Senator Hillary Clinton continued to question Senator Barack Obama’s positions on the War in Iraq. On Meet the Press today, Clinton stated that Obama four years ago said he wasn’t sure how he would have voted in 2002 if he had been in the Senate. Clinton reminded host Tim Russert that when he asked Obama about it, Obama responded that he didn’t want to hurt then nominees John Kerry and John Edwards.

This, Clinton argued, was a “political explanation” and she said, “If he was against the war, he should have spoken out in 2004, he should have followed his speech, which is that he would not vote for funding in 2005, 2006, and 2007.” Clinton went on to say that this was “inconsistent” and pointed out that “there were others

The Obama campaign responded, in part, by setting up a conference call with foreign policy advisor, Dr. Susan Rice and Senate Majority Whip and Obama Campaign Co-Chair, Senator Dick Durbin. On the call, Durbin said he was “troubled” by recent allegations that Senator Obama’s views on the Iraq war have been inconsistent and that the Clinton campaign must be “getting bad information.” These types of accusations, Durbin said, are not good for this campaign, for the election, or for the Democratic Party.

When asked by a reporter why he thought the Clinton campaign was aggressively going after Senator Obama’s position on the Iraq War, Durbin admitted he was speculating, but said it is common for candidates to go after their opponent’s “positions of strength.” That position for Obama, Durbin said, is his “early and consistent” opposition to this war, so that’s why the Clinton’s have called it into question.

Durbin likened this to the strategy used by the 2004 527 Group, Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, who called into question Senator John Kerry’s Vietnam War record. If team Clinton can call into question Obama’s war positions, they could then “open up” many other issues.

UPDATE: In a press availability today, Senator Obama was asked if he thought the Clinton camp was swift boating his campaign. “Look, they have decided to run a relentlessly negative campaign. I don’t think anybody who’s watching would deny that. I gather she’s determined that instead of trying to sell herself on why she would be the best president, she’s trying to convince folks that I wouldn’t be a good one.” And at a town hall meeting later in the day in Pahrump, Nevada, Obama was sure to talk about what he considers a solid and consistent record on the war in Iraq - and to mention that one of his opponents is trying to “rewrite history.”

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