Clinton, Obama Duel Over His Experience

She says he hasn't got foreign policy smarts; he says he's lived it

By Colleen Barry, Newser Staff

Posted Nov 21, 2007 7:39 PM CST

Copied

Clinton, Obama Duel Over His Experience — Democratic presidential hopeful, Sen Barack Obama, D-Ill., talks to voters at a high school during a campaign stop in Alton, N.H., Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2007. Obama on Tuesday called for a $18 billion education plan that he said would fix mistakes his chief Democratic rivals made when they approved President... (Associated Press)

Clinton and Obama exchanged volleys on the campaign trail yesterday over Obama's foreign policy experience, Reuters reports. After Obama said the years he spent living abroad as a child give him a better perspective on international affairs, Clinton fired back that her experience as senator and first lady better prepares her for the "big, complex international challenges the next president will face."

Obama lived in Indonesia for four years as a boy. "If you don't understand these cultures, then it's very hard for you to make good foreign policy decisions," he said. "I think we need a president with more experience than that," said Clinton. The barbs follow a Washington Post-ABC poll showing Obama up by 4 points on Clinton in Iowa and 8 points on John Edwards. (More Iowa caucuses stories.)

Report an error