Holiday free-for-all in New Hampshire, Iowa

by Jill Zuckman and John McCormick

Milford, N.H. – With snow on the ground and Christmas looming, the presidential candidates are ratcheting up their criticisms of one another rather than toning it down in a nod to the holiday of peace and goodwill.

Sen. Hillary Clinton said here Saturday that her closest rival, Sen. Barack Obama, would need to rely on foreign policy advisers as president because he lacks the experience to make decisions alone, similar to when President Bush took office.

And Obama suggested in Oskaloosa, Iowa that former Sen. John Edwards is a hypocrite for denouncing advocacy groups seeking to influence the election while simultaneously benefiting from one that is advertising heavily on radio and about to begin running television ads after the holiday.

"We found out today that there's an outside group spending $750,000 – just bought three-quarters of a million dollars worth of television time – and the individual who is running the group used to be John Edward's campaign manager," Obama said. "So, you can't say yesterday, you don't believe in 'em, and today, you're having three-quarters of a million dollars being spent for you. You can't just talk the talk."

The ongoing back-and-forth, with Clinton going after Obama and Obama going after Edwards, reflects the tensions between each campaign in New Hampshire and Iowa. According to the polls, Clinton and Obama are neck-and-neck in New Hampshire, while Obama is trying to stanch a strong surge for Edwards in the Iowa caucuses.

On Friday night, Obama wondered aloud at a campaign event why so many former foreign policy experts from President Bill Clinton's administration were supporting him rather than Clinton. That prompted the Clinton campaign to quickly issue a list of her advisers, dismissing his remarks as patently false. And it provoked Clinton to tell reporters that ultimately, the president has to be able to make decisions alone.

"I'm not holding myself out while leaning on advisers," she said after greeting voters inside the River House Café here. "I'm saying, 'Here I am, here's what I believe, here's what I've done for 35 years, here's how you can assess me. Because when the door closes and you're having to make those difficult decisions that presidents confront every day, ultimately, there is no adviser you can count on. You have to make the decision and live with the consequences."

Clinton also said that comparing how many advisers each candidate has is "silly."

"This is not a campaign between lists of advisers, this is a campaign between real people," she said, adding that the race is about who is ready to be president from the first day in office.

Ben LaBolt, a spokesman for Obama, said Obama is happy to compare his record of decision-making on foreign policy to Clinton's, noting that she has justified past decisions by referring to advice she has received.

"That's a comparison we're happy to make since Barack Obama is the only major candidate who opposed the war in Iraq and refused to give George Bush the benefit of the doubt on Iran," LaBolt said.

Meanwhile, Obama's increasing focus on Edwards in Iowa reflects the stiff competition for a large group of undecided caucus-goers, as well as the sense of many political professionals that Edwards is regaining popularity there.

Obama sharply criticized Edwards for benefiting from a group called Alliance for a New America, a so-called 527 group run by his 2004 campaign manager, Nick Baldick. That group has been running radio ads for several weeks about health care, farmers, trade and the fight for rural America that appear to be favorable to Edwards.

Edwards, who has raised significantly less money than Obama or Clinton, said that he has sought to discourage such spending on his behalf.

"Senator Obama's attacks seem to increase as momentum for our campaign grows," Edwards said. "The truth is I am the only candidate in this race who has never taken a dime of PAC or Washington lobbyist money – ever. And, it's why I support public financing of federal elections."

Later in the day, Edwards issued a statement saying he does not support 527 groups, including this one. "I am asking this group and others not to run the ads," he said. "I would encourage all the 527s to stay out of the political process.”

David Axelrod, Obama's top strategist, said the group is planning to start running ads the day after Christmas. The ad is expected to run statewide through the Jan. 3 caucuses, with especially strong spending in the television market that includes Sioux City, Iowa.

"It's a blow-out buy," Axelrod said.

A source involved with Alliance for a New America disputed that characterization and said the organization has not finalized the television buy.

Later, at a restaurant in Pleasantville, Iowa, Obama was asked whether independent groups had the right to spend money on issues and candidates.

"Listen, I love labor and I actively support labor myself. I think it's just important to not say you oppose these things literally the day before you've benefited from them," Obama said, adding that it is important for politicians to "practice what we preach."

"I suspect that if John called his former campaign manager and political director and said 'we're not going to engage in 527 activity' that would probably have some influence," Obama said.