Clinton still leads in Ohio, but by less

With two polls showing Hillary Rodham Clinton’s lead shrinking in the critical Ohio primary, her campaign escalated attacks on her opponent, Barack Obama, on Monday, accusing him of distorting his record -- and hers -- on the regionally important issue of trade.

Clinton communications director Howard Wolfson accused Obama of presenting himself as an opponent of the North American Free Trade Agreement, though he had made positive remarks about the treaty when running for the Senate in 2004.

“Once again, he is saying one thing in one state and saying something else in another state,” Wolfson said in a conference call with reporters.

And the two campaigns also traded barbs over a photo of Obama in tribal dress during a visit to Africa two years ago, with his campaign accusing Clinton supporters of circulating the picture in e-mails.

“Her campaign has engaged in the most shameful, offensive fear-mongering we’ve seen from either party in this election,” complained Obama spokesman David Plouffe.

Ohio and Texas hold primaries on March 4, along with Rhode Island and Vermont. Clinton and her advisors have acknowledged that she must win Ohio or Texas, if not both, if her bid for the Democratic presidential nomination is to remain viable. She and Obama debate tonight in Ohio at Cleveland State University.

In Texas, polls suggest that the two are in a dead heat. In Ohio, Clinton continues to lead Obama, but her margin has narrowed, according to a poll released Monday by Quinnipiac University. Although Clinton was ahead 55% to 34% on Feb. 14, she now leads 51% to 40%. The biggest shift came from college-educated voters, who supported Clinton 46% to 41% on Feb. 14 but now prefer Obama, 58% to 33%.

A second poll, the Ohio Poll, sponsored by the University of Cincinnati, showed Clinton with an even narrower lead of 8 points -- 47% to 39% -- among likely Democratic voters.

“Sen. Clinton’s lead remains substantial, but the trend line should be worrisome for her in a state that even her husband, former President Bill Clinton, has said she must win,” said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.

In a written statement, he said that Obama’s national momentum -- he has won the last 11 nominating contests -- appeared to be eroding Clinton’s support among her core constituency: “women, older voters and those lower on the social-economic and education scale.”

The two candidates’ positions on free-trade agreements in general, and NAFTA in particular, have become a key point of contention in Ohio, a state where many blame globalization for its heavy loss of manufacturing jobs. Both have supported trade agreements in the past but are now emphasizing their criticism of NAFTA.

“Certainly in certain parts of the country, our trade agreements have cost jobs and have resulted in dislocation,” said Clinton spokesman Wolfson. “This is obviously not true in other parts of the country. I think people in Texas . . . would have a different view of NAFTA than folks in Ohio would.”

At a debate last week in Austin, Texas, the two candidates were largely cordial to each other. But Clinton’s attacks on the Illinois senator have intensified in recent days as her position in the polls has appeared to be slipping. Over the weekend, she accused Obama of misrepresenting her positions on trade and healthcare in fliers mailed to voters.

“Shame on you, Barack Obama,” she said. “It is time you ran a campaign consistent with your messages in public. That’s what I expect from you. Meet me in Ohio. Let’s have a debate about your tactics.”

For its part, the Obama campaign accused the New York senator of dirty tactics on Monday after a photograph of Obama wearing a white turban and a robe was posted on the Drudge Report.

The 2006 photo showed Obama dressed in Somali tribal clothing while visiting the western part of Kenya, his late father’s native country. The website said the photograph was “circulated” by Clinton campaign staffers. The original e-mail was not posted.

Obama, a member of a United Church of Christ congregation in Chicago, has repeatedly fended off insinuations that he is Muslim -- rumors apparently promoted by opponents who hope to suggest that a Muslim is not acceptable as a presidential candidate.

The Clinton campaign said it did not authorize distribution of the photo, although campaign officials stopped short of a categorical denial. “I just want to make very clear that we were not aware of it,” Wolfson said in a conference call. “The campaign did not sanction it.”

However, in an unusual statement, Clinton campaign manager Maggie Williams attempted to suggest that the controversy related to race or Obama’s African heritage, not religion.

“If Barack Obama’s campaign wants to suggest that a photo of him wearing traditional Somali clothing is divisive, they should be ashamed,” Williams said. “Hillary Clinton has worn the traditional clothing of countries she has visited and had those photos published widely.”

Williams did not deny that the photo might have been circulated by campaign workers.

The accusations traded by the campaign staffers overshadowed the candidates’ own appearances on Monday.

Clinton delivered what aides described as a major foreign-policy speech at George Washington University in Washington before attending an evening fundraiser. She did not announce any new positions, although she warned pointedly about the dangers of electing a president with limited foreign-policy credentials.

Addressing a packed rally at the University of Cincinnati, Obama avoided all mention of Clinton in his nearly 50 minutes of remarks. But he did talk about her during an evening rally at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, citing her as someone who has criticized his repeated use of the word “hope” in his campaign.

maura.reynolds@latimes.com

Times staff writer Mark Z. Barabak contributed to this report from Ohio.