Obama Rips into Clintons

EXCLUSIVE: Obama Rips Bill Clinton Slams as 'Troubling' and Inaccurate

January 20, 2008 4:03 PM

ABC News' Michael James and Tahman Bradley report: Sen. Barack Obama says he's ready to confront former President Bill Clinton, calling his advocacy on behalf of his wife's presidential campaign, "troubling."

In an exclusive interview with ABC News' Robin Roberts to air Monday on "Good Morning America," Obama, D-Ill., directly engages Bill Clinton on a series of issues.

"You know the former president, who I think all of us have a lot of regard for, has taken his advocacy on behalf of his wife to a level that I think is pretty troubling,” Obama said. “He continues to make statements that are not supported by the facts -- whether it's about my record of opposition to the war in Iraq or our approach to organizing in Las Vegas. This has become a habit, and one of the things that we're gonna have to do is to directly confront Bill Clinton when he's making statements that are not factually accurate."

Obama apparently refers to Clinton’s comment that it was a “fairy tale” that Obama has consistently opposed to the Iraq war from the start, and that Nevada union officials backing Obama were strong-arming members into caucusing for Obama.

The former president took on Obama's Iraq position at a Dartmouth College event days before the New Hampshire primary, saying that it was wrong Obama was able to trumpet superior judgment on Iraq by being opposed to the war from the start.

"Give me a break. This whole thing is the biggest fairy tale I've ever seen," Bill Clinton said.

Clinton was making the case that Obama -- just like Sen. Hillary Clinton -- has voted to fund the war since he's been in office. ....