Clinton hits Obama hard in debate

The New York senator keeps up attacks over Obama's former pastor and more -- though she says Obama could beat McCain

PHILADELPHIA -- Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton went on the attack against Sen. Barack Obama on a variety of issues during a contentious debate Wednesday, warning that he would be deeply vulnerable in a general-election fight if he wins the Democratic presidential nomination.

Helped by the questioning of the moderators, Clinton cited several areas where Obama was vulnerable, including the incendiary remarks by his former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., and his service on a board with William Ayers, a former leader of the radical Weather Underground. She even cited Louis Farrakhan, who has endorsed Obama.

"This is a legitimate area," she said, "as everything is when we run for office."

But asked directly whether she believed Obama could beat the likely Republican nominee, Sen. John McCain, she answered, "Yes, yes, yes." She quickly added: "I think I can do a better job. Obviously. That's why I'm here."

In their final face-to-face encounter before the Pennsylvania primary on Tuesday, Obama largely refrained from taking the bait when offered the opportunity to go after Clinton, like when the focus turned to her honesty and her claims of facing sniper fire during a trip to Bosnia.

Instead, he was again forced to explain remarks he made at a fundraiser last week in San Francisco, where he said that many small-town residents in Pennsylvania and elsewhere are "bitter" because of lost economic opportunities and "cling to" religion or guns or antipathy toward those not like them.

He explained that he had "mangled" his thoughts and sought, once again, to explain that he was trying to express the frustration many economically stressed Americans feel.

"The point I was making was that when people feel like Washington is not listening to them," he said, "that politically they end up focusing on those things that are constant, like religion, which is a place they can find some refuge."

Wednesday's nationally televised encounter at the National Constitution Center here was the 21st Democratic debate and the first in seven weeks. Expectations were high that it would help define some of the issues that have divided them and the party since the last major primaries were held in Ohio and Texas in early March.

While the two candidates are engaged in a fierce struggle for the nomination, many party leaders are looking ahead nervously to the general election in November, worried that whoever emerges as the nominee will be weakened by the long and increasingly bitter intramural contest. McCain has already picked up many of Clinton's charges against Obama and used them in his speeches and advertising.

Clinton, asked about her misstatements about landing under sniper fire in Bosnia in 1996, expressed regret for her remarks.

"I may be a lot of things, but I'm not dumb," she said in explaining her exaggerated account. "On a couple of occasions in the last weeks, I just said some things that were not in keeping with what I knew to be the case."

"I'm embarrassed by it, I apologized for it, I said it was a mistake," she added.

Clinton, under questioning by the debate moderators, Charlie Gibson and George Stephanopoulos of ABC News, returned again and again to questions about Obama's electability. She said that his comments about religion and guns had raised concerns among voters. She also said that Republicans would exploit doubts about Obama's religious beliefs and his patriotism.

"I've been in this arena for a long time," she said. "I have a lot of baggage, and everybody's rummaged through it for years. I will be able to withstand anything the Republicans throw our way."

Obama responded that he had no doubt that the Republicans would unleash a furious campaign against him if he wins the nomination. "What I think I've shown in these primaries is I can take a punch," he said. "I've taken a couple of pretty good ones from Senator Clinton."

Clinton has made her testing in office and her presumed ability to withstand Republican charges a centerpiece of her campaign and her argument to superdelegates that they should support her, despite Obama's lead in delegates and in popular votes.

But polls released this week of Democrats in the coming primary states of Pennsylvania, Indiana and North Carolina show that a majority of them believe that Obama would be the stronger general election candidate.

Both candidates expressed confidence that the party would rally around the eventual nominee, no matter how the long and bitter contest was resolved.

"The Democratic Party will come together because we have no choice," Obama said.

Clinton said, "I'm going to do everything I possibly can to make sure that one of us takes the oath of office next January."