Clinton, Obama trade barbs

WASHINGTON, Nov. 27 (UPI) -- As U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton's lead among Democrats in the race for president narrows, she is trading increasingly sharper barbs with her rivals.

The New York senator's 23-point lead over her closest rival, Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, has dwindled to 14 points, CNN reported Tuesday, citing a CNN/WMUR poll of likely New Hampshire presidential primary voters.

Last week, Clinton said she was interested in "tackling the problems of America" rather than attacking Democratic candidates. This week, however, Clinton has come out swinging and the jabs are getting personal.

One issue concerns reports that Obama's political action committee may have funneled a majority of its campaign contributions to politicians in early primary states.

"On the campaign trail, Sen. Obama is outspoken about his desire to reform the campaign finance system so it was surprising to learn that he has been using his PAC in a manner that appears to be inconsistent with the prevailing election laws," Clinton's campaign said in a statement.

Obama campaign spokesman Robert Gibbs said Clinton's criticism came at a curious time.

"I think the country is wondering why two weeks ago (Clinton) said she wasn't going to attack Democrats and nine days later she was," Gibbs said.