BARACK Obama yesterday said he planned to increase his criticism of former First Lady Hillary Clinton over her claims of having crucial White House experience, and a failure to release her tax returns.
The get-tough stance followed Mr Obama's defeats in Texas and Ohio on Tuesday, which were largely put down to a series of negative attacks on him.
His aides have questioned why the New York senator has not released her tax details – something she
says she will do around 15 April, the US tax deadline.
Howard Wolfson, a spokesman for the Clinton campaign, described Mr Obama's statement as being reminiscent of the attacks the Clintons endured during investigations by prosecutor Kenneth Starr in the 1990s, which many saw as politically motivated.
Mr Wolfson's introduction of Mr Starr's name again portrays Mrs Clinton as a victim, while her attacks on Mr Obama's "preparedness to be commander in chief and steward of the economy" continue at the same time.
Mr Wolfson said: "I, for one, do not believe that imitating Ken Starr is the way to win a Democratic primary election for president."
Bill Burton, a spokesman for the Obama campaign, said the comparison with Mr Starr was "absurd", when the former First Lady has been calling for more scrutiny of the young Illinois senator's record.
"We don't believe that expecting candidates for the presidency to disclose their tax returns somehow constitutes Ken Starr tactics, but the kind of transparency and accountability that Americans are looking for," Mr Burton said.
"And if Senator Clinton doesn't think that the Republicans will ask these very same questions, then she's not as ready to go toe-to-toe with John McCain as she claims."
The Democrats' national chairman, Howard Dean, also joined the fray, urging party officials in Florida and Michigan to come up with plans to repeat their presidential nominating contests so that their delegates can be counted.
The two states, which offer 366 delegates between them, were disqualified after breaking party rules by holding their contests too early.
But in such a close race, their much-needed delegates could be crucial.
Today, Mr Obama has 1,567 delegates, compared with Mrs Clinton's 1,462, as they try to reach the magic number of 2,025 which is needed to secure the Democratic nomination at the party's convention this summer.
Meanwhile, President George Bush said John McCain, the Republican nominee-to-be, would be a strong president, who would not "flinch in the face of danger".
Several senior Democratic officials fear negative attacks and intense disagreements between the Clinton and Obama camps could harm the party's chances of beating Mr McCain in November's presidential election.
The full article contains 451 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
