GOP ‘Obsession’ Keys Debate: Rival Democrats Say Republicans Savor Clinton As Nominee
By Christi Parsons and Mike Dorning, Chicago Tribune
Oct. 31–PHILADELPHIA — The competitors in the Democratic presidential race moved aggressively Tuesday to derail the inevitability express that has been the campaign of front-runner Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York.
Clinton kept her eyes on a general election opponent, suggesting the Republicans’ “constant obsession with me” owes to the fact that she presents the greatest threat to their White House chances next year.
But rival John Edwards argued that could be because Republicans actually want to run against her, and went on to condemn a “rigged” and “corrupt” system that he suggested has helped to keep the Clinton operation in business.
Edwards: Clinton for status quo
“Will she be the person who brings about the change in this country?” Edwards said. “You know, I believe in Santa Claus. I believe in the tooth fairy. But I don’t think that’s going to happen. . . . And I think that if people want the status quo, Sen. Clinton’s your candidate.”
Barack Obama agreed with Edwards that GOP candidates may be focusing on Clinton’s candidacy “because that’s a fight they’re comfortable having” and argued that the last thing the country needs is a throwback to the 1990s and “another eight years of bickering.”
The heated exchange came as the discourse shifted into a more aggressive mode, after months of debates — eight, by most counts — in which the Democrats have more politely parsed the issues.
But Clinton enjoys a healthy lead in most national opinion polls and is mostly holding her own in surveys of voters in the early primary states. In recent days, ex-Sen. Edwards of North Carolina and Sen. Obama of Illinois in particular have signaled they were taking off the gloves in an attempt to contain her lead. All of the other Democratic contenders are chafing at the idea of a Clinton coronation.
Obama took a tougher stance than in past meetings, but again it was Edwards who led the challenge to Clinton. He was especially pointed on the war in Iraq and on how to deal with Iran and its nuclear program.
“She says she will end the war, but she continues to say she’ll keep combat troops in Iraq and continue combat missions in Iraq,” Edwards said of Clinton’s position. “To me, that’s not ending the war, that’s a continuation of the war.”
Clinton also says she’ll stand up to President Bush on Iran, Edwards said, but “in fact she voted to give George Bush the first step in moving militarily on Iran — and he’s taken it.”
Clinton countered that Edwards was misrepresenting her vote in favor of a measure designating Iran’s Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization.
“I am not in favor of this rush for war, but I’m also not in favor of doing nothing,” Clinton said.
She also said she would end the Iraq war but would allow for the possibility of a limited presence of American troops in the region to respond to threats.
Clinton’s opponents jumped into the fray after she delivered a defense of New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s decision to issue driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants and then denied supporting the policy.
“They are driving on our roads,” Clinton said, adding, “What Gov. Spitzer is trying to do is fill the vacuum” before objecting to Sen. Chris Dodd’s statement that she supported the policy.
“Unless I missed something, Sen. Clinton said two different things in the course of about two minutes,” Edwards interrupted.
“I was confused on Sen. Clinton’s answer. I can’t tell whether she was for it or against it,” Obama echoed.
Clinton rebuffed attempts by co-moderator Tim Russert of NBC News to pin her down on how she would address long-term imbalances in the Social Security system as Baby Boomers reach retirement.
Clinton said she would seek a bipartisan commission to address longer-term problems with Social Security, as President Ronald Reagan did when the pension program was last in crisis in 1983.
But Obama chided Clinton for refusing to answer.
“It is important, if we are going to lead this country, to be clear to the American people about what our intentions are,” Obama said.
Social Security has long been considered the dangerous “third rail” of American politics because of the sensitivity of voters to changes in the benefits, taxes or retirement ages.
Richardson urges high road
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson tried to play the role of peacemaker, scolding his fellow candidates for targeting Clinton and urging them instead “to be positive in this campaign.”
“I’m hearing this holier-than-thou attitude towards Sen. Clinton that — it’s bothering me because it’s pretty close to personal attacks that we don’t need,” Richardson said.
Like Clinton, Sen. Joseph Biden (D-Del.) was looking forward to the general election, aiming some sharp words at Republican Rudolph Giuliani.
“Rudy Giuliani, there’s only three things he mentions in a sentence,” Biden said. “A noun and a verb and ’9/11.’ . . . This man is truly not qualified to be president.”
The Giuliani camp fired back with a statement that Biden has “never run anything but his mouth.”
Richardson urged stronger diplomatic engagement with Iran, while Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio warned of talk about keeping all options, including military action, “on the table” in dealing with the country.
cparsons@tribune.com
mdorning@tribune.com
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