Dems fret over warring words

[babylonsister]

Dems fret over warring words
By Jill Lawrence and Kathy Kiely, USA TODAY


WASHINGTON — Democrats are increasingly worried about their chances for victory in November after a series of attacks by Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton on rival Sen. Barack Obama's leadership, credibility, readiness as commander in chief and, now, his ability to win the White House.

The latest twist came Thursday on a conference call with reporters about Pennsylvania, where polls give Clinton a double-digit lead. Chief Clinton strategist and pollster Mark Penn said the April 22 primary will show that "Hillary is ready to win and that Sen. Obama really can't win the general election."

Clinton's communications director, Howard Wolfson, who was on the call, said later that the context was clear: "If you don't compete in Pennsylvania, you can't win a general election."

Clinton is making the case that she's more electable because she has won primaries in big states. Obama has won twice as many contests, leads in the delegate count and does as well as or better than Clinton against presumptive Republican nominee John McCain in most polls.

"It cannot inspire too much confidence in the Clinton campaign when their pollster ignores both polls and math by making comments that are so divorced from reality," Obama spokesman Bill Burton said.

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