superdelegates - elected officials and other Democratic leaders who are awarded automatic seats at the nominating convention in Denver.

"Between Barack and a hard place, I chose Barack," Klobuchar told reporters in a conference call. "He's able to dissolve the hard, cynical edge that has dominated our politics under the Bush administration."

Klobuchar's decision followed Friday's endorsement of Obama by Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey. Obama strategists said Casey's backing would help introduce their candidate to white blue-collar voters, a bedrock Casey constituency that has been a key part of Clinton's winning coalition in other states - and a major reason she holds a double-digit lead in Pennsylvania polls.

Casey has joined Obama for major chunks of his cross-state bus trip, now in its fourth day.

In Manheim, Obama talked up alternative energy sources at Molly's Amerigreen, a fueling station that sells E85, a gas mixture that is 85 percent ethanol, for $2.59 per gallon, nearly 25 percent less than for regular gasoline.

Not only will investing in alternative fuels free the country from dependence on foreign oil, he said, but "we also can ease the burden on working families."

Obama said McCain could not break free of oil companies because the Arizona senator has appointed lobbyists, including strategist Charles Black, as advisers to his campaign.

"Make no mistake, this is an area where John McCain is offering a third Bush term," Obama said.

At a news conference at the station, Obama was challenged to distinguish his Iraq policy from McCain's.

"What I've said is I would have a strike force in the region, perhaps in Iraq, perhaps outside of Iraq, so that we could take advantage of, or we could deal with, potential problems that might take place in the region. That's very different from saying we're going to have a permanent occupation in Iraq. And it's certainly different from saying we would have a high level of combat troops inside Iraq for a decade or two decades, or as John McCain said, perhaps 100 years."

The Republican National Committee said McCain was referring to a peacetime presence in the country, much as U.S. troops remain in South Korea, not to a combat mission. "Barack Obama has been intentionally misrepresenting John McCain's position on Iraq for weeks," said RNC spokesman Blair Latoff.

Obama also visited the Wilbur Chocolate Co. plant in Lititz and the Marvel Ranch Diner in Reading, part of a series of mix-and-mingle events designed to help him cut into Clinton's lead. His campaign also is outspending Clinton on TV ads in the state by roughly 3-1, a reflection of his more robust fund-raising.

At the chocolate factory, he went into the kitchen, where five white-haired women in plastic hairnets spun chocolate into a variety of shapes. He picked out a few candies for his daughters, handing them for safekeeping to aide Reggie Love.

Watching the process, he said: "Can I ask you the truth, though? Do you actually eat the chocolate or do you get sick of it?"

The workers giggled. "We make it; of course we eat it," said Jean Hockbenerocht.

Later, at the diner, Obama was plied with a chocolate cake. "Oh man, that's too decadent for me," he demurred. A woman then offered him a Styrofoam container, which he opened, finding a burger, cheese fries and onion rings. Obama shrugged, took a ring, and tossed the container back.