By Steve Holland and Claudia Parsons
AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidateHillary Clinton accused surging rival Barack Obama of having aweak resume and using borrowed rhetoric in his speeches as shetried to slow Obama's momentum at a crucial debate on Thursday.
Clinton, her political life on the line based on whethershe can gain big victories in Texas and Ohio on March 4, wenton the attack about halfway into an otherwise genteel debatethat featured some differences on how to deal with Cuba withoutFidel Castro in charge.
The New York senator ridiculed Obama for using upliftingrhetoric in his stump speeches that had already been used by asupporter, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick.
"If your candidacy is going to be about words, then itshould be your own words," she said.
She said Obama's message was not "change you can believein, it's change you can Xerox."
Obama, an Illinois senator trying to make no mistakes atthe CNN/Univision debate and endanger his front-running status,said the fuss over the lines he used from Patrick was "sillyseason" politics.
Scolding Clinton, he said Democrats should not be spendingtime "tearing each other down" but rather "lifting the countryup."
Obama has a growing lead in pledged convention delegateswho will choose the Democratic candidate at the Augustconvention.
The latest count by MSNBC gives Obama 1,168 to Clinton's1,018. The Democratic nominee will likely face Sen. John McCainof Arizona, the Republican front-runner, in the Novemberelection.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Clinton also tried to raise questions about Obama's resume,pointing to a supporter's inability to list a single Obamaaccomplishment when pressed to do so on Tuesday in an MSNBCinterview.
"So I know there are comparisons and contrasts to be drawnbetween us," she said.
Obama defended his record testily, saying he helped pushthe toughest ethics reform legislation in the Senate since theWatergate scandal.
"Senator Clinton has a fine record. So do I," he said.
Whether Clinton made the type of breakthrough performanceshe needed to slow Obama's surge was unclear. He has won 10contests in a row, by wide margins, and has been on a roll.
Indeed, asked whether she thought Obama was not ready to dothe job of commander in chief from day one, she held herpunches, saying, "I believe that I am ready and I am prepared.I will leave that to voters to decide."
Obama expressed a willingness to move quickly toward ameeting with Castro's replacement, in line with his previouscommitment to hold direct talks with leaders of hostilecountries if he is elected president.
Clinton was more cautious, saying Cuba should first makeprogress on long-standing U.S. complaints such as improvinghuman rights and releasing political prisoners.
Castro is expected to be replaced in power by his brother,Raul Castro, 76.
"If we think that meeting with the president is a privilegethat has to be earned I think that reinforces the sense that westand above the rest of the world," Obama said.
Clinton said she would be ready to meet with the new Cubangovernment "once it demonstrated that it truly was ready tochange" direction.
"I would not meet with him until there was evidence" thatchanges were taking place, she said.
Obama has managed to gain an increasing share of Clinton'score voting blocs of blue-collar and low-income workers whilecutting into her margins with Hispanics.
The two big states of Ohio and Texas, with a combined totalof 334 delegates at stake on March 4, have plenty of both.
(Additional reporting by Jeff Mason and Claudia Parsons;editing by Lori Santos and Mohammad Zargham)
(To read more about the U.S. political campaign, visitReuters "Tales from the Trail: 2008" online athttp://blogs.reuters.com/trail08/)
