Democratic presidential hopefuls Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama criticized likely Republican nominee John McCain on Saturday while campaigning in advance of the state Democratic caucuses.

In Lewiston, Clinton warned that Democrats will have a hard time running against McCain’s strong military record and that she, not Obama, is best positioned to beat him in November’s general election. McCain, 71, is a decorated former Navy pilot who spent years as prisoner of war in North Vietnam and gained a reputation as a political maverick in the U.S. Senate.

“It appears the Republicans will nominate John McCain and he will be a formidable candidate on national security and national defense,” said Clinton, a New York senator. “I disagree with him, but you know that we’ve got to nominate someone that can stand there on that stage and take on the Republican when it comes to those issues.”

Obama, an Illinois senator, looked ahead to the general election, criticizing McCain without mentioning his Democratic rival.

McCain initially “stood up to George Bush and opposed his first cuts,” Obama said at Nicky’s Cruisin’ Diner in Bangor. Now the Republican senator is calling for continuing those tax cuts, which grant significant breaks to high-income taxpayers, “in his rush to embrace the worst of the Bush legacy.”

Obama also spoke to several thousand people at the Bangor Auditorium, where he emphasized his theme of change.

“I’ve always believed change doesn’t happen from the top down,” he told the crowd. “It happens from the bottom up.”

Clinton stressed the importance of creating “green collar” jobs during her speech in Lewiston.

“We need renewable energy sources that will put millions of Americans to work,” she said. “There’s no reason that Maine cannot be a leader in everything from wind power, to biofuel, to geothermal, to solar power.”

Maine has largely been off the radar screen this campaign season. But with the Democratic race tight and the candidates scrapping for every delegate, the politicking has picked up noticeably in recent days.

Democrats from 420 Maine towns and cities are holding caucuses today to determine how the state’s 24 delegates will be allotted.

“It’s exciting, because (today) Maine gets to help pick a president,” Clinton said to a cheering crowd at the Lewiston Armory.

Maine Democratic leaders were expecting high turnouts, although the numbers could be diminished by a snowstorm that was forecast for Saturday night into today. The party received more than 4,000 absentee ballots, double the number that were cast in the 2004 caucuses.

Although Maine’s delegate count is tiny, the state has been drawing plenty of attention – and stepped-up TV advertising – from the Clinton and Obama campaigns.

Former President Bill Clinton spoke on his wife’s behalf at a rally in Portland on Thursday night. Their daughter, Chelsea Clinton, scheduled appearances Friday and Saturday at Bowdoin and Colby colleges and the University of Southern Maine.

U.S. Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., campaigned Friday on Obama’s behalf at a Portland assisted-living center and at Bates College. Kennedy’s youngest son, U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-R.I., was scheduled to campaign in Maine today for Obama.

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