Obama pushes back against the Clintons

By MURRAY CAMPBELL

Barack Obama hit back yesterday against his tag-team Clinton opponents in South Carolina's Democratic primary even as rival Hillary Clinton, trailing badly in a new poll, left the state.

Mr. Obama continued to counter the outspoken Bill Clinton, coming close to accusing the former president of lying. "The only thing I want to make sure of is that when he goes after me, that he goes after me on the basis of facts and policy differences and, you know, stuff isn't just made up," he said in a television interview. The comment showed that the Democratic race would likely continue to be bad tempered in the runup to Saturday's primary in South Carolina.

Bad blood between the Obama and Clinton campaigns spilled into the open at a Democratic debate on Monday when the two rivals traded accusations of dishonesty, policy reversals and campaign trickery.

John Kerry, the Democratic presidential candidate in 2004, joined the fray yesterday by accusing Mr. Obama's opponents of resorting to smear tactics.

Mr. Kerry, whose presidential bid was wrecked by innuendo and lies about his Vietnam service, did not name the Clintons but they appeared to be the main target of his outburst. "The fight is just heating up. We won't let them steal this election with lies and distortions," he said.

The new poll, by Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby, gave Mr. Obama a double-digit lead over Ms. Clinton, with 43 per cent of Democratic voters, compared with 25 per cent for the New York senator.

John Edwards was a distant third with 15 per cent, despite being born in South Carolina. The majority of the polling in the three-day survey was done before Monday night's debate.

Mr. Obama, who was helped by a huge lead among the black voters expected to cast half the ballots in South Carolina, warned his supporters that good poll numbers are not enough.

"People can't take it for granted. Folks are saying, 'Well, Obama is leading in polls,' but that happened in New Hampshire, where people got complacent," he said in a radio interview.

Ms. Clinton said her team was fighting "a vigorous campaign" in South Carolina but she left her husband to speak on her behalf again yesterday as she travelled to Pennsylvania and New Jersey, which holds its primary on Feb. 5. Earlier this week, she made a 20-hour swing through California and Arizona, which are also holding primaries on so-called Super Tuesday.

Ms. Clinton is expected to return to South Carolina today but that didn't stop Mr. Edwards from criticizing her for leaving in the days before the primary.

The former vice-presidential nominee, who is emphasizing his South Carolina background, said voters should question whether Ms. Clinton would return if she became president. "After the debate, she flew out and won't be back," he said.

Republican hopefuls converged yesterday in Florida to proclaim their economic credentials before the state's primaries on Tuesday.

Former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, who has staked his candidacy largely on hopes of a good performance in Florida, said tax cuts and streamlined regulations are needed to fuel growth and ease fears that the United States is slipping into a recession.

Rival John McCain said that Florida needs to develop environmentally friendly "green technologies" and that lenders who caused the nation's mortgage crisis should be punished.

Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney emphasized his experience in the private sector while linking a strong economy to security issues.