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Democrat candidate Edwards intensifies criticism of Clinton

As Senator Hillary Clinton collected the endorsement yesterday from former vice president Walter Mondale, one of her Democratic rivals intensified his criticism of her candidacy, saying she had not been forthcoming with voters who will open the nominating contest here in less than two months.

The rival, former senator John Edwards, said he would draw new distinctions with Clinton in a speech he was due to make yesterday, raising questions with Democrats over Iraq and Iran.

"Senator Clinton is voting like a hawk in Washington, while talking like a dove in Iowa and New Hampshire," Edwards was planning to say, according to excerpts provided by his campaign. "We only need one mode from our president -- tell-the-truth mode all the time."

Edwards, of North Carolina, and Clinton, of New York, campaigned across eastern Iowa on Sunday, exactly one year before election day. At each of his stops, Edwards has focused his attention on Clinton and in a speech yesterday he said he would outline a plan for Iran and call on her to present a specific plan for how she would end the war, including how many troops would remain in Iraq.

"With less than 60 days to the caucus, Senator Clinton has still not given specific answers to specific questions," Edwards was to say, according to the excerpts. "How many troops will she withdraw and when will she withdraw them?"

Clinton did not focus on any of her rivals on Sunday.

In a statement, Mondale said Clinton was "uniquely qualified to rebuild America's standing in the world and lead this nation from her first day in the White House."

Also on Sunday, Fred Thompson said he had been unaware that one of his early fundraisers, who frequently provided him with the use of his private airplane over the summer, had a criminal record for dealing drugs.

The Washington Post reported on Sunday that the man, Philip Martin, entered a guilty plea in 1979 to the sale of 5kg of marijuana and pleaded no contest to 1983 charges of cocaine-trafficking and conspiracy.

Thompson, the actor and former senator from Tennessee who is seeking the Republican presidential nomination, said on NBC's Meet the Press that he had not known of Martin's criminal record and that his use of Martin's plane had abided by campaign finance laws.

"I know Phil is a good man," Thompson said. "He is my friend. He is going to remain my friend. He didn't go to jail, he got probation, he's paid his debt to society and turned himself around and become a good, productive, successful citizen."
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