April 14 (Bloomberg) -- Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said her rival, Barack Obama, was repeating the mistakes of the party's last two losing presidential campaigns by describing some voters as ``bitter'' over their economic status.
Obama responded that while his phrasing was ``clumsy,'' the furor over the remarks was a distraction. Many voters are angry because they ``don't think that government is listening to them,'' he said.
The two candidates appeared separately last night during a forum on faith in Pennsylvania, where an April 22 primary is the next stop in the Democratic presidential campaign.
The event continued a weekend war of words between the two candidates over remarks Obama made April 6 to donors in San Francisco. His statement -- that some voters have ``gotten bitter and cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them'' -- became public on April 11 and Clinton and presumptive Republican nominee John McCain immediately used them to attack him.
Clinton has said the comments showed Obama was out of touch with some segments of the U.S. population and expanded that last night to a larger electoral issue.
``You know, the Democratic Party, to be very blunt about it, has been viewed as a party that didn't understand and respect the values and the way of life of so many of our fellow Americans,'' Clinton said. ``We had two very good men and men of faith run for president in 2000 and 2004. But large segments of the electorate concluded that they did not really understand or relate to or frankly respect their ways of life.''
Past Campaigns
Clinton was referring to former Vice President Al Gore, who lost to President George W. Bush in 2000, and Massachusetts Senator John Kerry, who failed to beat Bush four years later.
Obama, who spoke at the forum after Clinton, said his words had been twisted. His reference to religion was meant to convey that when people are despondent, they go back to the basics, such as their faith, Obama said.
``My words may have been clumsy, which happens surprisingly often on a presidential campaign,'' Obama said. ``This is an example of, frankly, how the political debate can distract us from what is really at issue. We try to tear each other down instead of lifting the country up.''
Earlier yesterday, the 46-year-old Illinois senator went after Clinton, saying that he expected such attacks from McCain, 71, an Arizona senator.
`Talking Points'
``But I've got to say I am a little disappointed when I start hearing the exact same talking points coming out of my Democratic colleague Hillary Clinton,'' Obama told members of the United Steelworkers of America in Steelton, Pennsylvania. ``She knows better. She knows better. Shame on her. Shame on her.''
Responding to Clinton during the forum broadcast by CNN, Obama said that he believed Gore won the 2000 election. The U.S. Supreme Court halted a contested recount in Florida that many Democrats contend would have changed the result that year.
The two only briefly shared the stage, shaking hands as Obama entered and Clinton, 60, a New York senator, departed.
Obama and Clinton spoke on issues ranging from abortion to the role of religion in their lives during the forum at Messiah College in Grantham, Pennsylvania. Both reaffirmed their support for abortion rights while saying they understood how the issue can divide Americans.
Beginning of Life
Clinton said she believed ``that the potential for life begins at conception,'' and noted that the Methodist church, of which she is a member, has ``struggled'' with the issue.
``But for me, it is also not only about a potential life; it is about the other lives involved,'' she said.
Obama said he hasn't come to a firm answer.
``I think it's very hard to know what that means, when life begins,'' he said. ``So I don't presume to know the answer to that question.''
The topic of faith made for some unusual moments. Moderators asked Clinton to speculate on why God allowed people to suffer. ``I don't know, I can't wait to ask him,'' she replied.
Obama was asked what he would tell his daughters if they asked him whether the universe and the Earth were actually created in six days, as it says in the Bible.
``You know, what I've said to them is that I believe that God created the universe and that the six days in the Bible may not be six days as we understand it,'' Obama said. ``It may not be 24-hour days.''
Obama Leads
Obama is leading Clinton in the number of Democratic convention delegates needed to win the presidential nomination, 1,639 to 1,503, according to an unofficial tally by the Associated Press. Clinton has a lead in most polls in Pennsylvania.
Both McCain and Obama have displayed strength with independents in the primary season.
McCain was the one Republican candidate with appeal to these voters, who helped resurrect his flagging candidacy in the Jan. 8 New Hampshire primary. On Feb. 5, he won 53 percent of the independent vote in Connecticut, and 49 percent in California.
Obama had even wider margins among independents who chose to vote in Democratic primaries: 67 percent in Missouri on Feb. 5; 69 percent in Virginia on Feb. 12; and 64 percent in Wisconsin on Feb. 19.
``Independents find both McCain and Obama equally appealing,'' said Andy Kohut, director of the Pew Research Center in Washington.
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