Democratic candidates take aim at Obama

Democratic presidential candidates, at a debate Sunday morning in Iowa, were most critical of Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) and not frontrunner Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.).

{mosads}Sens. Chris Dodd (Conn.) and Joseph Biden (Del.) both criticized foreign policy statements that Obama has recently made with regard to the use of nuclear weapons and launching military strikes at targets in Pakistan.

“I thought it was irresponsible to engage in that kind of a suggestion here,” Dodd said with regard to a comment that the Illinois senator had made about striking at terrorists inside Pakistan without the approval of the government there. “That’s dangerous. Words mean something in campaigns.”

Dodd said that the next president is “not going to have time in January of '09 to get ready for this job,” a jab at Obama’s perceived foreign policy inexperience.

Biden said Sunday that he stood by similar comments he had made.

Both senators responded to a question from moderator George Stephanopoulos that invited criticism of Obama, and Biden stressed that he thought the Illinois senator was “a wonderful guy.”

Clinton did not take her chance to take a shot at Obama.

“You know, I'm running on my own qualifications and experience,” she said. “It’s really up to the voters to make these decisions [about whether Obama is ready for the presidency].”

Obama also declined to take aim at Clinton when asked whether she could be a drag on the rest of the Democratic ticket in 2008.

“You know, I think Senator Clinton and all the candidates up here are capable,” Obama said. “And whoever wins the general election I believe – whoever wins the primary I believe is going to win the general election.”