Apr 18, 2008 1:00 pm US/Pacific
Clinton: White House Harder Than Debate
PHILADELPHIA (AP) ―
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Democratic presidential hopefuls Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) are seen prior to a debate at the National Constitution Center on April 16, 2008 in Philadelphia.
William Thomas Cain/Getty Images
Democratic presidential rivals Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama are complaining about which candidate is the biggest complainer.
The issue is their treatment in debates. Obama is objecting to the questions posed this week in one moderated by ABC News. Many of the toughest questions were targeted at Obama, the front-runner for the nomination, and he's said too much time was spent on political divisions instead of issues that matter to Americans.
Clinton said Friday that if Obama thinks the debate was tough, it pales in comparison to the pressures a president faces.
"I'm with Harry Truman on this — if you can't stand the heat get out of the kitchen," she told voters while campaigning in Pennsylvania. "Just speaking for myself, I am very comfortable in the kitchen."
But it wasn't so long ago that Clinton was the front-runner and complaining about her treatment in debates. After a debate last fall, her campaign compiled clips of her being targeted, and called it the "Politics of Pile On." In late February, Clinton complained that she always got asked the first question.
"Her blatant hypocrisy here is stunning," responded Obama spokesman Bill Burton.
The most recent debate Wednesday night was the most watched of this election cycle and has generated some negative reviews for ABC. Obama supporters have made some of the loudest objections, and the Obama campaign sent out a fundraising appeal off the debate titled "Gotcha."
Obama said Thursday that the moderators "like stirring up controversy and they like playing gotcha games, getting us to attack each other."
Clinton said Friday that getting tough questions is part of what happens in a debate and campaign. "Having been in the White House for eight years and seeing what happens in terms of the pressures and the stresses on a president, that was nothing," she said.
Both Clinton and Obama were campaigning in Pennsylvania Friday, which holds its primary Tuesday — their first contest in seven weeks. Obama leads Clinton in overall delegates, 1,645-1,504, but neither is close to achieving the 2,025 needed to win the nomination.
One of Clinton's supporters, New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine, said Friday that Clinton needs a big win in Pennsylvania if she hopes to overtake Obama. A loss in the Keystone state would be "pretty much a door closer," Corzine said.
Another Clinton supporter encouraged her to challenge Obama all the way to the convention.
"I think I also speak for more than 1,500 delegates who want you to go to the convention and to fight for your right to represent our country as president of the United States," Luis Cortez said as he introduced Clinton to speak at Esperanza High School, the Philadelphia charter academy that he heads.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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