Clinton, Obama bicker

Published 11:19 pm Tuesday, January 22, 2008

WASHINGTON — Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., argued on Tuesday that Barack Obama’s frustration with losing prompted him to look for a fight in their latest debate. Obama, D-Ill., said his rival and her husband, former President Clinton, were distorting his record.

“I think it’s very clear that Senator Clinton … and the president have been spending the last month attacking me in ways that are not accurate,” Obama told reporters in a conference call shortly after she lashed out at him in a harsh exchange that carried over from Monday night’s debate.

Speaking to reporters in Washington, Hillary Clinton belittled Obama’s line of debate criticism against her as “rehearsed points.”

“I think what we saw last night was that he’s very frustrated,” she said. “I believe that the events of the last 10 or so days, the outcome of New Hampshire and Nevada, have apparently convinced him to adopt a different strategy.”

Former President Clinton said Tuesday he enjoyed the bickering.

“I know you think it’s crazy, but I kind of like to see Barack and Hillary fight,” Bill Clinton said at a church in Greenville, S.C. “They’re flesh and blood people and they have their differences; let them have it.”

In the debate in Myrtle Beach, S.C., the two leading Democrats argued bitterly and in personal terms over issues such as Iraq and Bill Clinton’s role in the campaign.

“He clearly came last night looking for a fight. He was determined and launched right in,” Hillary Clinton said. “And I thought it was important to set the record straight.”

She restated her argument that Obama was unwilling to answer hard questions about his record, including his opposition to the Iraq war, his support for military budgets and his “present” votes as a member of the Illinois Legislature.

Obama countered that this was all part of Clinton’s strategy.

“Senator Clinton announced while we were still in Iowa that this was going to be her strategy and called it the fun part of campaigning. And, you know, I don’t think it’s the fun part to fudge the truth,” he said. “The necessary part of this campaign is to make sure that we’re getting accurate information to voters about people’s respective records.”

During an economic speech in Greenville, S.C., Obama accused Clinton of taking politically expedient positions inconsistent with her record. The Illinois senator put an unflattering twist on her contention that she is the candidate most ready to be president from the first day.

“We can’t afford a president whose positions change with the politics of the moment. We need a president who knows that being ready on Day One means getting it right from Day One,” Obama said.

The bickering brought new calls for calm from former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, running third among Democratic contenders. “There was a lot of squabbling,” Edwards said Tuesday. “While Senator Clinton and Senator Obama were hurling charges and countercharges at each other, I was thinking, ‘I’m John Edwards and I represent the grown-up wing of the Democratic Party.’ “