Democrats bicker at debate

Candidates attack Bush, each other on Iraq policy

By RON FOURNIER Associated Press

Monday, October 27, 2003

Detroit -- Democratic presidential contenders attacked President Bush's postwar policy in Iraq with gusto in a campaign debate Sunday night, accusing him of failing to protect the troops, seek international help or level with the American people.

"We cannot afford to play Bush roulette . . . with the lives of American troops," said Al Sharpton, sharing a stage with eight other White House hopefuls.

Rep. Dick Gephardt of Missouri, who voted in favor of the war and the funding but has been sharply critical of the administration, accused Bush of assailing his critics for lacking patriotism. "I think the highest form of patriotism is saying what we believe," he said.

Over 90 minutes, the Democratic hopefuls also attacked one another on Iraq.

Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, an early and aggressive proponent of the war, said retired Gen. Wesley Clark had "six different positions on whether going to war was a good idea. It took him four days to decide" his position on Bush's recent call for $87 billion in aid to Iraq and Afghanistan.

Clark said he had been "entirely consistent" in opposing the war.

Lieberman also accused several of his rivals of being inconsistent by voting to support the war yet opposing Bush's request for postwar funding.

Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry rebutted that charge by invoking his service in the Vietnam War. Addressing Lieberman, he said he had "seared into me an experience you don't have, and that is being one of the troops on the front line when the policy has gone wrong."

Kerry wasn't the only one to invoke his military experience. Clark, a retired four-star general who led the NATO campaign in Bosnia, did likewise.

That alone was noteworthy in a debate among Democrats. Public opinion has long shown that voters prefer Republicans to Democrats on defense issues -- something the current crop of contenders is hoping to change.

The nine Democratic hopefuls met on a stage in Detroit at a forum sponsored by the Congressional Black Caucus Institute and the Fox News Channel. It was their fifth debate in seven weeks.

The first balloting of the primary race takes place in less than three months, with the Iowa caucuses scheduled for Jan. 19 and the New Hampshire primary following eight days later. Seven other states will vote on Feb. 3, in the first multicontest of the nominating season.

The war also prompted a challenge from Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio to former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean. Kucinich accused Dean of running a television commercial that falsely says he was the only contender to oppose the war in Iraq.

"Why forfeit the public trust? Why can't you just admit you made a mistake and take down the ad?" said Kucinich, who voted against the war and noted that Sharpton and former Sen. Carol Moseley Braun also opposed it.

Dean brushed aside the challenge, saying, "I don't think my ad is inaccurate at all."

The second half of the debate focused on domestic policy, and the Democrats seemed eager to criticize one another on those topics, as well.

Kerry sharply attacked Dean's proposal to repeal all of Bush's tax cuts. He said that would mean middle-class taxpayers would lose a child tax credit and resume paying a marriage penalty. Referring to an Iowa family, he said the impact of Dean's cuts would be a $2,178 increase in taxes.

Kerry favors repealing the portion of Bush's tax cuts that benefit the wealthy but not the balance of the reductions he won from Congress.

Moments later, Dean scorned Kerry. "If you're going to defend the president's tax cuts and you're going to defend the war, I frankly don't think we can beat Bush by being Bush-lite," he said.

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