Dems Get Feisty In NYC Debate

(CBS/AP)  By David Paul Kuhn,
CBS News Chief Political Writer

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In an unusually heated debate on Sunday, Sen. John Kerry and Sen. John Edwards sparred over their differences on trade and on the larger issue of electability. Saying Kerry would drive the country "deeper and deeper into deficit," Edwards, although more softball than hardball, did substantively challenge the Democratic front-runner for the first time.

Defending himself on the eve of Super Tuesday, the largest delegate prize of the primary season, Kerry said there was "no difference" between the two on trade.

Kerry then proceeded to rail against his closest challenger, citing Edwards as telling The New York Times that the North American Free Trade Agreement "was good for the prosperity of our country."

When asked directly if he was a liberal, Kerry refused to characterize himself as one. Calling it "a laughable characterization," the Massachusetts senator with a consistently liberal voting record (in senatorial terms) made every effort to appear centrist. Following suit, Edwards also refused the bait, saying he did not think "anybody in America" cares about such characterizations.

Clearly looking toward the general election, both senators were still largely critical of President Bush and neither would say if he would choose the other for vice president.

Continuing his outsider strategy, Edwards said, "The fundamental issue in this election is whether the people of this country believe that we're going to get change that originates in Washington or change that has to come from out there in the real world." At another point, he called Kerry emblematic of the "old Washington talk that people have been listening to for decades."

Kerry retorted with rigor, pointing out that Edwards serves in the Senate. "That seems to me to be Washington, D.C," the Massachusetts senator responded.

"If the distinction with Kerry is you're a Washington insider and we disagree on trade, that hasn't won him anywhere except for South Carolina," said Doug Schoen, Bill Clinton's former pollster and an unaffiliated Democratic strategist. "I don't think Edwards was still prepared to go full-throttle at Kerry, he took a few shots, he had to, but I think despite his protestations he is still trying to position himself to run for vice president."

In arguably the most entertaining (and likely the last) debate of the primary season, the four candidates frequently cut each other off throughout the hour, as well as the reporters questioning them.

After Kerry dodged the question about his liberalism, Times White House correspondent Elizabeth Bumiller interrupted him, looking for a direct response. Kerry replied, "You don't let us finish answering questions."

"You're in New York," Bumiller quipped.

Earlier on, Sharpton upbraided Bumiller, too. Reacting to the breaking news that President Jean-Bertrand Aristide resigned and fled the country, Sharpton became furious when Bumiller interrupted his criticism of Mr. Bush's recent actions with regard to the Caribbean nation.

"If you don't want us to participate, say that, ma'am," Sharpton told Bumiller, referring to himself and Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich, who also participated in the debate.

Both Kucinich and Sharpton have remained in the primary race without any realistic possibility of earning the nomination.

Sponsored by CBS News, WCBS-TV and The New York Times, the one-hour debate was moderated by CBS News Anchor Dan Rather.

Even with the bickering, the debate was largely issue-based. The two top-tier candidates agreed that Israel had the right to build a barrier separating it from Palestinian territories. Both men said military action against North Korea must remain a possibility. And in a rare moment of agreement among the four Democratic candidates, all of them contested that Mr. Bush allowed Haiti to devolve into chaos.

"He's ignored Haiti," said Edwards. Kerry agreed, calling the president "late, as usual," arguing that Mr. Bush should have intervened sooner.

Kerry has won 18 of 20 contests so far, and stands ready for a likely ten-state sweep on Tuesday. The North Carolina senator has said repeatedly that he stay in this race even if he losses every state on Super Tuesday.

The latest official CBS News delegate count shows Kerry with 761 pledged and super-delegates, while Edwards has 241. A total of 2,162 delegates are needed to clinch the nomination. On Tuesday, 1,151 are up for grabs.

"Edwards in this debate on the eve of probably the most important primaries for him, has made a biographical case and also made a case against Washington experience," said Sidney Blumenthal, a former senior adviser to President Bill Clinton. "But if you are making the case on biography, experience is part of it, not excluded."

Edwards has focused his campaign on Georgia, Ohio and Minnesota. But with about half the delegates on Super Tuesday found in electoral giants New York and California, even if Edwards wins a state or two, Kerry should pick up the bulk of the delegates. Multiple polls show Kerry holds a 40-point lead over Edwards in both California and New York.

After all the candidates were asked about whether Mr. Bush is right in citing God as being on America's side in the war on terrorism, the North Carolina senator said President Lincoln once was asked the same question, when requested to join in a prayer for the United States.

"Abraham Lincoln's response was, 'I won't join you in that prayer, but I'll join you in a prayer that we're on God's side,'" Edwards said, as all the candidates agreed that the president should not use God in terms of sides, when speaking about such issues as terrorism.

"I believe in God, but I don't believe, the way President Bush does, in invoking it all the time in that way," Kerry said.

Edwards has effectively yielded the four New England states with contests on Tuesday to Kerry. Kerry leads significantly in ever state, including the one southern contest on Tuesday, Georgia. Throughout the primary season, Edwards has won only one state, his birthplace of South Carolina.

Although Edwards challenged Kerry during the debate, the Massachusetts senator kept his focus on Mr. Bush and was not successfully cornered. Gaffe free, Kerry left the debate as he went in, the dominant frontrunner.

"The net result of the primary process is that Iowa determined the rest of the results more than anything else," said Schoen, referring to Kerry's surprise win in the Jan. 19 Iowa caucus, the first contest of the primary season. "And having all these debates, with all these candidates beating up on George Bush has ultimately taken much more out of the president's support than you would have ever expected."