Kerry Decries Smear Campaign Against Obama

John Kerry, the Democratic candidate in the 2004 presidential election, today made an extraordinary intervention on behalf of Barack Obama, accusing his opponents of stooping to "Swiftboat" smear tactics to destroy the black senator's presidential ambitions.

Kerry, whose presidential bid was wrecked by innuendo and lies about his Vietnam service as a Swiftboat officer on the Mekong river, did not name the Clintons, but they appeared to be the main target of his outburst.

"The fight is just heating up. We won't let them steal this election with lies and distortions," he said.

His comments came amid signs of a backlash in the Democratic party, especially among African-Americans, at the way that Hillary and Bill Clinton have gone about taking Obama apart during the past fortnight.

Some of the energy has seeped out of the Obama campaign in the past 48 hours, but the candidate, seeking to become the first black president, is hoping for a lift by winning the South Carolina primary on Saturday.

According to the latest opinion poll, carried out by Reuters and Zogby, Obama is leading Hillary Clinton in South Carolina by 43% to 25%, with John Edwards a distant third at 15%.

Kerry, a senator from Massachusetts, endorsed Obama last month, despite his long friendship with Bill Clinton. It was an important endorsement, giving heart to other members of Congress who had been dithering about supporting Obama for fear of antagonizing the Clinton machine.

But it is a big jump for Kerry to go from endorsement to criticism of the former president and his spouse, even if indirectly. He described as "disgusting lies" allegations on the internet about Obama's religion and record of public service.

"I support Barack Obama because he doesn't seek to perfect the politics of Swiftboating - he seeks to end it," he said. "This is personal for me, and for a whole lot of Americans who lived through the 2004 election."

Obama's campaign team, seeking to learn from Kerry's mistakes in that election, has set up what it calls a "truth squad' to rebut allegations. But the Clinton criticism is having an impact. Obama, in an interview today on CBS, was forced to defend himself against the charge made by Hillary Clinton on Monday, that he had worked in Chicago for a slum landlord, Antoin "Tony" Rezko, who faces a fraud trial next month.

Obama, who took campaign contributions from Rezko, said there had been no hint at the time that there were any problems associated with the man. "Nobody had an inkling that he was involved in any problems. When those problems were discovered, we returned money from him that had been contributed," he said.

Obama has given to charity $37,000 (£18,500) he received from Rezko to help fund an earlier campaign for a senate seat and at the weekend, he gave a further $40,000 received from Rezko to charity.

The Chicago Tribune last year reported that Rezko may have helped Obama to buy his home in Chicago in 2005.

While it is a legitimate campaign tactic for the Clintons to raise the Rezko issue, some of the other, more personal, attacks risk alienating parts of the Democratic vote, particularly African-American voters. Should Clinton win the nomination, such voters might remain resentful and not turn out for her in November.

Tom Daschle, the former Senate majority leader and Obama supporter, denounced Bill Clinton's conduct as "not keeping with the image of a former president".

"I think it destroys the party. Ultimately it's going to divide us, and it's going to have a lasting effect down the road," Daschle said.