WASHINGTON (AP) – Anti-war activists at a liberal gathering booed Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton on Tuesday for opposing a set date for pulling U.S. troops from Iraq. Facing down the jeers, Clinton said Democrats need to have “a difficult conversation” about the war.

Another potential presidential candidate, Sen. John Kerry, spoke to the group later in the day and offered an emphatically anti-war appeal.

“Sometimes this is a difficult conversation, in part because this administration has made our world more dangerous than it should be,” said Clinton, D-N.Y.

Kerry, who was widely criticized as the party’s standard-bearer in 2004 for being too cautious in his criticism of the war, said Tuesday that politicians “cannot have it both ways.”

In remarks that could have been aimed at Clinton, Kerry said: “It’s not enough to argue with the logistics or to argue about the details. … It is essential to acknowledge that the war itself was a mistake. … It was wrong, and I was wrong to vote for that Iraqi war resolution.”

Kerry’s speech featured some of his strongest comments to date, including a call to “end a war in Iraq that weakens the nation each and every day it goes on.”

The Massachusetts senator is offering an amendment to withdraw troops from Iraq by the end of this year.

While Clinton received loud cheers for her swipes at the Bush administration, many in the crowd jeered her stance on the Iraq war. She voted for the war but has since harshly criticized the Bush administration’s handling of the conflict.

“I do not think it is a smart strategy, either, for the president to continue with his open-ended commitment, which I think does not put enough pressure on the new Iraqi government,” said Clinton, before turning to the anti-war liberals’ core beef with her.

“Nor do I think it is smart strategy to set a date certain. I do not agree that that is in the best interests,” said Clinton, prompting loud booing from some at the gathering.

Clinton has been seen as the early favorite among potential Democratic candidates for president in 2008, but she is increasingly at odds with anti-war liberals over her past vote and current position on Iraq.

After addressing Iraq, Clinton quickly turned to the 2006 election, saying her party needs to speak to middle-class Americans and overcome disagreements.

“If we’re going to win in November then we have to be smarter, tougher, and better prepared than our opponents, because one thing they do know how to do is win and we have to reach out to people who may not be able to agree with us,” she said.

“We have to talk about the range of issues that are on their minds that they talk about around the kitchen table,” Clinton said.

Before speaking to the group, another potential presidential candidate, Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, questioned whether Congress had done its part in asking tough questions.

“Congress has a responsibility here,” Vilsack said, in a subtle criticism of potential 2008 rivals like Kerry and Clinton. “If the tough questions aren’t being asked by the administration, the checks and balances system of our government requires that the other branch of government asks the tough questions.”

Speaking at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, Vilsack cautioned against rushing for a quick exit from Iraq now.

“I personally don’t think now is a time to say on a date certain we are leaving,” he said.

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Associated Press Writer Will Lester contributed to this report.

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AP-ES-06-13-06 1901EDT

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