Hillary’s warm-up act getting jeered before her non-concession concession speech:
Mr Buffenbarger’s speech was particularly striking in its strongly negative remarks against Clinton’s rival in the Democratic nominating contest, Senator Barack Obama, D-IL.
Buffenberger told the crowd he got to know Obama in the wake of a Maytag plant closing in Illinois. We “know what we saw, a guy with two-faced positions nose in the air pontificating when the coast is clear and as soon as anyone throws a punch he’s in a bum’s crunch to get the hell away from the conflict,” he said.
Buffenbarger went on to draw a comparison of sorts between Obama and legendary world champion boxer Muhammad Ali.
“Barack Obama is no Muhammad Ali. He took a walk every time there was a tough vote in the Illinois senate,” Buffenbarger said. “That’s what a shadow boxer does. All the right moves, all the right combinations all the right footwork but …He never steps into the ring. He walks away from the fight.”
When Clinton took the stage she did not elaborate on Buffenbarger’s comments, although later in her speech she also referenced the Maytag plant that had closed in Illinois.
The crowd had an intense reaction to the union leader – at first listening patiently to his remarks and later jeering them and calling for the main speaker of the night, chanting, “Hillary, Hillary.” It was unclear if the crowd was attempting to drown out Buffenbarger because of his negative remarks, or had simply grown tired of the lengthy speech.