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The Clinton/Obama sparring match that's been on display in South Carolina has made its way to New Mexico.

Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have yet to set foot in the state, but the local campaigns for the Democratic presidential front-runners spent Friday either criticizing their opponent or preparing to be attacked by them.

The one thing each campaign seemed to agree upon was that they would quickly refute each other's claims before the New Mexico Democratic presidential primary Feb. 5.

The first salvo came from Obama's camp, which held a conference call with reporters to unveil its "New Mexico Truth Squad."

The Truth Squad - an effort replicated in all 22 states with Feb. 5 primaries - is a preemptive strike, the Obama campaign says, that it will use to outline the Illinois senator's record before it's "distorted" by the Clintons.

"We are tired of hearing misleading negative attacks on Sen. Obama from the Clinton campaign," said Patsy Trujillo, the state's deputy secretary of aging and long-term services.

She was joined Friday by state Treasurer James Lewis and state Rep. Al Park, an Albuquerque Democrat, in defending Obama from the negative campaigning they said they witnessed in last weekend's Nevada primary and today's South Carolina contest - and expect to see again.

Park, for example, was critical of the Hillary and Bill Clinton for "misleading attacks," particularly over Obama's statement in Nevada that the Republicans were once the "party of ideas." A Clinton ad in South Carolina used that statement to characterize Obama as a supporter of failed former Republican initiatives.

"Sen. Obama's opponents claim he said Ronald Reagan had all the best ideas. . . . Both the Clintons have publicly praised President Reagan in the past," said Park. "If you don't tell the truth during the campaign, how do we know you'll tell the truth in the White House?"

The campaign on New Mexico's TV airwaves, by comparison, has remained tame.

Obama has aired ads pushing his health care and education initiatives. Clinton's ad pillories President Bush for ignoring her warnings to act before the current foreclosure crisis while trumpeting her economic solutions.

The Truth Squad effort comes as the rhetoric in South Carolina - led, in part, by former President Clinton - seems to be softening. The Clinton campaign withdrew its radio ad critical of Obama's Republican statement Thursday, prompting Obama to pull a response ad, according to the Associated Press.

But that apparently doesn't mean the campaigns will carry a gentler tone into New Mexico.

The Clinton campaign, in response to the Truth Squad, offered links to a campaign Web site that refutes Obama statements, including attempts to debunk his plan to provide universal health care.

That page has links to another site called the "Attack Timeline" that lists links to statements made against Clinton by Obama and former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina.

Further, the Clinton campaign issued a statement Friday by Matt Farrauto, former executive director of the New Mexico Democratic Party, extolling Clinton as a candidate of experience while promising to refute every Obama claim as they come.

"It seems lately Sen. Obama has trouble taking responsibility for and explaining his record," Farrauto said in the statement. "In order to keep this campaign focused on the issues and ensure voters and media have the facts right and the record straight, we are prepared to respond quickly and effectively."

Meanwhile, neither campaign has confirmed New Mexico appearances for their candidates, though both say they hope to do so shortly.

The Clinton campaign has said she will visit the state before Feb. 5.

Carlos Monje, state director of Obama's campaign, said the campaign is "trying to get him here, but there's nothing confirmed."