Obama visited the Cowboy State for the first time as a presidential candidate to return fire directed at his campaign. And to give residents of Casper, Wyoming, a show - something the normally politically quiet state hasn’t seen the likes of in some time.

Responding to criticism from his Democratic rival about comments his now-former foreign policy advisor made to the BBC, Barack Obama said, “Now, I just have to mention this because I don’t want anybody here to be confused.” Clinton had quoted Samantha Power at an event earlier today, who had told the BBC that while Obama has given a timeframe for withdrawal in Iraq, it would depend on the situation at the time.

To clear up the confusion, Obama defiantly said, “If it has been up to me we would have never been in this war. It was because of George Bush with an assist from Hillary Clinton and John McCain that we entered into this war. A war that should have never been authorized, a war that should have never been waged. I’ve been against it - 2002, 2003, 2004, 5, 6, 7, 8. And I will bring this war to an end in 2009. So don’t be confused.” He continued, “Don’t be confused when Senator Clinton is not even willing to acknowledge that she voted for war. She says she voted for diplomacy despite the title that said authorization to use US armed forces in Iraq. So I don’t want to play politics on this issue because she doesn’t have standing to question my position on this issue.”

Obama also brought up that pesky “red phone” ad that may have cost him votes in Texas - part of what he calls the “politics of fear.” “I mean, what do people think I’m going to do? I’m going to answer the phone,” he said as the crowd laughed. “And I will find out what’s going on, and I won’t be, and I won’t be browbeaten into launching a war that wasn’t necessary, I will get all the information about what crisis is taking place, and I will exercise the same judgment that I have shown over the last several issues ranging from, ranging from Iraq to Pakistan to all the other issues that are going to be so critical for the next president to deal with.”

If Casper wasn’t awake by the end of his animated town hall, he definitely got their attention (and that of his traveling press corps) when he brought up the experience issue - something that has plagued his candidacy from the beginning. “Senator Clinton and Senator McCain, they say, ‘We’ve got all these years of experience and this and that and the other.’ Look who’s run the best campaign. Look who’s managed this campaign from scratch. You know, that’s worth taking a look at. Look at what we’ve built from scratch to compete against people who have been building this thing for 20, 30 years, and we’ve done just fine.”

Obama heads to Laramie to hold a rally on the campus of the University of Wyoming before returning to Chicago later tonight.

In his Denver speech Wednesday, Barack Obama told the crowd that Democrats need someone who held a different position on the War in Iraq with  John McCain, the Republican with the momentum at the moment. In other words, Hillary Clinton voted with John McCain to authorize the war and Democrats need a “clear contrast” with the Republicans. “It’s not enough to say you’ll be ready from Day One - you have to be right from Day One,” Obama said.

Check out his McCain remarks here:

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.”