Barack Obama

0 Comments | USA TODAY, December, 2007 | by Susan Page

DES MOINES -- Locked in a three-way battle in Iowa, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama is defending an aide's criticism of a rival, parrying skepticism that the United States is ready to elect a black president and depicting himself as the only Democrat who can deliver the change voters want.

When a reporter describes the candidates' back-and-forth as "fierce," however, he demurs.

"You know, I would say actually that, for the most part, these arguments by the standards of politics haven't been too fierce," he said in an interview with USA TODAY. "That's what happens when polls get tight."

Tight they are.

An aggregation by RealClearPolitics of five statewide polls taken in Iowa since Christmas puts New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton at 28.4%,...