June 04, 2007

Talking Tough On Iraq In New Hampshire

Iraq was the prevailing issue in Sunday night's Democratic debate at St. Anselm College in New Hampshire, the second among Democratic presidential hopefuls so far this cycle.

In the otherwise tame debate, tension mounted when former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards sought to distinguish himself as the most vocal opponent of the Iraq war. Initially trying not to name names, Edwards scolded Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama for casting their latest votes against the Iraq funding bill quietly rather than leading the charge on the issue.

Obama replied that Edwards was four-and-a-half years late in his crusade against the war and reiterated that he himself was opposed to the war from the start. Edwards did give Obama credit for that. Clinton later pointed out that while the differences between the Democratic candidates are "minor," the differences between the Democratic field and the Republican contenders for the White House are "major." Most of the Democrats agreed that in general, they are united in the effort to end the war.

Moderator Wolf Blitzer drew criticism from some of the candidates when he asked them to respond by a show of hands whether or not they would take out Osama bin Laden if U.S. intelligence confirmed his locale. Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich responded that he would not engage in assassination attempts, but Obama countered that with that kind of information, it might be the responsible thing to do.

Clinton several times thereafter complained that hypothetical questions don't give a clear view of their presidential skills, and Obama lamented that those types of questions are the ones that serve only to divide them.

In other foreign policy matters, the genocide in Darfur also drew out some differences among the candidates. While all seemed to agree that a no-fly zone ought to be established over Sudan in order to cripple the Janjaweed militias, only Edwards and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson said they would take the further step of threatening a boycott of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. China is a major investor in Sudan, and as a veto-wielding member of the U.N. Security Council has balked at proposals to send peacekeepers to the region.

The final question in the second half of the debate was posed by a New Hampshire resident who asked what each of the candidates would do in their first 100 days in office. CNN has a breakdown of all of the candidates' answers.

Posted at 11:09 AM
Posted to: Barack Obama, Bill Richardson, Campaigns, Christopher Dodd, Democrats, Hillary Rodham Clinton, John Edwards, Joseph Biden, WH 2008
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