Sen. Barack Obama pushed back Friday against President Bush's implicit criticism of his approach to foreign policy, condemning his administration for not capturing Osama bin Laden and blaming its Iraq war policy for strengthening and emboldening Iran. An animated Obama, cheered on by a crowd gathered on the floor of a livestock arena, said he would be delighted if the presidential race turned into a conversation about which party is better suited to guide the nation's foreign policy."If George Bush and John McCain want to have a debate about protecting the United States of America, that is a debate that I'm happy to have anytime, anyplace, and that is a debate I will win because George Bush and John McCain have a lot to answer for," the Democratic front-runner said.
After weeks of discussion about how to address rising gasoline prices and the nation's souring economy, the campaign resumed its focus on the Iraq war and the fragile state of the Middle East. Obama's speech triggered a day-long foreign policy exchange between him and McCain, the presumptive GOP nominee. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, Obama's challenger for the Democratic nomination, was left largely on the sidelines.