Clinton charges Bush is irresponsible on Iraq

DAVENPORT, Iowa -- Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., toughening her tone during a second day of campaigning in Iowa, accused President Bush of trying to pass the problems in Iraq on to the next president and described his actions as "the height of irresponsibility."

"The president has said this is going to be left to his successor. He has said that on more than one occasion," Clinton said during a town-hall meeting Sunday morning. "I really resent it. This was his decision to go to war."

Her comment quickly reverberated at the White House, where a spokesman issued a statement denouncing Clinton for a "partisan attack that sends the wrong message to our troops, our enemies and the Iraqi people."

Clinton, still relatively new to the presidential race, got a glimpse of how direct and inquisitive Iowa voters can be as she faced questions about her failed health-care plan in the 1990s and her ability to confront foreign threats. But she appeared prepared for the interrogation, and showed a flash of humor as well.

Asked by a voter what qualified her to handle leaders from countries such as Iran and North Korea, Clinton began her reply, then stopped and, for effect, repeated the question.

"What in my background equips me to deal with evil and bad men?" she said wryly, prompting peals of laughter from the audience. She had begun with a reference to Osama bin Laden, but the crowd's reaction suggested they thought her experience with "bad men" involved someone other than the terrorist leader.

In a news conference later that day, Clinton tried to avoid explaining which "bad men" she had been referring to, initially insisting that she had simply repeated the audience member's question.

Minutes later, though, she acknowledged she had been showing her playful side. "I thought I was funny," she said, chiding reporters who pressed her on the remark. "You know, you guys keep telling me to lighten up. I get a little funny, and now I'm being psychoanalyzed."

Clinton has sought to strike a balance during her first days as a presidential candidate between proving her toughness and revealing her personality after years of being closely guarded in public. She dropped nuggets from her personal biography -- comparing her high school in Illinois to ones she visited in Iowa and casually referring to her husband as "this guy from Arkansas" -- into lengthy and detailed discourses about public policy.

Clinton heard repeated questions Sunday morning about health care, a subject that was once a liability for her but that she is now seeking to turn into an asset. One voter asked her bluntly what had happened when she and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, tried to expand coverage in 1993-94 and what she intended to do to now to reach that goal. "It's a fair question," Clinton replied, "because everybody who cares about this issue -- which is nearly everybody in the country -- knows that we tried very hard in '93-'94 and we could not put together the political consensus that we needed to make changes."

What followed was a 10-minute explanation of why the Clintons had failed then, how much the problem has grown worse in the subsequent 15 years and why she is not ready to outline in any detail her plan for the future. ("I'm not ready to be specific until I hear from people," she said.)

"I've been through this, so I know how hard it's going to be," she said.

Huckabee says optimism needed

WASHINGTON -- Announcing his plan to form a presidential exploratory committee, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee said Sunday he thinks America "needs positive optimistic leadership to kind of turn this country around, to see a revival of our national soul."

The onetime Southern Baptist minister, perhaps best known for losing 100 pounds in two years, said he will file papers today with the Federal Election Commission. That will enable him to start raising money.

Huckabee, 51, is seeking to repeat the success of another former governor from Hope, Ark. -- former President Bill Clinton. But he faces steep odds in a crowded Republican field that includes well-known and well-funded hopefuls such as Sen. John McCain of Arizona, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.