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In the spotlight, Clinton withstands heat |
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By Sam Youngman
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Posted: 09/26/07 11:17 PM [ET] |
From the onset of Wednesday night’s Democratic presidential debate, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) faced the tough questions, allotted answer time and jabs - some direct, some indirect - that come with being considered the frontrunner for the nomination.
Aside from “Meet the Press” host and debate moderator Tim Russert’s intense questioning on a number of issues, Clinton faced direct, and on at least one occasion abrasive, criticism from her on-stage rivals ranging from Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) to former Sen. Mike Gravel (Alaska).
Former Sen. John Edwards (N.C.) took a few swipes at Clinton during the early foreign policy part of the debate, at one point jumping on a point made by Gravel.
Gravel, who was standing to Clinton’s immediate left had an almost Rick Lazio moment when he turned to Clinton and pointed at her, raising his voice and telling her he was “ashamed” of her for her vote in favor of Thursday’s Senate resolution asking President Bush to designate Iran’s Islamic Republican Guard a terrorist organization. Sens. Chris Dodd (Conn.) and Joseph Biden (Del.) voted against the measure, and Obama was absent, which Gravel also noted.
Returning to Gravel’s animated criticism from earlier in the debate, Edwards said he wanted to be clear about the vote Gravel had mentioned. Edwards said Clinton’s vote had essentially taken the “first step” in allowing Bush to intervene militarily in Iran, adding that this is a first step with which Bush “cannot be trusted.”
“When I was in the Senate, I voted for this war in Iraq,” Edwards said. “Sen. Clinton also voted for that war. We learned a very different lesson from that.”
Edwards seized opportunities to criticize Clinton early in the debate when the discussion centered on Iraq, jumping on a statement he said Clinton made on Sunday saying that she would continue combat missions in Iraq.
“To me, that’s a continuation of the war,” Edwards said.
Clinton defended her statement, saying she would support continued combat missions with counter-terrorism goals.
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson also criticized Clinton’s argument that Democrats do not have enough of a majority in the Senate to end the war in Iraq, saying: “I also disagree with Sen. Clinton. I don’t believe Congress has done enough to end the war.”
Obama passed on early opportunities to attack Clinton, waiting until the discussion moved to healthcare and Clinton’s recently unveiled healthcare plan to take one of his most direct shots at Clinton thus far in the campaign.
After Clinton said she was “proud” of her “lonely” efforts to pass universal healthcare coverage in the early 1990s, Obama said to Clinton that the reason her quest had been so lonely “was because you closed the door, Hillary, to a lot of potential allies in that process.”
Clinton also put a notable distance between herself and her husband after she disagreed with a quote about torture the former president had used. When Russert told the senator it was her husband who had made the statement, she said: “Well, he’s not standing here right now.”
After the early skirmishes, the debate moved into previously uncovered territory with a deeper than usual discussion on social security reform, talk about a national smoking ban and wether the candidates would support lowering the drinking age - a seemingly popular question on the Dartmouth College campus.
Biden enjoyed a victory of sorts at the debate, mentioning no less than three times the 75 votes he secured in passing Wednesday’s non-binding Iraq resolution in the Senate.
He also secured the GOP-aimed zinger of the night after Russert asked about former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s (R) harsh warnings to Iran in recent days.
“Rudy Giuliani doesn’t know what the heck he’s talking about,” Biden said to the apparent delight of the crowd. “He’s the most uninformed person on American foreign policy that's now running for president.” |
