Clinton and McCain 'reading from the same playbook'

Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton and Republican candidate John McCain were “reading from the same political playbook” and their proposed summer fuel tax holiday was simply “pandering to voters”, Barack Obama said today.

The young Illinois senator, who is in a tight fight with Mrs Clinton for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination, highlighted the rare clear policy difference between the two as he campaigned for votes in Indiana and North Carolina ahead of next Tuesday’s primary election contests.

Mr Obama, 46, was trying to move on from a controversial and damaging row over his former pastor the Rev Jeremiah Wright, suggestions that he is elitist, and a loss to the former first lady in Pennsylvania last week, which have all contributed to a difficult month for the Democratic front-runner.

Speaking in Indianapolis, Indiana, Mr Obama tied Mrs Clinton’s plan with Mr McCain’s and said they were both “pandering to voters”.

“This is a plan that would save you pennies a day for the summer months,” he said.

“That is unless gas prices are raised to fill in the gap.”

Mr Obama also disputed the suggestions that he was an elitist.

“In fact, our lives when you look over the last two decades more closely approximate the lives of the average voter than any of the other candidates,” he said.

“We’ve struggled with paying student loans. We’ve tried to figure out whether we have adequate daycare. I’ve actually filled up my own gas tank.”

Mrs Clinton said: “All I hear about is gas prices. Gas and diesel, everywhere.

“Some people say we don’t need to get a gas tax holiday at all, it’s a gimmick... I want the Congress to stand up and vote. Are they for the oil companies, or are they for you?”

In response, Tucker Bounds, a spokesman for Mr McCain, accused Mr Obama of having no plan to fight the record high fuel prices in the US.

Senior Democrats remain concerned that the prolonged and divisive campaign for the party’s nomination will damage their chances of winning the White House against Mr McCain in November.

Yesterday, former Democratic National Committee chairman Joe Andrew switched his backing to Mr Obama, despite having been named to the top party job by former President Bill Clinton, amid such fears.

Senator Christopher Dodd, an Obama supporter, also said the longer the primary battle continues, the harder it will be for the party to win this autumn.

But Clinton adviser Harold Ickes sent a memo to the party’s so-called superdelegates, the elected officials and party leaders whose votes are not tied to the primary season results, which said polls proved the 60-year-old New York senator was the strongest candidate to beat Mr McCain.

While the former first lady has a 20-superdelegate lead, 268-248, Mr Obama holds the overall advantage, including committed superdelegates, 1,736.5-1,602.5.

So far this week, Mr Obama has picked up nine superdelegates, plus three add-on delegates named by the Illinois Democratic Party. Mrs Clinton has gained four new superdelegates, while also picking up four add-on delegates from her home state of New York.