New York Sen. Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign does not intend to put any staff on the ground in North Dakota ahead of next week's caucuses, but announced Friday that it would be launching television commercials here.

The commercials, a cheery national spot called "can do," will be airing between now and Tuesday. Clinton spokesman Isaac Baker would not say how much the campaign intends to spend here.

Clinton is locked in a tight battle for the Democratic nomination with Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, who has broadcast commercials uncontested for the last week. Obama's ad includes a similarly cheery spot and a North Dakota specific ad where Sen. Kent Conrad speaks his colleague's praises.

The Obama campaign has staff in Bismarck, Fargo, Minot and Grand Forks, and has been organizing events across the state to galvanize support.

As of mid-day Friday, the Obama-Clinton campaign had veered off into a spat about which candidate has the better ideas about health insurance and which one is lying about the other's ideas.

Starting with a CNN debate Thursday night, it spilled into Thursday afternoon media conference calls - one national and one specific to North Dakota - over a piece of Obama's direct mail that accuses Clinton's plan of forcing poor Americans to pay for health coverage they can't afford.

Nancy Vogeltanz-Holm, Clinton's North Dakota state director, said the piece is "not positive, not fair and not even accurate."

The Obama camp shot back, defending the ad's accuracy and continuing to criticize the Clinton plan for its treatment of lower-income Americans.

(Reach reporter Jonathan Rivoli at 223-8482 or jonathan.rivoli@bismarcktribune.com.)