DES MOINES (Iowa), Aug 19: Democrat presidential candidate Barack Obama on Sunday tried to parlay his relative lack of national experience into a positive attribute, chiding his rivals for adhering to ‘’conventional thinking’’ that led America into the Iraq war which has divided the country.

In their latest debate, the candidates also said they favoured more federal action to address economic woes that have resulted from a housing slump and tighter credit. New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson said the current financial crisis was ‘’the Katrina of the mortgage lending industry.’’

Prodded by moderator George Stephanopoulos at the outset of the debate, Obama’s rivals critiqued his recent comments on Pakistan and whether he would meet foreign leaders -- including North Korea’s head of state -- without conditions.

The debate capped an intense week of politicking in Iowa, an early voting state in the process of picking a nominee. The Iowa State Fair is a magnet for White House hopefuls in each presidential election.

Senator Christopher Dodd of Connecitcut, addressing a question about Obama’s relative inexperience, said: ‘’You’re not going to have time in January of ‘09 to get ready for this job.’’ Dodd has served in Congress for more than 30 years.

Former Senator John Edwards said Obama’s opinions ‘’add something to this debate.’’ But Edwards, the 2004 vice presidential nominee, said politicians who aspire to be president should not talk about hypothetical solutions to serious problems.

’’It effectively limits your options,’’ Edwards said, drawing agreement from Richardson.

Obama said he could handle the rigours of international diplomacy and noted that many in the race, including Dodd, Edwards and Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Joe Biden, voted to authorise the Iraq war in 2002.

’’Nobody had more experience than Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney and many of the people on this stage that authorised this war,’’ Obama said. ‘’And it indicates how we get into trouble when we engage in the sort of conventional thinking that has become the habit in Washington.’’—AP