In a slip-up that could potentially have general election and primary ramifications, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) on Sunday said Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) would be a better president than George W. Bush.
{mosads}Much of the Democratic strategy against McCain has been to assert that he would provide a continuation of the Bush presidency and be essentially the same as Bush – a tack Obama has used as well.
But Obama on Sunday grouped McCain with himself and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) in saying that any of the three major candidates still in the race would be an improvement over Bush.
“You have a real choice in this election. Either Democrat would be better than John McCain,” Obama said during an event in Pennsylvania, as quoted by the Associated Press. Then he added: "And all three of us would be better than George Bush."
Clinton seized on the comments in her effort to win the Democratic nomination. Her campaign has tried to cast her as the better general election candidate, and Obama’s comments provide an opening for them on that front.
The Pennsylvania primary will be held Tuesday, and Clinton is looking for a decisive win to keep her campaign alive.
“We need a nominee who will take on John McCain, not cheer on John McCain, and I will be that nominee,” Clinton said in a speech in Johnstown, Pa.