NRA uses Hillary Clinton mailer against Obama

A pro-Sen. Hillary Clinton mailer has resurfaced on the campaign trail, as the National Rifle Association seeks to strengthen opposition to Sen. Barack Obama's stance on gun control issues. The original ad criticized Obama for his statement that small-town voters hurt by bad economic conditions "cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations."

The NRA announced its endorsement of John McCain and took out an ad in USA Today that copies the mailer with the tag line, "Hillary was right: You can't trust Obama with your guns." The ad "accuses Obama of changing his statements on gun issues to try to fit the audience he was addressing," writes Sharon Theimer of the Associated Press. The NRA's political Action committee has spent at least $2.3 million to oppose Obama.

Obama says he supports Second Amendment rights, but "There's nothing inconsistent with also saying we can institute some commonsense gun laws so that we don't have kids being shot on the streets of cities like Chicago." His campaign cited an endorsement by the American Hunters and Shooters Association, which claims to be a "mainstream group of hunters" that supports responsible gun ownership. For her part, Clinton says she disagrees with the NRA's use of the mailer. (Read more)