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After civil debate, Obama attacks Clinton

BY LETTA TAYLER | letta.tayler@newsday.com

5:30 PM EST, February 1, 2008

Democratic presidential hopefuls Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., right, and Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., stand together before a Democratic presidential debate in Los Angeles Thursday night. (AP Photo / January 31, 2008)

LOS ANGELES - Thursday night's honeymoon has given way to the morning after.

With many pundits judging Hillary Clinton the victor in Thursday night's remarkably civil rebate, Barack Obama fought back Friday morning by attacking his rival's positions on Iraq, health care and lobbyists as "inadequate."

He also stepped up his quest to portray himself as the better candidate to defeat GOP frontrunner John McCain, from whom he hopes to siphon moderate Republican votes.

"In terms of electability, I believe that I am attracting new voters and independent voters into the process in a way that Senator Clinton cannot do," Obama told reporters in a hotel ballroom here before flying off to stump in Arizona and New Mexico.

Noting he had captured more independent and less "traditional" votes than Clinton in last month's Nevada caucuses, he said, "I'm confident I'll get her votes if I win the nomination. It's not clear that she would get the votes I'd get if she wins it. And that's a fundamental difference."

On Iraq, Obama said Clinton "still has not adequately explained" her initial vote to authorize the war in Iraq and added: "I think that is important because it speaks to her judgment that would be applied to future conflicts." By having opposed the war from the start, Obama argued, he provides a sharper contrast to McCain, who supports a continued military presence in Iraq.

On health care, "Senator Clinton continues to believe that the government has to force individuals to buy health care," Obama said.

Clinton claimed in the debate that Obama's plan would leave out 15 million people because it is not mandatory. Obama countered that proposal would make health care affordable to all and that his rival would waste time and resources penalizing Americans who don't join a plan.

Obama called his refusal to accept special interest and lobbyists' money a "critical difference" with Clinton, who does. Clinton "does not really recognize" the special interest "game that is being played in Washington" that could stymie either candidate's agenda, he said.

Meanwhile, Clinton advisers Friday complained vehemently about an Obama campaign mailer that criticizes Clinton's health plan, with one adviser likening the mailer to "Nazis marching through Skokie, Illinois."

Clinton communications director Howard Wolfson disavowed the analogy leveled by Len Nichols, a health policy expert at the New America Foundation who has consulted with Clinton and other candidates on their proposals.

But the remark still reflected the emotional dispute over how best to achieve universal health care, a key concern of many Democratic primary voters.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.