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Fierce war of words between Obama, Hillary

Harrisburg (Pennsylvania): Relations between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama reached a new low on Saturday and Sunday with a series of increasingly destructive exchanges and “attack” ads ahead of Tuesday’s Pennsylvania primary, the last big contest of the Democratic party’s 15-month presidential nomination campaign.

The two camps now routinely swap personal criticism to a degree rarely seen when the battle for Pennsylvania began seven weeks ago.

Mr. Obama, abandoning his stance as a candidate standing above the fray, claimed that Ms. Clinton had adopted a “slash and burn” strategy in the knowledge that she was no longer able to win.

A retired general and Obama supporter, Walter Stewart, told reporters that, because of Ms. Clinton’s lie about being under sniper fire during a visit to Bosnia, she would lack the “moral authority” as President to lay a wreath at the tomb of the unknown soldier. Howard Wolfson, Ms. Clinton’s communications chief, described it as the “most outrageous attack of the campaign.” The Obama campaign distanced itself from the remark.

The latest opinion poll, published on Sunday by the McClatchy newspaper group, put Ms. Clinton on 48 per cent to Mr. Obama’s 43 per cent, with 8 per cent undecided. She needs to win by a margin of 10 per cent or more to head off calls to quit the race.

Geoff Garin, the head of the Clinton campaign team, told MSNBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday that she intended to stay in the race after Pennsylvania. Resisting pressure from Democratic leaders to end the contest, Mr. Garin said: “There is no need to make a rush judgment.”

The next contests are on May 6 in North Carolina, which Mr. Obama is expected to win easily, and Indiana, which polls suggest is too close to call.

David Axelrod, Mr. Obama’s campaign strategist, acknowledged that Ms. Clinton had a right to remain in the race, even though her defeat was inevitable. But he denounced her “kitchen-sink” strategy of throwing everything at Mr. Obama, which could damage the party’s chances in November against the Republicans.

Mr. Obama, who will have spent $9.3 million on television advertising in Pennsylvania, a record for a primary, put out two fresh ads at the weekend, one attacking Ms. Clinton’s healthcare policy. Bill Clinton, also on the campaign trail, described the ad as “bull,” while the Clinton-supporting Governor of Pennsylvania, Ed Rendell, said ad spending by Mr. Obama was “almost obscene.” — ©Guardian Newspapers Limited, 2008

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