CLINTON CAMP ASSAILS OBAMA ON ‘PRESENT’ VOTES

Senator Clinton’s campaign is stepping up its criticism of Senator Obama’s record in the Illinois state Senate, accusing him of dodging key issues by voting “present,” instead of “yay” or “nay,” nearly 130 times. The campaign dispatched three supportive lawmakers, including two from New York, to tell reporters in a conference call that Mr. Obama’s “present” votes demonstrated a lack of backbone. “He took what many of us in public life would say is the easy way out,” Rep. Anthony Weiner, who represents parts of Brooklyn and Queens, said of Mr. Obama. “It shows, I think, a lack of leadership.” Mr. Weiner was joined on the call by the chairman of the Queens Democratic Party, Rep. Joseph Crowley, and by Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones of Ohio. The conference call came on the day that the New York Times fronted a story on Mr. Obama’s “present” votes, which were cast on a range of politically sensitive issues, included abortion rights and crime. Mr. Obama told ABC that many of the votes were part of a broader legislative strategy common to the Illinois Senate and that others were because he didn’t think the laws were constitutional, even if he supported the thrust of the bill. The Clinton campaign seemed well-positioned to capitalize on the news, ABC reported. Votingpresent.com and a similar address were registered by Mrs. Clinton’s campaign earlier this month, but, for now, the Web sites are empty.

TANCREDO DROPS OUT, BACKS ROMNEY

Rep. Tom Tancredo of Colorado is abandoning his bid for the Republican presidential nomination and instead backing Mitt Romney, citing his record opposing illegal immigration. Mr. Tancredo, who announced the decision yesterday in Iowa, had run largely a one-issue campaign, warning at every turn of the threats posed by illegal immigrants. Though the issue has become paramount in the GOP race, Mr. Tancredo never gained much traction in the polls. The campaign of another Republican hopeful, Fred Thompson, said he is the rightful heir to supporters of Mr. Tancredo driven by the immigration issue.

GIULIANI RELEASED FROM HOSPITAL

Mayor Giuliani waved and chatted with reporters as he was released from a Missouri hospital yesterday afternoon. His campaign said doctors gave him a clean bill of health one day after he was admitted with “flu-like symptoms.” “Doctors performed a series of precautionary tests and the results of all the tests were normal,” a campaign spokeswoman, Katie Levinson, said in a statement. She added that Mr. Giuliani returned to New York and “continues to be in high spirits.”

McCAIN DENIES GIVING LOBBYIST SPECIAL TREATMENT

Senator McCain’s campaign is responding aggressively to a report that the Arizona senator gave special treatment to a lobbyist involving legislation before the Commerce Committee. The Drudge Report yesterday carried a banner headline and story reporting that Mr. McCain had tried to get the New York Times to spike an article on the issue. The prominent placement of the Drudge story prompted questions to Mr. McCain and a statement defending the candidate’s “24-year record of serving this country with honor and integrity.” “He has never violated the public trust, never done favors for special interests or lobbyists,” a spokeswoman for Mr. McCain, Jill Hazelbaker, said. “He will not allow a smear campaign to distract from the important issues facing our country.”

EDWARDS ACCUSES PRO-CLINTON UNION OF ‘UNDERHANDED TRICK’

A Democratic presidential hopeful, John Edwards, is asserting that a union’s mailing critical of Senator Obama’s health care plan was designed to trick voters into thinking it came form Mr. Edwards’s campaign.

“There have been a lot of misleading tactics and tricks in the last few weeks, but we’ve just never seen anything like this before,” Mr. Edwards’s Iowa campaign director, Jennifer Dillon, said in a written statement. “It’s fine to have an honest debate about policy, but Iowans deserve better than planted questions and campaign flyers designed to fool them.”

A political action committee run by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees sent out the mailing, which was first reported by The New York Sun. The flyer quoted Mr. Edwards as part of warnings that Mr. Obama’s health plan “is not up to the job.” Some voters might see the mail as an attack by Mr. Edwards, when, in fact, Afscme has endorsed Mrs. Clinton.

The Edwards camp did not blame Mrs. Clinton’s campaign for the flyer but did link the tactic to “Clinton allies.” The union did not return calls and e-mails seeking comment.