OBAMA SAYS CLINTON ‘IN HER ELEMENT’ DURING DEBATE

Senator Obama yesterday criticized Senator Clinton and the moderators of Wednesday night’s Democratic debate, saying his opponent was “in her element” at an event that forced Mr. Obama on the defensive over a range of issues. “I have to say Senator Clinton looked in her element,” the Illinois senator said at a rally in North Carolina. “She was taking every opportunity to get a dig in there. That’s alright. That’s her right. That’s her right to kind of twist the knife a little bit.” Mr. Obama also implicitly criticized ABC News and debate moderators Charles Gibson and George Stephanopoulos, saying it took 45 minutes before either asked a question about issues that “matter” to voters, and that they focused instead on various gaffes and campaign controversies. President Clinton, meanwhile, took note of complaining by Obama supporters and told voters in Pennsylvania that his wife had taken fire for the whole campaign. “Well, they’ve been beating up on her for 15 months,” Mr. Clinton said, ABC reported. “I didn’t hear her whining when he said she was untruthful in Iowa or called her the senator from Punjab.”

CLINTON AIDE: OBAMA CAN WIN, BUT MIGHT NOT

Asked at Wednesday’s debate whether Senator Obama could beat the presumptive Republican nominee, Senator McCain, Senator Clinton said, “Yes. Yes. Yes.” However, her communications director, Howard Wolfson, said yesterday that the statement was not as definitive as it may have sounded. “Saying that somebody can win is not the same as saying somebody will win,” Mr. Wolfson told reporters on a conference call.

OBAMA SAYS NORTH CAROLINA COULD SEAL NOMINATION

Senator Obama suggested yesterday that a win in North Carolina on May 6 could signal the end of the Democratic primary campaign. “Everybody understands how important this election is. North Carolina is going to be critically important,” he said at a rally in Raleigh. “If we can win in North Carolina, I think we can wrap up this nomination.” Polls have shown Mr. Obama with a wide lead in North Carolina, but the landscape could shift depending on the results of the much-anticipated primary in Pennsylvania next week.

BRITAIN’S BROWN MEETS THREE PRESIDENTIAL CONTENDERS

In what a London newspaper, the Independent, called “a day of political speed-dating,” Prime Minister Brown of Britain had sit-down meetings in Washington with each of the three major contenders for the American presidency. “I am absolutely confident that having talked to the three candidates that the special relationship between our two countries is strong and secure and valued by all of them,” Mr. Brown said after the three 45-minutes sessions yesterday, according to the Associated Press. “I am also absolutely confident that through working with any of them we could rise to the great challenges of the future.”

AD WATCH

The ad wars are ramping up as the Pennsylvania primary approaches. Senator Obama has put out a negative flier hitting Senator Clinton on the issue of trade. “What is the truth about Hillary Clinton’s position on trade?” the mailer, which was obtained by the Huffington Post, asks. It accuses Mrs. Clinton of supporting NAFTA and permanent trade with China, which it says cost thousands of American jobs. A flier distributed by Mrs. Clinton’s campaign touts her record as “consistent,” according to Time.com.

ENDORSEMENT WATCH

The editors of the main newspaper at the University of Pennsylvania, the Daily Pennsylvanian, defied the youth-oriented allure of Senator Obama’s campaign and endorsed Senator Clinton yesterday. “While Obama’s charisma far outshines that of Senator Hillary Clinton, her public service, political experience and tenacity tell us not only ‘Yes we can’ but also ‘How we can,'” the editors wrote. “Choosing the president of the United States is too important a decision to make based on hope alone. After finishing his term in the Senate and better showing us what he can do for the American people, Obama could one day be a remarkable president.”

The Philadelphia Daily News, meanwhile, weighed in for Mr. Obama. “Contrary to Senator Hillary Clinton’s campaign slogan, we believe Barack Obama is more likely to be ‘ready on Day One’ to lead us in a new direction. Because of his experience. Sure, Clinton has more ‘experience’ of a sort. For one thing, she has 14 more years on earth. How much of this experience is directly applicable to the job of president is, at best, debatable,” the paper wrote.