Feb 27, 2008 5:39 pm US/Central
Obama, McCain Get Nasty Over Al Qaeda In Iraq
GOP Frontrunner Angered By Ohio Debate Comment; Clinton Tries To Hold Things Together In Ohio
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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Barack Obama and John McCain exchanged barbs on al Qaeda in Iraq on Feb. 27, while Hillary Clinton campaigned hard in Ohio.
CBS
The tension is mounting for Hillary Clinton. With six days until the critical Ohio and Texas primaries, the polls are tightening in both races.
But as CBS station WCBS-TV in New York City has learned, the likely Republican candidate is already acting as though Clinton has lost.
Barack Obama came under assault Wednesday, but not from Clinton.
Six days before the pivotal March 4 primaries, John McCain injected himself into the Democratic race. He took aim at one of Obama's comment at Tuesday night's debate.
"If al Qaeda is forming a base in Iraq, we'll have to act in a way that secures the American homeland," Obama said.
The Republican's voice dripped with contempt.
"I have some news -- al Qaeda is in Iraq. It's called al Qaeda in Iraq," McCain said Wednesday. "If we left they wouldn't be establishing a base, they'd be taking a country."
But Obama returned fire.
"I have some news for John McCain -- there was no such thing as al Qaeda in Iraq until George Bush and John McCain decided to invade Iraq," Obama said.
Almost lost amid the dust-up was Clinton, who held an economic conference in Ohio.
"I'm convinced our best days are ahead of us, but we have to be serious about how we do it," Clinton said.
Obama seems pleased that McCain apparently views him as his fall opponent, but Clinton is running hard to halt Obama's momentum.
Polls in Texas show she has lost her wide lead and now trails Obama by up to four points. In Ohio, she's still ahead, though her double-digit lead is down to seven points.
Clinton has less than a week to halt Obama in his tracks.
"She needs to convince people and voters that in fact her candidacy is viable again, and that is the hard mountain that she needs to climb," political strategist Luis Miranda told WCBS-TV.
Meanwhile, Clinton on Wednesday lost the support of Atlanta Congressman and Civil Rights veteran John Lewis.
Though Lewis' move was expected, it must have caused tremors at Clinton headquarters. They fear that black superdelegates could start drifting Obama's way.
Clinton's best and perhaps only chance of averting that outcome is to win both Texas an Ohio next week.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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