Clinton ridicules Obama in comeback bid

Posted 02 21 2008 5:25AM

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidateHillary Clinton, staggered by 10 voting losses in a row,ridiculed surging rival Barack Obama on Wednesday as all talkand little substance as she tried to slow his momentum.

The New York senator and former first lady is in the fightof her political life after losing the Democratic votes inWisconsin and Hawaii on Tuesday to Obama, the first-termIllinois senator whose powerful "yes we can" speaking style hascarried him to the front-runner's position.

With the string of wins, Obama has broadened his votingcoalition and taken control of the race for the Democraticnomination in the November election. He now has wins in 25 ofthe state-by-state contests; Clinton has 11.

At a fund-raising event in New York, Clinton belittledObama as an inexperienced choice for commander-in-chief in adangerous world, for advocating a health care plan that is notas expansive as hers, and for giving airy speeches.

"It's about picking a president who relies not just onwords but on work, on hard work," she said. "We need to make achoice between speeches and solutions, because while wordsmatter greatly, the greatest words in the world are not enoughunless you match them with action."

"Now others might be joining a movement," she said. "Well,I'm joining you on the night shift, and on the day shift."

A new Reuters/Zogby poll released on Wednesday said Obamahas leaped past Clinton and built a big national lead in theDemocratic presidential race.

The poll showed Obama, who would be the first blackpresident, with a 14-point edge over Clinton, 52 percent to 38percent, after being in a statistical tie with the New Yorksenator last month.

"MORE THAN BIG RALLIES"

Obama, in his Wisconsin victory speech before thousands inHouston on Tuesday night, countered accusations from bothClinton and the likely Republican nominee, Arizona Sen. JohnMcCain, that his campaign is all about eloquent speeches.

He said he realized "it is going to take more than bigrallies, it is going to require more than rousing speeches" andpolicy papers to win.

"It is going to require something more, because the problemthat we face in America today is not a lack of good ideas, it'sthat Washington has become a place where good ideas go to die,"he said.

Clinton was later flying to Texas for events in Hidalgo andBrownsville before a Thursday night debate in Austin with Obamathat is one of her last chances to take him on face-to-face.

Analysts believe Clinton can only turn around her campaignby winning big victories in the March 4 contests in Texas andOhio. The two states offer a rich trove of 334 conventiondelegates that Clinton desperately needs.

Obama and McCain are already tossing barbs at each other inwhat could be a preview of the general election campaign todecide the next president on November 4.

In Wisconsin on Tuesday night, McCain asked: "Will we riskthe confused leadership of an inexperienced candidate."

Obama fired back that McCain backed President George W.Bush's economic policies and wants to keep U.S. troops in Iraqindefinitely, while he would withdraw them quickly.

"He represents the policies of yesterday and we want to bethe party of tomorrow," Obama said.

McCain told ABC on Wednesday he believed Obama was now hisgreatest threat, "but I don't think you could count SenatorClinton out. She's shown great resilience in the past."

McCain, who at 71 would be the oldest person to ever win afirst presidential term, faces lingering opposition from formerArkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who has essentially no chance ofwinning the Republican nomination but garners support fromsocial conservatives.

Asked by CNN why he is staying in the race, Huckabee saidhe wanted to make sure the issues of illegal immigration andthe ailing U.S. economy remain on the table.

"If I leave, we are not going to have it. We're not talkingabout tax reform and we need to. A lot of Americans arehurting," Huckabee said.

(Additional reporting by John Whitesides, Jason Szep andDonna Smith, editing by Patricia Zengerle)

(To read more about the U.S. political campaign, visitReuters "Tales from the Trail: 2008" online athttp://blogs.reuters.com/trail08/