Nine American flags, as well as one for each branch of the military, stood behind the Illinois Democrat as he strode along a red carpet into a ballroom at the Chicago History Museum.

Calling him "no shock Barack" and "no drama Obama," retired Air Force Gen. Merrill McPeak said the first-term senator has the temperament to lead the military.

Obama, meanwhile, repeated his criticism of Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York and presumptive Republic nominee Sen. John McCain of Arizona for their support of an invasion of Iraq.

"After years of being told that Democrats have to talk, act and vote like John McCain to pass some commander-in-chief test, how many times do we have to learn that tough talk is not a substitute for sound judgment?" Obama asked.

The event followed suggestions in recent days by Clinton's campaign that Obama is unready and untested to lead America's military, even as it has also suggested that he might make a good vice presidential candidate.

Obama said he believes both Democrats and McCain are qualified to be commander-in-chief, but he also said Clinton has been disingenuous on the topic.

"Apparently, the thinking is that I might not be ready on day one, but maybe on day 15, I would be prepared," he said. "This is politics."

Calling it a "broadside" against his campaign, Obama pointed to a recent Clinton ad that suggests he would not be ready to answer a 3 a.m. crisis phone call at the White House.

"I didn't expect Democrats to be making these arguments against fellow Democrats," he said. "They typically come from Republicans against Democrats."

Clinton, who spoke to the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in Washington, responded with a list of more than 30 admirals and generals who have endorsed her campaign.

She also said it is vital that voters in Michigan and Florida not be disenfranchised because of a Democratic Party dispute that has made the results in those states, for now, meaningless because their elections were held too early.

"In my view there are two options: honor the results or hold new primary elections," she said. "I don't see any other solutions that are fair and honor the commitment that 2.5 million voters made in the Democratic primaries in those two states."

Her comments came amid a fresh push by her campaign to try to put those two large states back into play in a nomination race that is now expected to drag well into the spring.

Obama continued to stress that he will abide by whatever the Democratic National Committee decides, so long as delegates from those states can participate in the party's national convention in August.

"I know the Clinton campaign seems to want to make up rules as they go along on this issue," he said. "We were told that they wouldn't count. Sen. Clinton agreed that they wouldn't count, until she thought maybe they should count."

Obama declined to say how much he believes it will cost to run a general election campaign, should he win the nomination. He also remained vague on whether he will honor a pledge he made last year to accept public financing and limit his spending, should the Republican candidate agree to do the same.

"It's going to cost a substantial amount of money," he said. "If I end up being the nominee, I will meet John McCain and, hopefully, try to come to an agreement on how we approach public financing and we deal with third-party expenditures."

It was a rare Chicago appearance for Obama, who has spent most of the past 13 months on the road. He sandwiched it between a speaking appearance in one of his daughter's classrooms and a theater performance involving his other daughter.

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