Iraq brings nods of agreement
But Democrats spar over Obama's experience, Hillary's appeal
Was there a winner in Sunday's faceoff in Iowa? Yes and no. The leading candidates performed well, with Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) seeming more confident and Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) a tad more uptight and school marmish than before, although her answers were assured and detailed.
The first two questions were designed to start argument: Does Obama have enough experience to be president of the United States? And, is Clinton too polarizing to win a general election?
They were lobbed by ABC moderator George Stephanopoulos -- a onetime top aide to former President Bill Clinton -- to a forum that, aside from Obama and Hillary Clinton, included Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware, Sen. Chris Dodd of Connecticut, former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, former Sen. Mike Gravel of Alaska, Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson.
(John H. White/Sun-Times/AP)
Stephanopoulos: "Sen. Clinton, you did [say] Sen. Obama's views on meeting with foreign dictators are naive and irresponsible. Doesn't that imply that he's not ready for the office?"
Stephanopoulos, to Biden: "You were asked: 'Is he ready?' You said, 'I think he can be ready, but right now I don't believe he is. The presidency is not something that lends itself to on-the-job training.'"
Biden: "I think I stand by the statement."
Next came the question about Clinton's divisiveness -- with a video clip of former Bush presidential adviser Karl Rove to start the conversation. Rove said: "There is no front-runner who has entered the primary season with negatives as high as she has in the history of modern polling."
Obama ducked and weaved at first: "I think Sen. Clinton and all the candidates up here are capable." But later he cast small stones at Bill Clinton's administration, noting problems such as health care "pre-date the Bush administration."
"They're not just Republican problems," he continued. "What I'm suggesting is that we're going to need somebody who can break out of the political patterns that we've been in over the last 20 years. . . . I would not be running if I did not believe that I was the best person to do this."
On the Iraq war, the candidates appeared to agree more with Biden's suggestion that American troops be moved out slowly and that Iraq be divided into three semi-autonomous provinces with a central government. Richardson disagreed, saying that troops should be pulled out by December and diplomatic overtures begin to engage Iraq's neighbors.
Biden said: "If we leave Iraq and we leave it in chaos, there'll be regional war."
Obama agreed on the idea of partition but said the Iraqis need to sign on to the idea, rather than it being imposed. "If the perception is that we are carving up the country as opposed to the parties arriving at a decision, then that could antagonize some of the factions and actually make the problem worse."
An ABC poll going into the debate showed Obama leading in Iowa 27 percent to Clinton's and Edwards' 26 percent.
Arthur Sanders, a Drake University political science professor, noted that Clinton, while doing well in the national polls, is at greatest risk in Iowa. "You read the national polls and she is winning. Come the Iowa caucuses and she doesn't win, it's going to be a big problem for her."