Clinton, Obama Debate, But Play Nice

Cordial, One-On-One Exchange Comes Five Days Before Super Tuesday Contests

(CBS/AP)  Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton sparred, for the most part cordially, over immigration, health care and the war in Iraq in their first one-on-one debate on Thursday as they faced high-stakes Super Tuesday primaries and caucuses that could go a long way toward determining the party's presidential nominee.

Clinton emphasized that the nation needed a president ready to go to work on "Day One." Obama responded: "Senator Clinton, I think fairly, has claimed that she's got the experience on Day One. And part of the argument that I'm making in this campaign is that it is important to be right on Day One."

Just five days before Super Tuesday, the two alternated between addressing each other with civility and pointed swipes, underscoring the importance of the upcoming contests. The debate came on the day Obama's campaign reported raising a staggering $32 million in January, cash aplenty to advertise all through the nearly two dozen upcoming races from coast to coast - and contests beyond.

Clinton's campaign reported raising $26.8 million from October through December, the most recent period that she reported.

Clinton defended the increasingly high-profile role of her husband, former President Clinton, in her campaign and his recent sharp criticism of Obama.

Responding to a question on how could she control him in the White House if she couldn't on the campaign trail, Clinton said, "At the end of the day, it's my name that's on the ballot ... It's a lonely job in the White House."

Both candidates were asked about the possibility of a "dream ticket" of Clinton-Obama or Obama-Clinton.

"Obviously there's a big difference between those two," Obama said. "I respect Senator Clinton, I think her service to this country is extraordinary." But he said, "We've got a lot more road to travel" before such a decision.

Clinton agreed it was too early to discuss.

Making amends for his apparent snub of her at Monday's State of the Union Address, Obama assisted Clinton by pulling back her chair both as the debate, televised on CNN, began and ended. They then embraced.

But it wasn't all sweetness and light.

One of their most pointed exchanges came on the subject of whether illegal immigrants should be able to obtain driver's licenses. Obama supports doing so while Clinton initially supported it and now opposes it.

"Senator Clinton gave a number of different answers over the course of six weeks on this," Obama said, turning to Clinton. "Initially, you said you were for it, then you said you were against it." He said he was raising her apparent wavering to underscore that it is "a difficult political issue."

Clinton called the controversy "a diversion" from efforts to come up with comprehensive immigration reform. "I sponsored immigration reform before Barack came to the Senate," she said.

Obama argued for his candidacy, saying, "I respect Senator Clinton's record. I think it's a terrific record. But I also believe that the skills that I have are the ones that are needed right now to move the country forward, otherwise I wouldn't be running for president."

They also clashed on Iraq.

Clinton suggested only she had "the necessary credentials and gravitas" to lead the country in withdrawing from Iraq without endangering U.S. forces or further destabilizing the area. She said it was crucial to bring Syria and Iran to the diplomatic table.

Obama shot back, "Senator Clinton mentioned the issue of gravitas and judgment. I think it is much easier for us to have the argument when we have a nominee who says `I always thought this was a bad idea. This was a bad strategy.' It was not just a problem of execution."

Clinton voted in October 2002 to authorize President Bush to use force in Iraq, while Obama opposed such authority in a speech he gave in 2002 while he was a member of the Illinois state Senate.

"After a few weeks of bitter fighting, toinight was a genteel display of small but important differences," said CBSNews.com Senior Political Editor Vaughn Ververs. "The name of the game right now is addition, not division and you saw both candidates try to appeal to a very broad number of voters. Both expressed a firm grasp of details and issues which probably benefits Obama most. But we are headed into a house-by-house fight for individual delegates and it is beginning to look a lot like tonight's debate — a draw."

The two also reached out quickly to backers of former rival John Edwards, who bowed out of the race Wednesday without endorsing either one. Both praised his efforts in their opening statements.

Obama called Edwards "a voice for this party and this country for many years to come." Clinton saluted both Edwards and his wife, Elizabeth, as setting "their personal example of courage and leadership" in their advocacy for the poor.

Clinton drew rounds of laughter in the Kodak Theatre - home of the Academy Awards - when she asked whether it was good for the country to have another Clinton in the White House, further extending Bush and Clinton family control over government. "It did take a Clinton to clean after the first Bush and I think it might take another one to clean up after the second Bush," she said.

