Former president's remarks criticized

MEDFORD, Ore. — Former President Clinton is trying to question Sen. Barack Obama's patriotism, a retired general who has a prominent role in the Democrat's campaign said Saturday.

Merrill "Tony" McPeak, a retired Air Force chief of staff, said he was disappointed by comments Bill Clinton made Friday while speculating about a general election between Obama's Democratic rival, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, and Sen. John McCain, the presumed Republican nominee.

The former president said in Charlotte, N.C.: "I think it would be a great thing if we had an election year where you had two people who loved this country and were devoted to the interest of this country."

McPeak, a co-chairman of Obama's campaign, told an Oregon audience: "As one who for 37 years proudly wore the uniform of our country, I'm saddened to see a [former] president employ these tactics."

Howard Wolfson, a spokesman for Hillary Clinton's campaign, said Saturday that McPeak's comments were a "deliberately pathetic misreading of what the president said."

Wolfson said the remarks merely meant to highlight the need to keep the presidential race focused on issues.

On Friday, McPeak compared the former president's comments with the actions of Joseph McCarthy, the 1950s communist-hunting senator. Wolfson called that comparison outrageous and called for a retraction.

Delegate lawsuit not dead yet

An appeals court Friday rejected on technical grounds a Florida case challenging the Democratic Party's decision to strip the state of its presidential nominating delegates.

But the three-judge panel said the case "raises a number of interesting and potentially significant questions" and sent it back to a district court for further action.

Victor DiMaio, of Tampa, Fla., plans to amend his suit and ask the district court for a swift ruling, hoping to force the party to seat Florida's delegates at the national convention in August.

Seattle Times news services