Iraq Dominates Dems' Presidential Debate

Democratic presidential hopefuls flashed their anti-war credentials and heaped criticism on President Bush's Iraq policy in an early first debate of the 2008 campaign.

"The first day I would get us out of Iraq by diplomacy," said New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, one of eight rivals on the debate stage Thursday night.

"If this president does not get us out of Iraq, when I am president, I will," pledged Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York.

But Clinton found herself on the receiving end of criticism moments later when former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards said she or anyone else who voted to authorize the war should "search their conscience."

Edwards, in the Senate at the time, also cast his vote for the invasion, but he has since apologized for it.

Of the eight foes participating in the debate at South Carolina State University, four voted earlier in the day to support legislation that cleared Congress and requires the beginning of a troop withdrawal by Oct. 1. The legislation sets a goal of a complete withdrawal by April 1, 2008.

"We are one signature away from ending this war," said Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois. He said if Mr. Bush won't change his mind about vetoing the bill, Democrats need to work on rounding up enough Republican votes to override him.

In addition to Obama and Clinton, Sens. Joe Biden of Delaware and Chris Dodd of Connecticut also cast votes earlier in the day in favor of the legislation.

Former Alaska Sen. Mike Gravel and Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio also participated in the debate.

Mr. Bush is barred by the Constitution from running for re-election next fall, and the result is an extraordinarily early start to the campaign to succeed him.

The state in which the debate was held — South Carolina — has only been carried by one Democrat since 1960. African-Americans make up 29.9 percent of the state's population, reports CBS News senior political correspondent Jeff Greenfield.

In '04, nearly half the Democratic vote was black, Greenfield reports, which is why Democrats put this primary close to the starting line.

The debate — nine months before the kickoff Iowa caucuses — was 90 minutes long without opening or closing statements from the candidates. Instead, each of the eight fielded questions in turn.

That made for a rapid-fire debate but prevented follow-up questions when any of the eight sidestepped — as when Clinton and Biden avoided answering when asked whether they agreed with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's assessment that the Iraq war is lost.

While Iraq dominated the debate's early moments, Edwards was asked about having paid for a $400 (euro294) haircut from campaign donations rather than from his own wallet.

"That was a mistake, which we remedied," he said. A wealthy former trial lawyer, he recalled once having gone to dinner at a restaurant as a young child and having to leave because his father could not afford the prices.

"I've not forgotten where I came from," he said.

Five of the eight — Gravel, Biden, Dodd, Kucinich and Richardson — raised their hands when moderator Brian Williams of NBC News asked whether they had ever had a gun in their home.

Asked about a recent Supreme Court ruling that upheld a ban on so-called partial birth abortions, several of the contenders replied they would not impose a litmus test on their own nominees to the high court.

At the same time, they stressed their support for abortion rights, and said their appointees to the bench would reflect that. "Any of my appointments to the high court would necessarily reflect my thinking," said Kucinich, who did not mention that he opposed abortion rights until switching positions before he ran for the White House in 2004.

There were moments of levity, as when Williams referred to Biden's reputation for "verbosity" and asked whether he had the discipline to be a player on the world stage.

"Yes," the Delaware lawmaker replied with uncharacteristic brevity.

Perhaps because the campaign is still in its early stages, there was little cross-stage criticism.

Gravel was an exception, when he said, "Some of these people frighten me, they frighten me. When you have main line candidates who say there's nothing off the table when it comes to Iran," he said, adding that was "code for using" nuclear weapons.

Asked why he was not supporting a ban called by a leading civil rights group on travel to South Carolina while the Confederate flag flies on the grounds of the State Capitol in Columbia, Biden noted that Rep. James Clyburn, a black member of Congress from another part of the state, had invited them to the debate.

The flag "should be put in a museum," added Obama, running the most competitive race in history for a black man. The Confederate flag was the banner of the secessionist pro-slavery southern states in the 1861-65 American Civil War.

The debate was about 40 minutes old when Clinton made the first mention of her husband, the former president. Responding to a question about the recent shooting spree at Virginia Tech, she began by saying, "I remember very well when I accompanied Bill to Columbine" — the Colorado high school that was the scene of another shooting spree a decade ago.

Not surprisingly, Mr. Bush's Iraq war policy found no supporters on the debate stage.

"I am proud that I opposed this war from the start," said Obama — a jab at those on the stage who voted to authorize the invasion.

"The president has a fundamentally flawed policy," said Biden. "The president should start off by not vetoing the legislation he says he will veto."

Dodd said Mr. Bush was pursuing a "failed policy."

Kucinich jabbed at the senators on stage, saying it made no sense to oppose the war and then turn around and vote for more money as they did. The Ohio lawmaker voted against the legislation that cleared Congress earlier in the day.