NEW YORK—Jim Leach, a former Congressman who represented Iowa for 30 years as a Republican, and Lincoln Chafee, a former Senator from Rhode Island, joined several other Republicans Tuesday in formally endorsing Senator Obama for President.
Leach, who was a foreign service officer before being in Congress and labeled by many as a “liberal Republican,” headlined a confer ence call yesterday held by high- profile Republicans in support of Obama.
Other Republicans for Obama who spoke during the conference call include Chafee and former Bush administration intelligence adviser Rita Hauser.
“I’m convinced that the national interest demands a new approach to our interaction with the world,” said Leach.
He also predicted that non-Democrats would be drawn to Obama due to his bipartisan appeal and his opposition to the Bush administration’s foreign policy.
“The prospect that we’ll have more of the same—that is the source of angst of many Republicans around the country,” continued Leach.
Chafee added that “we’ve seen our credibility shattered” during Bush’s presidency.
Hauser pointed to McCain’s and Obama’s response to the Georgia-Russia crisis to contrast the two candidates.
While McCain was hard line and “bellicose,” Obama welcomed the Republicans’ support.
His camp said in a statement that Republicans are all “crossing the divide of old politics to support Barack Obama for president.”
Against Party Lines
The Obama campaign said that they would officially launch a Republicans for Obama web site within the next few days with the help of Leach, Chafee, Hauser, and other Republican supporters.
Meanwhile, there already exists a “Republicans for Obama” website that is not affiliated with Obama’s campaign (www.republicansforobama.org) but instead features ordinary people who have “voted Republican all [their] lives, but recognize that our Country needs a new kind of leader at this time,” the Web site said.
“Republicans for Obama is a grassroots organization of proud party members who all share one important trait—we are Americans first and Republicans second,” Republicans for Obama wrote, contending that “while we as Republicans will not always see eye to eye with a President Obama, we know that his politics of competency and unity will lead to a stronger America.”
Republicans for Obama has more than “2000 registered members” from across the Nation. It is not known how many people will be involved in Obama’s official Republicans for Obama web site, but organizers stress that they will focus on contrasting McCain and Obama rather than fundraising.
