Obama's remarks spark a skirmish

The latest skirmish over whether Barack Obama is being presumptuous revolved yesterday about what exactly he told congressional Democrats in a pep talk.

The Washington Post reported that in the closed meeting Tuesday evening, Obama talked about his triumphant visit to Europe and declared, "I have become a symbol of the possibility of America returning to our best traditions."

But Democrats and the Obama campaign said that the comment was taken out of context - that he prefaced it by saying, "It has become increasingly clear in my travel, the campaign, that the crowds, the enthusiasm, 200,000 people in Berlin, is not about me at all. It's about America."

That didn't stop Republicans from listing the comment as the latest entry in their Obama "audacity watch," and launching a website yesterday compiling all the examples it says shows Obama's arrogance.

A CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll released yesterday, however, suggests that this line of Republican attack is having mixed results.

Of those surveyed, 37 percent said they believe Obama is arrogant, about the same as the 34 percent who view John McCain that way.

But 44 percent said they believed that Obama was "acting as if he has already won the election," far more than the 19 percent who believed that of McCain.

FOON RHEE

There's a new celebrity tribute to Barack Obama, but his campaign isn't exactly loving it.

The rapper Ludacris has a video, titled "Obama is here," that predicts the Democrat will win the presidency and urges blacks to get out and vote.

It features footage of Obama dancing on "The Ellen Degeneres Show" and shooting hoops with US soldiers.

All well and good.

The problem is that the video also disparages Hillary Clinton using the b-word and calling her "irrelevant" - and mocks John McCain, suggesting that he belongs in a wheelchair not the White House.

"As Barack Obama has said many, many times in the past, rap lyrics today too often perpetuate misogyny, materialism, and degrading images that he doesn't want his daughters or any children exposed to," Obama spokesman Bill Burton said in a statement yesterday. "This song is not only outrageously offensive to Senator Clinton, Reverend Jackson, Senator McCain, and President Bush, it is offensive to all of us who are trying to raise our children with the values we hold dear. While Ludacris is a talented individual he should be ashamed of these lyrics."

FOON RHEE

SANTA FE - Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico will hold two fund-raisers to help Senator Hillary Clinton pay off her presidential campaign debt.

Richardson, who was UN ambassador and energy secretary under Bill Clinton, drew heat from the former president and some of the former first lady's supporters when he endorsed her rival Barack Obama during the hard-fought Democratic primaries.

A spokesman for Richardson said the fund-raisers are part of the Democratic Party's effort to unify. Both Richardson and Hillary Clinton are scheduled to attend the events, scheduled for Aug. 17 in Santa Fe and Albuquerque. At the end of June, Clinton owed outside vendors about $12 million, in addition to $13 million she loaned her campaign.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Mitt Romney indicated yesterday that he would accept an offer to be John McCain's running mate, but that he isn't counting on it. "I think any Republican who was offered the chance to be VP would certainly serve their party and serve our nominee and do so proudly," Romney told KOA radio in Denver.

FOON RHEE