Two new statements by Sen Clinton and her campaign have her rivals saying she’s copying their positions.

On Wednesday, Sen Clinton told a woman in Elkader, IA who asked about Iraq that, “I think we can bring nearly everybody home, you know, certainly within a year if we keep at it and do it very steadily.” NM Gov Bill Richardson called that a “stunning flip-flop,” interpreting the remarks as a commitment to bringing all troops back.

“It is clear that she is responding directly to my latest ad and my statements that she repeatedly has called for leaving thousands of troops in Iraq indefinitely,” he said. “Rather than defending her position, apparently she simply changed it.” The Clinton campaign strenuously objects to that characterization, saying the statement was consistent with her position that she’d withdraw 1-2 of the 19-20 combat brigades in Iraq per month.

And on Thursday, Clinton released a statement on legislation she proposed to raise the minimum wage to $9.50 an hour, saying the bill “will provide a direct raise to about 20 million working Americans. It would put extra money in the pockets of hundreds of thousands of Iowa families.” That prompted John Edwards to congratulate Clinton on accepting his months-old challenge to raise the minimum wage to that level, saying “just 14 days before the Iowa caucuses, Senator Clinton has answered my call.”

Clinton has yet to mention the new bill in three events on the campaign trail. You can read her campaign’s statement on the new legislation after the jump, and read Major Garrett’s take here.

Hillary Clinton Statement on Legislation to Raise the Minimum Wage to $9.50 Per Hour

With stagnant wages and skyrocketing costs for healthcare, energy and college, working families in America need a break. That is why yesterday I introduced legislation to raise the minimum wage to $9.50 by 2011, and link the minimum wage to Congressional pay raises after that. The Standing with Minimum Wage Earners Act of 2007 is the first bill ever to call for a $9.50 minimum wage.

I was proud to work earlier this year with Senator Kennedy and other Democratic leaders to enact the first minimum wage increase in ten years. By lifting the minimum wage to $7.25, that effort will give 257,000 Iowans—18% of all workers—a raise, and help another 94,000 children who live with these workers who will benefit from increased household income.

But these and other workers in Iowa and across the country should not have to wait another ten years to see another pay increase. My new legislation to lift the minimum wage to $9.50 will provide a direct raise to about 20 million working Americans. It would put extra money in the pockets of hundreds of thousands of Iowa families.

Going forward, this legislation would say to Congress: if you want to give yourself a raise, then working families get a raise as well. From 1997 to the beginning of 2007, Members of Congress raised their own salaries by $31,600, while refusing to raise the minimum wage even once. That is simply unacceptable.

Linking the minimum wage to Congressional salaries is a great way to ensure that working families continue to get ahead in our economy. The idea was inspired by a suggestion submitted to SinceSlicedBread.com, the Service Employees International Union’s contest that asked Americans for bold ideas to improve life for working families. As President, raising the minimum wage will be part of my comprehensive agenda to fight poverty and increase opportunity for working families, which will also include expanding the EITC, increasing childcare assistance, dramatically expanding job training programs, investing in education from birth through college, and lowering taxes for hard-working families.