US:THE REPUBLICAN and Democratic presidential front runners have clashed over Iraq, with John McCain pouring scorn on Barack Obama's statement that he would consider reinvading the country if al-Qaeda was forming a base there.
"When you examine that statement, it's pretty remarkable," Mr McCain told a crowd in Tyler, Texas. "I have some news. Al-Qaeda is in Iraq. It's called al-Qaeda in Iraq."
Mr McCain was responding to remarks Mr Obama made during a debate with Hillary Clinton in Cleveland on Tuesday night.
Asked if he would reserve the right after a US withdrawal from Iraq to send troops back in to quell an insurrection or civil war, Mr Obama said: "As commander in chief, I will always reserve the right to make sure that we are looking out for American interests. And if al-Qaeda is forming a base in Iraq, then we will have to act in a way that secures the American homeland and our interests abroad."
Mr McCain seized on the remark as evidence of Mr Obama's weakness on national security, arguing that withdrawing from Iraq would amount to "waving the white flag" in the face of al-Qaeda.
"And my friends, if we left, they wouldn't be establishing a base, they'd be taking a country, and I'm not going to allow that to happen, my friends. I will not surrender. I will not surrender to al-Qaeda," Mr McCain said.
Mr Obama hit back at Mr McCain during a rally in Columbus yesterday, taunting the Arizona senator over his promise to follow Osama bin Laden "to the gates of Hell" to bring the al-Qaeda leader to justice. "All he has done is to follow George Bush into a misguided war in Iraq," Mr Obama said.
The clash over Iraq came as a new poll showed Mr McCain leading both Democratic contenders in a national match-up, with a two-point edge over Mr Obama and a six-point lead over Mrs Clinton. The Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll shows Mr McCain running ahead of Mr Obama on every issue except healthcare. The Republican has a 13-point advantage on Iraq and a 37-point lead on terrorism.
Although Mr McCain's lead over Mrs Clinton is bigger than over Mr Obama, she is ahead of Mr McCain on a number of issues, including the economy and illegal immigration, and she beats Mr McCain by a wider margin than Mr Obama on healthcare.
In their final debate before next Tuesday's primaries in Texas and Ohio, Mrs Clinton sought to present herself as a fighter and to portray Mr Obama as a lightweight media darling. Pointing out that she usually got the first questions in debates, allowing Mr Obama to react to her answer, Mrs Clinton referred to a parody on media bias on the comedy TV show Saturday Night Live.
"Maybe we should ask Barack if he's comfortable and needs another pillow," she said.
The candidates argued about healthcare for the first 16 minutes of the debate, with Mrs Clinton accusing Mr Obama of distorting her policy on the issue.
In Ohio, which has lost tens of thousands of jobs to Mexico and Canada in recent years, the North American Free Trade Agreement is deeply unpopular and both candidates promised to renegotiate it. Mrs Clinton said she would opt out of the agreement unless Mexico and Canada agreed to renegotiate it.
Mr Obama's best moment came in response to Mrs Clinton's claim that their records on the Iraq war were identical since he became a US senator in 2005. Mr Obama said Mrs Clinton could not escape from the fact that she voted to authorise the use of force against Iraq. "The fact was this was a big strategic blunder. It was not a matter of, 'Well, here is the initial decision, but since then we've voted the same way'," he said.
"Once we had driven the bus into the ditch, there were only so many ways we could get out. The question is: Who's making the decision initially to drive the bus into the ditch? And the fact is that Senator Clinton often says that she is ready on day one, but, in fact, she was ready to give in to George Bush on day one on this critical issue." Towards the end of the debate, Mrs Clinton said she would like to take back her vote for the Iraq war.
Mr Obama faced questions over expressions of support he received from the controversial Muslim leader Louis Farrakhan. Mr Obama said he denounced Mr Farrakhan's anti-Semitic statements in the past but Mrs Clinton suggested that there was a difference between denouncing the minister's statements and rejecting his support.
"There's no formal offer of help from Minister Farrakhan that would involve me rejecting it," Mr Obama said. "But if the word 'reject' Senator Clinton feels is stronger than the word "denounce," then I'm happy to concede the point, and I would reject and denounce."