On The HUSTINGS

OBAMA LAWYER AMBUSHES CLINTON CONFERENCE CALL

A lawyer for Senator Obama's campaign last night ambushed a conference call convened by advisers to Senator Clinton who were accusing the Obama camp of "intimidation" during the Texas primary and caucuses yesterday. The Clinton officials said supporters of the Illinois senator had broken election rules by trying to sign up voters for the nighttime "precinct conventions" at poll sites during the day. They also accused the Obama campaign of "locking out" Clinton supporters from caucus sites. "This is just truly outrageous behavior," Mrs. Clinton's Texas state director, Ace Smith, told reporters on the hastily scheduled "emergency" conference call. "It's really disturbing and its really undemocratic what's going on." The call was interrupted, however, by a lawyer for Mr. Obama, Robert Bauer, who dialed in under the guise of a reporter asking a question. Mr. Bauer suggested the Clinton campaign's allegations were similar to those lodged against several other caucuses across the country, which have been dominated by Mr. Obama. "I'm just curious to know how this is any different from any of the series of complaints you have registered against every single caucus that you lose," Mr. Bauer said. He then debated the Clinton campaign's communications director, Howard Wolfson, for several minutes. Mr. Wolfson tried to get Mr. Bauer to commit to denouncing the tactics, but Mr. Bauer kept returning to his chief charge: that the Clinton campaign was a sore loser. After he disconnected, Mr. Wolfson said he had made "a vigorous defense of the indefensible." The Clinton officials would not say if they intended to challenge the Texas results, which were unknown at the time of the call. "All options are on the table at this point," an attorney for the campaign said.

S.C. LEADER SPLITS WITH HUSBAND, BACKS OBAMA

Senator Obama picked up the support of the chairman of the South Carolina Democratic Party, Carol Fowler, who announced her support for the Illinois senator yesterday. In backing Mr. Obama, Mrs. Fowler follows the lead of Democratic voters in her state but splits from her husband, Donald Fowler, a former chairman of the Democratic National Committee who is strongly behind Senator Clinton. In a statement, Mrs. Fowler cited electability as a chief reason for her decision. "He has proven his ability to win in the so-called 'red states' like this one, and has brought countless new voters into the process. The people of South Carolina chose change by a decisive margin on January 26th, and I'm proud to stand with voters across the country who have backed Barack Obama to win in November and to lead our country in a new direction."

CINDY McCAIN SAYS HUSBAND IS READY FOR '3 A.M.' CALL

Senator McCain's wife, Cindy McCain, waded into the debate over the "3 a.m." phone call, telling voters in Houston that her husband would be the best prepared candidate to respond to a middle-of-the-night crisis as president. "Everybody's talking about that call at 3 o'clock in the morning," she said, Politico reported. "I want him to represent my son at 3 o'clock in the morning." She was referring to the much discussed — and parodied — television advertisement that Senator Clinton's campaign ran last week in an attempt to raise questions about Senator Obama's readiness to be commander in chief. Mrs. McCain was also referring to her son, who serves in the Marine Corps. She has largely avoided political engagement until recently, but she made headlines last month by responding to a quote in which Michelle Obama had said her husband's campaign made her proud of America for the first time in her adult lifetime.