WASHINGTON -- With two polls showing Hillary Clinton's lead shrinking in the critical Ohio primary, her Democratic presidential campaign escalated attacks yesterday on her opponent, Barack Obama, accusing him of distorting his record - and hers - on the regionally important trade issue.
Clinton communications director Howard Wolfson accused Obama of presenting himself as an opponent of the North American Free Trade Agreement, even though he had made positive remarks about the treaty when running for the Senate in 2004.
"Once again he is saying one thing in one state and saying something else in another state," Wolfson said in a conference call with reporters.
And the campaigns also traded barbs over a photo of Obama in tribal dress during a visit to Africa two years ago, with his campaign accusing Clinton supporters of circulating the picture in e-mails.
"Her campaign has engaged in the most shameful, offensive fear-mongering we've seen from either party in this election," said Obama spokesman David Plouffe.
The Clinton campaign said it did not authorize distribution of the photo but stopped short of a categorical denial. "I just want to make very clear that we were not aware of it," Wolfson said. "The campaign did not sanction it."
Ohio and Texas hold primary contests March 4, along with Rhode Island and Vermont. Clinton and her advisers have acknowledged that she must win Ohio or Texas, if not both, if her bid for the Democratic presidential nomination is to remain viable. She and Obama debate tonight in Cleveland.
In Texas, polls suggest that the two are in a dead heat. In Ohio, Clinton continues to lead Obama, but her margin has narrowed, according to a poll released yesterday by Quinnipiac University. Although Clinton was ahead by 21 points Feb. 14, she now leads by a margin of 51 percent to 40 percent.
The Ohio Poll, sponsored by the University of Cincinnati, showed Clinton with an even narrower lead - 47 percent to 39 percent - among likely Democratic voters.
"Senator Clinton's lead remains substantial, but the trend line should be worrisome for her in a state that even her husband, former President Bill Clinton, has said she must win," said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.
Brown stated that Obama's national momentum - he has won the past 11 primaries and caucuses - appeared to be eroding Clinton's support among her core constituency - women, older voters and those lower on the social-economic and education scale.
At a debate last week in Austin, Texas, the two candidates were largely cordial to each other. But Clinton's attacks on the Illinois senator have intensified in recent days as her position in the polls has appeared to be slipping. Over the weekend, she accused Obama of misrepresenting her positions on trade and health care in fliers mailed to voters.
"Shame on you, Barack Obama," she said. "It is time you ran a campaign consistent with your messages in public."
For its part, the Obama campaign accused the New York senator of dirty tactics yesterday after a photograph of Obama wearing a white turban was posted on the Drudge Report.
The 2006 photo showed Obama dressed in Somali tribal clothing while visiting the western part of Kenya, his father's native country. The Web site said the photograph was "circulated" by Clinton campaign staffers.
Obama, a member of a United Church of Christ congregation in Chicago, repeatedly has fended off insinuations that he is Muslim - rumors apparently promoted by opponents who hope to suggest that a Muslim is not acceptable as a presidential candidate.
Maura Reynolds writes for the Los Angeles Times.