Hillary Clinton Saturday likened her Democratic White House rival Barack Obama to President George W. Bush, arguing he was an untested neophyte who would be a "leap of faith" for voters.
"We cannot afford to elect someone as we did with George Bush and then be somewhat surprised by the decisions that are made, the direction that he leads the country," the New York senator told reporters aboard her campaign plane.
"And the best way to avoid that is to have a candidate who tells you what she will do and then is held accountable for doing it once she's in office," she said, arguing that Obama had been too vague on policy.
The former first lady has previously described her Illinois senate colleague as a charismatic politician -- but stressed that voters had regretted their decision to vote for Bush because of his own charm and likability.
Clinton refused to predict the outcome of "Super Tuesday" when 22 states will be in play for the Democratic nomination, but said either she or her African-American colleague "would change history by becoming president."
"The question is who would change the country. I believe that I am both tested and ready to turn the economy around, to beat the Republicans, and to be commander-in-chief on day one," she said.
"I'm not asking voters to take a leap of faith. You know where I stand, you know my record, I've been vetted, I've been tested, probably more than anybody in the country who's in politics right now."
Super Tuesday is an unprecedented challenge for the Democratic and Republican candidates as they criss-cross the country for what is effectively the first-ever national primary.
"There's never been anybody having to do this before so obviously we're all making it up as we go. But I feel good, very good about where we are in a lot of the states," Clinton said.
