Barack Obama on Wednesday turned to hardball tactics after Hillary Clinton's comeback wins staved off extinction for her Democratic White House bid, as President George W Bush embraced Republican candidate John McCain.
Obama aides vowed to fight fire with fire, after Hillary's withering scrutiny of his integrity and national security mettle helped her break his 12-contest win streak in three of Tuesday's four nominating showdowns.
"The vetting of Hillary Clinton has yet to start. The hard questions haven't been asked of Senator Clinton," said Obama strategist David Axelrod.
The Obama campaign demanded in a conference call that Hillary immediately release her tax returns, which opponents accuse of her trying to cover up.
Axelrod also accused the former first lady’s camp of initiating a “search and destroy” mission against Obama, over a hard-hitting ad campaign questioning his capacity to handle a late-night foreign policy crisis as President. It is round two for Obama and Clinton. Will we see more of the same old nice guy? Will this race turn into a death match with every ounce of fire from each other? Would you be turned off from a more aggressive campaign?
Obama aides vowed to fight fire with fire, after Hillary's withering scrutiny of his integrity and national security mettle helped her break his 12-contest win streak in three of Tuesday's four nominating showdowns.
"The vetting of Hillary Clinton has yet to start. The hard questions haven't been asked of Senator Clinton," said Obama strategist David Axelrod.
The Obama campaign demanded in a conference call that Hillary immediately release her tax returns, which opponents accuse of her trying to cover up.
Axelrod also accused the former first lady’s camp of initiating a “search and destroy” mission against Obama, over a hard-hitting ad campaign questioning his capacity to handle a late-night foreign policy crisis as President. It is round two for Obama and Clinton. Will we see more of the same old nice guy? Will this race turn into a death match with every ounce of fire from each other? Would you be turned off from a more aggressive campaign?
