Clinton, Obama Duel Over Readiness

Obama: We are one people. All of us pledging allegiance to the Stars and Stripes. All of us defending the United States of America.

Analysis: Barack Obama's response ad, which was released within hours, tries to refocus the debate on judgment by reminding viewers that, unlike Clinton, he opposed the Iraq war from the start. But it took less "courage" than Obama asserts, because in 2002, he was a state senator from a liberal district who did not have to vote on the issue.

By implicitly suggesting that Clinton is using "fear and calculation to divide us"-- a charge he often makes against President Bush -- Obama is accusing his opponent of underhanded tactics. That may be viewed as an overreaction to a commercial that doesn't name him.

The "special interests" language reprises Obama's charge that he doesn't take money from oil companies or lobbyists. That is technically true. But Obama's campaign has accepted more than $160,000 from oil-industry executives and employees, and two oil company chiefs have acted as Obama fundraisers.

This eleventh-hour ad is aimed mainly at balancing news coverage of Clinton's commercial.

-- Howard Kurtz