Befitting a Hollywood audience, among the stars in the theater were Diane Keaton, Jason Alexander, Pierce Brosnan, Rob Reiner, Stevie Wonder, Kate Capshaw, Leonardo DiCaprio, Bradley Whitford and Gary Shandling.

[b-easy63]

I said that if Hilary persisted in underhanded psuedo racist attacks on Obama, she would lose the election or else people would flock to McCain if she was the Dem. Candidate. I also said that if she did not change her tune, at least me and my family and friends would NOT vote for her under any circumstances if McCain was the Rep. Candidate and it came down to him and Hilary.

That said, I''m pleased she DID change her tactics. By showing she was listening to the voters and realized that some tactics are off the table for Dems in house --being that they do not need to use Republican smear tactics to win--she elevated herself back to being a viable candidate. I applaud the change in tenor and yes, I think it will be reflected in the votes on Tues. I take nothing away from Obama--but by getting out of the mud and at least cleaning herself off, I''m prepared to reconsider Hilary as an option, for the general election--. The country is a mess--but I''d now embrace either Obama or Hilary, over McCain.

[terrorislam6]

it is retarded raducal fascist nazi terrorislamic jihadist muslim slavers and murderers stupid,,,

non muslims of the world unite,,, fight against the tyranny of the fascist nazi terrorslam imperialist empire of the darkside,,,

I was a fanatic...I know their thinking, says former radical Islamist
By blaming the Government for our actions, those who pushed this "Blair''''s bombs" line did our propaganda work for us.
More important, they also helped to draw away any critical examination from the real engine of our violence: Islamic theology.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=465570&in_page_id=1770

Bless the Beasts and Children
Fascist nazi terrorslam kills every man woman and child in the village again%u2026 typical mo for terrorslam%u2026
http://www.michaelyon-online.com/wp/bless-the-beasts-and-children.htm

Our Prophet commanded us to fight the kaafirs when we are able and to attack them in their homelands and to give them three choices before we enter their lands: either they become Muslim and be like us, sharing our rights and duties; or they pay the jizyah (poll tax) and feel themselves subdued; or they fight, in which case their wealth, women, children and homes become permissible as booty for the Muslims.
http://islamqa.com/index.php?ref=13759&ln=eng&txt=before%20islam%20arabia%20pagan

the truth about fascist nazi terrorislam...
http://www.terrorismawareness.org/what-really-happened/

[terrorislam6]

hey hip hop hussein!!!

tell your brothers and sisters to stop murdering non-muslims

typical of radical retarded fascist nazi terrorislamic jihadist slavers and murders

barack hussein obama(D-KENYA)

"You are all my brothers and sisters," Mr Obama told crowds of excited residents who craned their necks to catch a glimpse of the senator.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/5290844.stm

One of Obama Jr''s great grandfathers (several generations back), "Owiny" was said to be a powerful leader of the Luo tribe, which moved into Kenya some 400 years ago.

Sarah Obama, a devout Muslim, was quoted telling Obama Jr. "What your grandfather respected was strength. Discipline. This is also why he rejected the Christian religion, I think. For a brief time he converted [to Christianity], and even changed his name to Johnson. But he could not understand such ideas as mercy towards your enemies, or that this man Jesus could wash away a man''s sins. To your grandfather, this was a foolish sentiment, something to comfort women. And so he converted to Islam-he thought its practices conformed more closely to his beliefs."
http://www.usvetdsp.com/jan08/obama_lou%20tribe.htm

Kenya, Islam and Obama Hussein
http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2008/01/obama-islam-and.html

[akona2]

THE IMPERFECT "PERFECT" OBAMA

how can Obama be the honest person if he himself is caught in lies?

how can Obama claim he can do perfect judgement on DAY 1 if he himself makes mistakes on getting involve with a slumlord?

how can Obama claim he can be the uniter if he himself indulge in fights?

how can Obama claim he is the new blood if he himself is part of the old blood?

how can Obama be the bridge to the future if he himself does not have the mastery of past?

a good salesman (OBAMA) can make you drive a lemon car. a good mechanic (CLINTON) can fix the lemon car.

barack HUSSEIN OBAMA. can not trust the name...


