These days, Sen. Barack Obama barely acknowledges Sen Hillary Clinton as he speaks to Iowa voters. But the brotha from Illinois finds himself at the center of a fusillade of criticism from his rivals, including a fresh assertion from former President Bill Clinton that electing Mr. Obama would be “rolling the dice” for America.
Addressing the shift in sentiment about his prospects of beating Mrs. Clinton in Iowa and holding her off in New Hampshire and other states that follow, Mr. Obama said in an interview: “A month ago, I was an idiot. This month, I’m a genius.”
The campaign of Mr. Obama, which slogged uncertainly through a period in the late summer and fall, alarming contributors who feared he might have missed his moment, is now brimming with confidence as he delivers a closing argument to Iowa voters. His speeches are noticeably crisper, his poise is more consistent and many supporters say they no longer must rely upon a leap of faith to envision him winning the nomination. With one week remaining before the campaign pauses for Christmas, Mr. Obama is dashing through a 22-city tour from the Mississippi River in the east to the Missouri River in the west, rushing to lock in support before a holiday interlude.
His organization is facing its greatest test yet: turning enthusiasm among many grass-roots Democrats into widespread support on Jan. 3 in precincts that will decide the outcome, particularly rural areas where his support remains uneven. As he traveled across Iowa a month ago, a chief element of Mr. Obama’s pitch was to draw sharp contrasts with Mrs. Clinton, urging voters to consider whether she had been truthful in explaining her positions.
One of the few mentions he made about his rival here Saturday was to respond to criticism by associates of the Clinton campaign that he is too inexperienced and his background is unexamined. “I understand that there’s a history of politics’ being all about slash and burn and taking folks down. I recall the Clintons themselves calling the politics of personal destruction, which they decried,” Mr. Obama told reporters at a news conference here Saturday.
“My suspicion is that’s just not where the country’s at right now. They are not interested in politics as a blood sport.” Yet despite a fresh sense of confidence surrounding Mr. Obama, the race in Iowa remains unsettled. Many voters are still making up their minds — or open to changing them — as the six major Democratic candidates unleash advertising barrages urging voters to consider the gravity of the election.
While strategists for Mr. Obama said they believed he had sufficiently answered questions about his experience, fresh doubts are being injected into the atmosphere of the race every day. The latest comes through an advertisement from Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware, who says, “Being president is not the same as running for president.” Still, Mr. Obama finds himself in the tightest competition with Mrs. Clinton, who has dropped her above-the-fray posture and become more combative in recent weeks, but even more directly with former Senator John Edwards of North Carolina, who placed second here in 2004 and has staked his candidacy on a strong showing.
Mr. Edwards released a new television advertisement on Saturday, saying, “Saving the middle class is going to be an epic battle, and that’s a fight I was born for.” Reflecting concern about the quiet strength of Mr. Edwards’s campaign, Mr. Obama briefly mentioned Mr. Edwards at a campaign stop in Independence on Saturday, responding to criticism Mr. Edwards had voiced about Mr. Obama’s health care plan. With the war having lost some of its intensity as a distinguishing point among Democratic candidates, other issues are coming to the fore, from health care and the weakening economy to which candidate is best suited to beating Republicans in the fall.
A variety of polls show Mr. Obama, at worst, to be in a dead heat with Mrs. Clinton in Iowa and strongly gaining on her in New Hampshire, where voters will go the polls five days after the caucuses here. To capitalize on what many Democrats see as a moment of vulnerability for Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Obama is seeking to remind voters of his judgment, temperament and nonpolarizing approach. At the same time, he has narrowed his focus to a micro-level in Iowa, calling county sheriffs, local officials and prospective precinct captains when he passes through town.
Before leaving Iowa for the weekend, Mrs. Clinton again forcefully, if obliquely, pressed the case that she is not only more experienced than Mr. Obama, but better able to take on what is sure to be an aggressive campaign by the Republican nominee. “I’ve been vetted,” she told reporters Friday. “I’ve been tested. There are no surprises.”
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