U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., in efforts to defeat Republican Tim Michels in the Senate elections this November, debated his opponent and rallied with supporters alongside Illinois U.S. Senate candidate and Democratic National Convention keynote address speaker Barack Obama Saturday.
In his cross-border appearance, Obama defended Feingold's lone vote in the Senate against the USA Patriot Act, saying he might not have had the courage to stand up to the Bush administration and leadership of the Senate shortly after Sept. 11, 2001.
\I like to think that, had I been in the Senate, I would have cast the second vote against the Patriot Act,"" he said, according to The Capital Times. ""But this is how much I admire Russ Feingold: I can't guarantee it. I say that I would have voted against the Patriot Act. But I wasn't there in the pressure of that moment-so shortly after Sept. 11 and with anthrax being mailed into Capitol Hill.""
Obama added Feingold's efforts to encourage campaign finance reform, including refusing money from the Democratic Party and his push for reforms in health care and jobs are why he ""wants very much to serve in the Senate with this man.""
Obama added in The Capital Times that should both he and Feingold serve in the Senate, he wants to work together to push for health care reform.
Later Saturday, Feingold went from support for his stance on the Patriot Act to direct criticism when he participated in the second debate against Michels in Wausau. The second debate was decidedly less civil, with the two candidates frequently interrupting each other. When Feingold defended his votes against defense appropriation bills, Michels responded, ""Spoken like a 22-year politician.""
Michels also attacked Feingold's opposition to the act, calling him an ""extremist.""
""The Patriot Act is one of the reasons we haven't had a terrorist attack in the country in over three years now,"" Michels said.
Feingold responded to Michels' pointed remarks by defending his stance against the war in Iraq and accusing the Bush administration of taking resources away from efforts to destroy al-Qaida factions in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
""Do you want a senator that can see the difference between Afghanistan and Pakistan?"" he said.
