by Christi Parsons and John McCormick
In a new interview, Barack Obama tells CNN’s Candy Crowley he thinks Democratic rival Hillary Clinton is trying to gloss over the differences between the two of them.
“I think that Sen. Clinton has been effective in trying to blur the distinctions,” Obama says, according to a transcript released by CNN. “And it’s our job to make these distinctions clear to the American people, because it really ends up speaking to how we are going to make decisions in the future, how we’re going to be making decisions about a series of significant threats and how we are going to make decisions about getting out of Iraq, which I think is going to be a top priority during the course of this election.”
The first part of that statement drew a quick response from Clinton’s campaign.
“We believe voters are focused on the future and on ending the war in Iraq,” Clinton spokesman Phil Singer said. “Increasingly, Americans think Senator Clinton is the candidate with the strength and experience to do so.”
Some advisers have been telling Obama for weeks that he needs to go after Clinton, the Democratic frontrunner, more aggressively. While key Obama aides say that’s not his style, they are predicting a sharper effort in the near future to “point out differences.” This interview appears to be one of the first steps.