Opinion: Barack Obama does 4 fundraisers in a New York night while Clinton snipes

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What’s a March day promising spring without some campaign sniping?

After giving a speech on the economy Thursday (with Mayor Mike Bloomberg in attendance) along with some interviews advocating higher taxes, Sen. Barack Obama had a busy afternoon and evening of fundraising in Manhattan. He made four stops to pick up cash, starting with a $1,000-a-plate event at the Credit Suisse building.

As Sen. Hillary Clinton’s campaign has jumped up and down and pointed to for days, Credit Suisse is a major sub-prime lender, a financial service Obama believes needs added regulation following the nation’s housing troubles.

‘Today, Sen. Obama gives an economy speech followed by a fundraiser at -- you guessed it -- one of the top 10 issuers of subprime loans in America,’ spokesman Phil Singer said in a perfectly timed statement. ‘In fact, Sen. Obama has taken more money from the top 10 issuers of sub-prime loans than both Sen. Clinton and Sen. McCain.’

But those at the first dinner weren’t all Credit Suisse employees. The suggestion that Obama was holding a fundraiser at the offices of a sub-prime lender drew a pointed response from his campaign.

‘The American people are tired of the sniping from the Clinton campaign, both real and imagined,’ said Jen Psaki, Obama’s traveling press secretary.

‘Today’s event was a general fundraiser in a room paid for by our campaign and attended by people from varied backgrounds who are committed to changing the tone of our politics, and rejecting the kind of tactics that the Clinton campaign is now embracing,’ she said. ‘Any suggestion this was a fundraiser hosted by the mortgage industry is as imaginary as the other tall tales that have been coming out of the Clinton campaign lately.’

Oh, ouch! You can almost hear the cackling. Lobbing the old Bosnia bomb back at the Clintons.

--John McCormick

John McCormick writes for the Swamp of the Chicago Tribune Washington Bureau.