White House hopeful Hillary Clinton has launched a scathing attack on Democratic rival Barack Obama in a bid to restore her front-runner status.
After a day of denying that a series of 11 straight losses to Mr Obama left her campaign teetering on the edge of defeat, Mrs Clinton went on the offensive.
‘Shame on you, Barack Obama,’ Mrs Clinton said during a campaign rally in Ohio, which along with the southern state of Texas holds key Democratic nominating contests on 4 March.
‘It is time you ran a campaign consistent with your messages in public. That's what I expect from you. Meet me in Ohio. Let's have a debate about your tactics and your behavior in this campaign.’
Mrs Clinton accused the Obama campaign of sending out misleading policy mailings about healthcare and free trade.
Mr Obama stood by the statements in his campaign flyers and questioned the timing of Mrs Clinton's attack, noting that the tracts were not new.
‘I'm puzzled by the sudden change in tone, unless these were just brought to her attention,’ he told reporters. ‘It makes me think that's something tactical about getting so exercised this morning.’
‘The notion that somehow we're engaging in nefarious tactics, I think, is pretty hard to swallow,’ he said.
Mr Obama countered that he has been the target of negative attacks from the Mrs Clinton campaign for months.
Mrs Clinton's campaign also dismissed as ‘nonsense’ a Washington Post report that quoted an unnamed campaign aide as saying Mrs Clinton saw Mr Obama's win in Wisconsin's state primary earlier this week as a ‘decisive blow.’
‘She knows where things are going. It's pretty clear she has a big decision. But it's daunting. It's still hard to accept,’ said the adviser.
Polls released this week have suggested Mr Obama and Mrs Clinton are in a dead-heat in Texas.
On the Republican side, presumptive nominee John McCain attempted to distance himself from a New York Times report that alleged some of his aides suspected improper conduct between the Arizona senator and a younger female lobbyist.
But the controversy stirred anew today, as Newsweek, The Washington Post and The New York Times reported on contradictions in McCain's statements about his contacts with firms associated with the lobbyist.