O-bama%u2026 Osama, the king of ALQAEDA,
B-arack%u2026 IRAQ, the hometown of HUSSEIN, barack%u2019s middlename,
A-llah%u2019s sign, what could this mean?
M-uslim blood into barracks vein.
A-RE WE READY FOR THE NEXT MUSLIM PRESIDENT?

barack HUSSEIN OBAMA. can not trust the name...

[RuthCalabria]

Conservatives Will Stop Obama.

We%u2019re Obama supporters, too! But we are sure they%u2019ll find some way to stop him as Barack is against the war, a war the conservatives insist will go on. The way they stop him may be very very nasty. Read the details of what we think might happen on our website, down towards the last few paragraphs. If somebody can get our analysis to him, his strategists may be able to find a way around the conservatives%u2019 death wish for him.

Good luck to us all,
Dr. and Mrs. Peter V. Calabria
www.matrix-evolutions.com

[taotxzen]

Fox chyron lies while guest tells the truth.

Thursday, ABC News%u2019 Jake Tapper misrepresented a quote by Bill Clinton to suggest that the former president believes ''we have to slow down the economy'' to address global warming. In fact, Clinton said just the opposite.

On Fox News yesterday, when asked about the ABC piece, conservative columnist Charles Krauthammer correctly noted that Clinton had been quoted out of context. But while Krauthammer was speaking, Fox ran a chyron falsely claiming that Clinton said we ''must slow economy'' to ''cut greenhouse gas emissions.''

Yesterday morning, Rush Limbaugh peddled the false ABC story, insisting that Clinton ''suggested we deliberately hamper our economic standing in the world and cripple our economy for the sake of appeasing an unproven, scientifically flawed theory that has no basis in fact.''

Greatness!

[kaelinda]

Vicarious2 - it''s really difficult to find out what you''re trying to say when so many of your posts are childish gibberish. I''m sure you have an opinion worth posting - if you could give up name-calling and using foul language (in substitute form, of course, so they''ll be published and not reported as abuse).

[kaelinda]

Barak Obama is not now and never has been a Muslim. His father was, though. Barak himself, as I recall, is a Mormon. There is a difference.

[andersenme]

Robert F. Kennedy once remarked:

"All of us, from the wealthiest and most powerful of men to the weakest and hungriest of children, share one precious possession: the name %u2018American.%u2019 It is not easy to know what that means. But in part to be an American means to have been an outcast and a stranger, to have come to the exiles'' country, and to know that he who denies the outcast and stranger among us at that moment also denies America."

During the debate Thursday night, Barack Obama echoed RFK when he said, to applause, that arguments about how the inner-city unemployment of blacks is related to the influx of immigration is a case of "scapegoating" immigrants.

Hillary, fresh from her campaign of racial coding in South Carolina, countered by claiming that voters needed to realize that immigrants do take the jobs of low-income Americans.

America is tired of the arrogance, corruption and lack of that elusive thing called grace that characterized Bill Clinton''s "co-presidency" with Hillary.

Clean slate !!!
Barack Obama,
''08 !!!

MARTIN EDWIN ANDERSEN

[andersenme]

FOR THOSE CLINTON BLOGGERS WHO CLAIM RFK''S BROOD IS SUPPORTING HILLARY, A PRE-SUPER TUESDAY GIFT ...

ETHEL KENNEDY, BOBBY''S WIDOW, ENDORSES OBAMA ...

Why I''m Supporting Barack Obama
Posted February 2, 2008 | 05:07 PM (EST)

Over these past few years, I''ve watched Senator Obama inspire Americans from all walks of life to believe in real change and a new sense of hope and possibility. He''s a magnetic force, drawing the nation together for the common good and galvanizing us all to help shape our country''s future.

Barack is so like Bobby, who struggled for the rights of the poor in the Mississippi Delta and Appalachia, traveled to California to stand in solidarity with Cesar Chavez and farm workers and fought to end another war that cost so many lives.

Today, we crave a leader with vision who can help us regain our lost humanity and rekindle our inherent generosity. With courage, caring and charisma, Senator Obama is leading us toward a kinder, gentler world.

Senator Obama''s candidacy sends out "ripples of hope" that can build a "current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance." I am proud to support Barack Obama, and look forward to him leading this country toward a brighter, more hopeful future.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tag/barack-is-so-like-bobby

MARTIN EDWIN ANDERSEN