Le Mars, Iowa – Barack Obama and John Edwards separately castigated Democratic front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton Monday for defending lobbyists and portrayed her as the consummate Washington insider with special-interest ties.
“If you don’t think lobbyists have too much influence in Washington, then I believe you’ve probably been in Washington too long,” Obama said.
Added Edwards in an Associated Press interview: “Democratic candidates, and for that matter all candidates, should just say, ‘We’re not taking these people’s money anymore’ because it’s the way to take their power away from them, and it’s the way to bring about the change that this country needs.”
Among Republican hopefuls, John McCain promised to protect individuals’ property rights, Rudy Giuliani sidestepped a question about his daughter’s apparent enthusiasm for Obama and Sam Brownback squared off with Mitt Romney over abortion.
Unencumbered now that Congress is on a month-long break, presidential candidates from both parties descended on the leadoff contest state of Iowa, where they tested themes, rolled out proposals and maneuvered for support.
The sharpest elbows Monday came from Obama, the Illinois senator, and Edwards, the former North Carolina senator.
They seized on Clinton’s remarks at a weekend candidates’ forum in Chicago to argue she was not the candidate of change but rather a Washington creature who would maintain the status quo.
On Saturday, the New York senator drew boos and hisses from liberal bloggers when, unlike Edwards and Obama, she refused to forsake campaign donations from special interests.
Instead, she said: “A lot of those lobbyists, whether you like it or not, represent real Americans – they actually do.”
Neither Edwards nor Obama accept money directly from federal lobbyists, but both take contributions from people who work at firms with lobbying operations.
Responding to the criticism, Clinton’s campaign circulated a memo arguing that opponents were threatened by polls showing her gaining ground.
Among Republicans, Brownback and Romney continued to tangle on abortion as they sought the backing of influential social conservatives days ahead of an Iowa test vote.
In Clear Lake, Iowa, Giuliani refused to discuss the political preferences of his 17-year-old daughter, Caroline.
Until Monday morning, her Facebook profile showed she belonged to Obama’s Facebook group, “Barack Obama (One Million Strong for Barack).”
She left the group after the online magazine Slate inquired about it.
McCain, for his part, courted the limited-government wing of the GOP in a Rotary Club speech in Cedar Rapids.
He criticized a 2005 Supreme Court decision giving local governments broad power to seize private property to generate tax revenue.
