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Few haymakers landed in Obama-Clinton debate |
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By Sam Youngman
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Posted: 02/26/08 11:41 PM [ET] |
Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Barack Obama (D-Ill.) maintained a steady tone of civility throughout their last debate Tuesday night before next week's critical contests in Texas and Ohio. Neither candidate appeared to score huge political blows, which works to Obama's advantage.
Both candidates jumped out of the gate criticizing one another for their campaign tactics, with Clinton taking exception to Obama's mailers and phone calls attacking the former first lady's stance on North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
Using words like "false, inaccurate and misleading," Clinton said Obama's portrayal of her healthcare plan and position on NAFTA were regrettable, adding that the "fliers and mailers... have been very disturbing to me."
"I think it's very important you stand up for yourself," Clinton said after the MSNBC moderators showed a clip of Clinton waving one of the Obama campaign's mailers and saying, "Shame on you, Barack Obama."
Obama responded in kind, saying that Clinton's campaign had long engaged in circulating campaign literature that incorrectly described his healthcare plan.
"We haven't whined about it because I know that's the nature of these campaigns," Obama said.
The debate, which was held at Cleveland State University, took place in the critical next-round primary state of Ohio just seven days before Buckeye State voters will go to the polls. Given the economic issues on the minds of Ohio voters, it was no surprise Obama and Clinton engaged in a 16-minute exchange -- according to co-moderator Brian Williams -- about healthcare before segueing into a lengthy back and forth on NAFTA.
On healthcare, the debate continued to center around whether or not Obama's plan will truly be universal and whether or not Clinton's plan would punish those who can't afford health insurance.
On NAFTA, both candidates agreed that they would put Canada and Mexico on notice that they will "opt out" of the trade agreement unless it is reformed.
Yet, much of the debate focused on national security and foreign affairs issues.
When it came to Iraq, Clinton first brought up Obama's 2002 speech against the Iraq invasion.
"Many people gave speeches against the war then," Clinton said, before adding that Obama has voted the same as her since he was given the "responsibility" of a Senate vote.
"When it wasn't just a speech, when it was actually action, where was he then?" Clinton said.
Obama responded that his "objections to Iraq were not just a speech," arguing that Clinton's Iraq vote would make it more difficult for her to face off against presumptive Republican nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.).
"Having a debate with John McCain where your positions were essentially similar until you started running for president I think does not put you in a strong position," Obama said.
Pressed on a vote they would like to have back, Clinton raised her 2002 Iraq war vote while Obama said he regretted not blocking the Senate's legislation aimed at intervening in the Terri Schiavo case.
One of the more unusual moments of the debate was when Clinton complained she tends to get the first question on various issues during the presidential primary debates.
Over the last couple of weeks, Ohio and Texas have taken on new meaning as most political observers believe they represent a last stand for Clinton after losing 11 contests in a row to Obama since Super Tuesday.
Given that dynamic, many were curious to see how hard Clinton would swing at Obama Tuesday night. While the New York senator did vigorously attempt to draw distinctions between her experience and Obama's, she did not appear to deliver a serious blow to Obama's candidacy.
Obama successfully maintained his ground, fending off most of Clinton's efforts, and as the debate -- the 20th for the Democrats over the last year -- came to a close, Obama and Clinton closed on a civil tone as they again talked about how honored they were to share the stage with each other.
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