U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton said yesterday that she recognizes the importance of U.S. Sen. Barack Obama's ties to Hawai'i but asked voters at the Democratic caucuses tonight to look deeper into their public-policy positions.

Clinton released a detailed explanation last week of how her national proposals on healthcare, education and the environment might benefit Hawai'i, while Obama has spoken more broadly about how his inspirational vision for the country can bring people together. Obama, who was born here and graduated from Punahou School, has also been asked more personal questions about his background in Hawai'i during local news media interviews.

"I think people want both," Clinton told The Advertiser by phone from Wisconsin, which holds a primary today. "They want to believe in their country again. They want to be proud of America. They want a leader who can really call us to a greater cause that will bring us together. But they don't want to be fooled, and they don't want to wake up and find out that all they've got are words.

"There's a big difference between speeches and solutions, talk and action. I think actions speak louder than words. And if you want to know what someone will do in the future, it's often wise to look and see what they've done in the past."

U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie, D-Hawai'i, who is campaigning for Obama, said he doubted what he described as slight differences on policy would influence many caucusgoers.

"They want to know who is the most electable," the congressman said. "I think, by the end of tomorrow night's caucuses, they will have chosen Barack Obama on the basis that he can carry the Democratic Party banner in a united way."

'ONE STEP CLOSER'

Obama, who was also in Wisconsin yesterday, spoke by telephone conference call to his Hawai'i volunteers.

"Just over a year ago, when I was there in Hawai'i, I decided to run for president. And on Tuesday, I know the people of Hawai'i will get me one step closer," he said.

Obama said victories in Wisconsin and Hawai'i today would give him 10 in a row heading into the March 4 contests in Ohio and Texas, which the Clinton campaign have identified as critical to stopping Obama's momentum. Obama said a victory in either Ohio or Texas would mean "we're going to be able to make a pretty strong claim to going ahead and bringing this nomination process to a close.

"So we are on the brink of victory here, people, but we've just got to push very, very hard."

The Obama campaign also launched automated telephone calls in Hawai'i yesterday with a recorded message from Obama urging voters to participate in the caucuses.

His sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng, a history teacher at La Pietra Hawai'i School for Girls, led an afternoon rally at Farrington High School. "He helped me to be a better version of myself and he is going to help us to be a better version of ourselves as a nation collectively," she said. "He is going to help us to strive a little more, to reach a little higher."

The Clinton campaign, meanwhile, put out automated telephone calls Sunday from Chelsea Clinton thanking people in the Islands for their hospitality during her three-day campaign visit.

U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye, D-Hawai'i, and his fiancee, Irene Hirano, joined Clinton volunteers at party headquarters yesterday afternoon to phone bank. The senator said he would not have returned from Washington, D.C., for the caucuses — the first time in about 40 years that he has participated — if he were not serious about Clinton.

"Every vote counts," said Inouye, who nailed down two Clinton votes in the first few numbers dialed. "And I think people should be convinced that every vote counts. And that's why I'm hoping they'll all turn out."

DRAWING DISTINCTIONS

Clinton, D-N.Y., said there are some important policy differences between her and Obama. She said her universal healthcare plan would cover everyone, while Obama's healthcare plan would not. Clinton's healthcare proposal is similar to Hawai'i's landmark Prepaid Health Care Act of 1974, which requires businesses to provide health insurance to employees who work more than 20 hours a week. Clinton would also offer tax credits to people and small businesses to offset the cost of insurance premiums and of offering healthcare plans to workers.

Obama, D-Ill., would create a national health insurance exchange to help people buy private insurance and to serve as a watchdog to help monitor insurance plans for fairness and accessibility. Businesses that do not provide adequate coverage to workers would have to contribute a portion of payroll to help pay for the national plan, although smaller businesses would be exempt. He would also require that all children have health insurance coverage.

Clinton has also proposed a moratorium on home foreclosures and a freeze on interest rates in response to the crisis in the mortgage lending market.

She also has an alternative energy plan that would fund research into solar, tidal and wave power that could help reduce Hawai'i's dependence on oil.

Obama has proposed an industry cap-and-trade program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, investment in what he described as "climate friendly" energy supplies, and a new international partnership on global warming.

"I know ties to the community are important," Clinton said of Obama's Hawai'i roots. "I value my relationships in the state based on the work that I've done and the visits that I've made there. But I also think it's important to have a clear vision for what we want to do to help Hawai'i and our nation to achieve."

CLOSER THAN EXPECTED

The nomination campaign, which many political analysts had thought would be over by Super Tuesday, is close because many Democrats see strengths in both Obama and Clinton.

Mike Schultz, who is studying political science at the University of Hawai'i-Manoa and lives in 'Aiea, said he had been undecided until last month.

"I was actually on the fence for a long time. But about a month ago I decided that Clinton would probably be the best candidate for a couple reasons. I was a big fan of Bill, and she has a lot of experience," he said. "I honestly believe that she is our best chance against (Republican front-runner John) McCain and for having another Democrat in the presidency."

Chris Ballesteros, the student body president at Damien Memorial School who will vote for president for the first time this year, described Obama as a break from the traditional mold of candidates.

"What I've noticed is that Sen. Obama does tend to stray away from the specifics when he gives his speeches, and that's part of his magic," said Ballesteros, who wants to run for president himself one day. "He's more easily able to influence people when he's speaking when he stays in the abstract, in the ideal. But if you look at the statements he's released, if you look at his Web site, if you look at the details he provides in his folders and his fliers, he does nail down the specific policy issues.

"I think the problem with what Sen. Clinton has been doing is that she has not had the same charismatic appeal because she tries to deal with the specifics and the details in her speeches, and that's what hurts her charisma and her inspirational ability."

Reach Derrick DePledge at ddepledge@honoluluadvertiser.com.