Squabbles, no clear winner

DEM DEBATE | Clinton, Edwards argue over war, Obama put on spot on hospital conditions, Richardson suggests Olympic boycott

MANCHESTER, N.H. -- There was testiness between Hillary Clinton and John Edwards over leadership on Iraq; Barack Obama was put on the spot about the sorry conditions at Walter Reed Hospital, since he is on the Senate Veterans Affairs committee, and there were squabbles about what to do about the civil war in Darfur.

But Sunday's debate at St. Anselm College among the eight Democratic presidential contenders did not define a clear winner -- although Clinton's deep well of political experience was apparent and will likely keep her ahead in the polls. She was forceful and detailed in her answers.

Overall, the candidates agreed on the broader issues, such as the need to end the war in Iraq as soon as possible, the necessity for improved health care for all Americans, and immigration laws that would allow greater security but give illegals a route to citizenship.

This was the second debate among the Democratic candidates: Senators Obama, Clinton, Chris Dodd and Joe Biden; former Senators John Edwards and Mike Gravel; New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and Rep. Dennis Kucinich.

Edwards suggested Clinton has failed in her leadership on many issues -- although he included Obama, for good measure, in his criticism of Clinton's votes on Iraq. He noted Clinton and Obama did not indicate they would say nay for funding for Iraq "until they appeared on the floor of the Senate. ... And I think all of us have a responsibility to lead on these issues. ..."

Edwards -- who for the most part was unctuously complimentary to Obama -- also disagreed with Clinton on whether the "war on terror is a bumper sticker" issue. Edwards said President Bush used it to "justify everything he does: the ongoing war in Iraq, Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib, spying on Americans, torture."

Clinton said the war on terror was a legitimate battle. "I have seen firsthand the terrible damage that can be inflicted on our country by a small band of terrorists. ... And I believe we are safer than we were."

Obama handled the debate questions with poise; he tried to redeem himself from a falter in the last debate about what he would do if two American cities were simultaneously attacked by terrorists. This time, when asked if he would take Osama bin Laden out, even if it would inflict civilian casualties, Obama responded: "When you've got a military target like bin Laden, you take him out. And if you have 20 minutes, you do it swiftly and surely."

And he disagreed with the notion that English be made the official language of the United States, noting that this was the sort of divisive question that separated rather than united people.

But when asked if he knew, as a member of the Veterans Affairs Committee, about the problems at Walter Reed Hospital before the story was published in the Washington Post, Obama admitted he didn't.

He tried to explain: "People will acknowledge that the medical facility at Walter Reed does great work.

"Unfortunately, what it turned out was the outpatient facilities were disastrous."

The octet agreed on the need to reform the "don't ask, don't tell" policy instituted by the Bill Clinton administration to protect gays and lesbians in the military. It still allows discrimination, they agreed. And Hillary Clinton quoted former Arizona Sen. Barry Goldwater: " 'You don't have to be straight to shoot straight.' And I think he was right."

On the subject of Darfur, Richardson suggested one way to deal with the problem in Darfur was to boycott the China Olympics -- China is a big investor in Sudan.

But Biden was alone in insisting that military force was the remedy, saying, "We've got to stop talking and act."

On the Iraq war funding vote

EDWARDS: Well, I think it's the difference between leading and following ... Senator Clinton and Senator Obama did not say anything about how they were going to vote until they appeared on the floor of the Senate and voted. They were among the last people to vote. And I think that the importance of this is -- they cast the right vote, and I applaud them for that. But the importance of this is, they're asking to be president of the United States.
OBAMA: So you're about four and a half years late on leadership on this issue. And, you know, I think it's important not to play politics on something that is as critical and as difficult as this.
CLINTON: And I think it's important particularly to point out: This is George Bush's war. He is responsible for this war. He started the war. He mismanaged the war. He escalated the war. And he refuses to end the war.

Was President Clinton's policy of "don't ask/don't tell" a mistake?

CLINTON: It was a transition policy and it was an effort to try to deal with the reality that -- probably since the very beginning of our nation we've had gays serving in our military with distinction and honor on behalf of our country, as we do today.
On making English the official language
OBAMA: ... This is the kind of question that is designed precisely to divide us. You know, you're right. Everybody is going to learn to speak English if they live in this country. The issue is not whether or not future generations of immigrants are going to learn English. The question is: How can we come up with both a legal, sensible immigration policy?
OBAMA: And when we get distracted by those kinds of questions, I think we do a disservice to the American people.

On threatening to boycott the China Olympics in order to pressure Sudan to end the genocide in Darfur

RICHARDSON: Third, we need China, to lean on China, which has enormous leverage over Darfur. And if the Chinese don't want to do this, we say to them, maybe we won't go to the Olympics.
DODD: I think that goes too far, Wolf. Here, look. This is a major issue.
EDWARDS: Actually, I disagree with my friend, Chris Dodd, about that. I think that we should use whatever tools are available to us.