Obama sees biggest divide since Johnson-Goldwater

Barack Obama
President Barack Obama speaks to reporters Friday, March 23, 2012, in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington. Obama on Tuesday, said the choice facing voters this November will be as stark as in the milestone 1964 contest between Lyndon Johnson and Barry Goldwater — one that ended up with one of the biggest Democratic landslides in history.
AP Photo/ Haraz N. Ghanbari

By KEN THOMAS
Associated Press

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — President Barack Obama said Tuesday the choice facing voters this November will be as stark as in the milestone 1964 contest between Lyndon Johnson and Barry Goldwater — one that ended up with one of the biggest Democratic landslides in history.

The president made his comments during a fundraising blitz in Florida, and right before his general election foe was essentially decided. Republican Rick Santorum dropped out of the presidential contest, making it clear that Obama would face off against Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor.

Obama used a daylong trip to Florida to call again for Congress to raise taxes on millionaires, a populist pitch on an issue that he hopes will help define the differences with nominee-to-be Romney.

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"This election will probably have the biggest contrast that we've seen maybe since the Johnson-Goldwater election, maybe before that," Obama told donors at the first of three campaign events in this battleground state. The events were expected to raise at least $1.7 million.

In his 1964 race against Goldwater, Johnson carried 44 of 50 states and won 61 percent of the popular vote, the largest share of any candidate since 1820.

Running on a record that included the Great Society, Johnson portrayed Goldwater as a dangerous extremist. He was aided by Goldwater's GOP convention speech, in which the candidate proclaimed, "Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice."

Republicans said Obama's tax proposal was aimed at dividing Americans along class lines.

The push for the Buffett rule, named after billionaire investor Warren Buffett, comes ahead of a Senate vote next week and as millions of Americans prepare to file their income tax returns. The plan has little chance of passing Congress, but Senate Democrats say the issue underscores the need for economic fairness.

Obama capped his day at a large rally-style event in Hollywood, Fla., that included a musical performance by singer John Legend and a fundraising dinner in nearby Golden Beach, Fla.