Obama: Rush Limbaugh, Lou Dobbs Feed 'Xenophobia, Hate Crimes'

May 23rd, 2008 5:33 PM

Michael Bender of the Palm Beach Post reported from a Barack Obama fundraiser at a local hotel where Obama railed against opponents of illegal immigration on radio and TV:

"A certain segment has basically been feeding a kind of xenophobia. There's a reason why hate crimes against Hispanic people doubled last year,'' Obama said. "If you have people like Lou Dobbs and Rush Limbaugh ginning things up, it's not surprising that would happen."

The Post noted that Obama also dismissed the notion that he would have a difficult time wooing Hispanic voters that Sen. Hillary Clinton and Republican Sen. John McCain have claimed as their own. "I'm confident that if the Latino community knows me well, they know my values, they know my stance on the issues, then they will know no one will fight more for things that matter to them,'' Obama said. Including amnesty?