Clinton and Obama set to lock horns in TV debate

Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama looked set to engage in a heated debate tonight as the former First Lady tried to get her presidential campaign back on track.

Since taking part in a mostly civil debate in Austin, Texas, five days ago, the two rivals for the Democratic Party’s nomination have clashed over style, campaign leaflets, and foreign policy as the race intensifies ahead of the crucial March 4 contests next week.

A row over who released a picture of Mr Obama in traditional African robes also continued, with his team accusing Mrs Clinton’s supporters of trying to perpetuate false rumours that he is a Muslim; they deny any involvement.

Today, the pair will come face-to-face for the second time in a week as they engage in a televised debate at Cleveland State University in Ohio.

Earlier in the day, Mr Obama won a coveted endorsement from Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd, a former rival for his party’s nomination who has long-standing ties to the Clintons.

“He’s ready to be president and I am ready to support him in this campaign,” Mr Dodd said.

He also urged others to do the same, saying: “I don’t want a campaign that is divisive here, and there’s a danger in that.

“It’s now the hour to come together... This is the moment for Democrats and independents and others to come together, to get behind this candidacy.”

The senator added that Mr Obama “has been poked and prodded, analysed and criticised, called too green, too trusting and for all of that has already won” more than half the states and millions of votes.

He is the first of the Democratic campaign dropouts to endorse another candidate and it was a further setback for Mrs Clinton, who has struggled since splitting the spoils with her rival on Super Tuesday earlier this month.

The 60-year-old New York senator has lost every contest since February 5, loaned her own campaign millions of dollars and lost two key members of staff.

But Mr Obama, the young Illinois senator whose message of hope and change has proved popular with Americans, has won all 11 contests, building crucial momentum for his presidential bid ahead of key elections in Texas and Ohio on March 4.

Former president Bill Clinton has even said publicly his wife probably needs to win both of them if she is to win the nomination.

Yesterday, Mrs Clinton suggested 46-year-old Mr Obama would need a “foreign policy instruction manual” to keep the US safe.

As she painted a picture of a dangerous world in need of seasoned and wise US leadership during a speech at The George Washington University in the US capital, she portrayed Mr Obama as a national security novice.

“He wavers from seeming to believe that mediation and meetings without preconditions can solve some of the world’s most intractable problems to advocating rash, unilateral military action without the cooperation of our allies in the most sensitive part of the world,” she said.

She added that voters have already seen the “tragic result” of electing a commander in chief with little experience in national security and global affairs.

“We can’t let that happen again. America has already taken that chance one time too many.”

Obama campaign adviser Susan Rice said Mrs Clinton had shown poor judgment on a range of issues, including voting to authorise the invasion of Iraq and supporting legislation declaring the Iranian National Guard as a terrorist organisation.

“Those are critical foreign policy judgments,” Ms Rice said.

“They are judgments that any candidate should be held accountable for. And obviously we look forward to Senator Clinton’s explanation of how and why she got those critical judgments wrong.”

Nationally, Mr Obama has taken a clear lead over Mrs Clinton among white men, middle-income earners and liberals, groups that were evenly divided or with whom she had the advantage two weeks ago.

Overall, Mr Obama has 46% to Mrs Clinton’s 43%, a virtual tie.