(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-01-24 09:28

ROCK HILL, S.C. -- Democrat Barack Obama questioned Hillary Rodham Clinton's candor and trustworthiness Wednesday, saying she has indulged in double-talk on bankruptcy laws, trade and other issues.

Democratic presidential hopeful, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., campaigns in Sumter, S.C., Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2008. [Agencies]

Politicians "don't always say what they mean, or mean what they say," the Illinois senator told about 900 people at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C. "That is what this debate in this party is all about."

Extending a theme he has stressed in recent days, Obama mocked the New York senator for saying she voted for a 2001 bankruptcy bill but was happy that it did not become law.

"Senator Clinton said, `Well, I voted for it, but I hoped the bill would die,'" he said, drawing hoots from the crowd.

In a similar vein, Obama said Clinton originally praised the North American Free Trade Agreement -- which was enacted during her husband's presidency -- but now criticizes aspects of it.

"You can't always tell what Senator Clinton's position on trade has been," he said. Obama promised to provide "the kind of straight talk and clear thinking we need in this campaign."

Obama and Clinton clashed bitterly over questions of truthfulness and consistency in a televised debate Monday, giving the campaign a personal edge it largely lacked before.

Obama sees South Carolina's primary on Saturday as a must-win race, and he continued to spend all his time in the state even though Clinton has visited other states this week.

Former President Clinton, who has been campaigning in South Carolina this week, said Obama and the media had stirred up the tensions over race in response to criticism from some Democrats about the couples' strategy.

"I never heard a word of public complaint when Mr. Obama said Hillary was not truthful, no character, was poll-driven. He had more pollsters than she did," Bill Clinton said in an exchange with a CNN reporter. "When he put out a hit job on me at the same time he called her the senator from Punjab, I never said a word."

The former president has accused Obama of exaggerating his anti-war record and handing out undeserved praise to Republicans. Clinton said he personally witnessed Obama's union forces intimidating Nevada caucus voters and said an Obama radio ad suggested how Democrats could keep votes from his wife.

Last year, the Obama campaign circulated a memo that described Hillary Clinton as "D-Punjab," a reference to her Indian-American donors.

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