Democratic Hopefuls Square Off for First Time

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The eight Democratic presidential candidates used their first joint appearance Thursday to assail President Bush for threatening to veto legislation that would set a deadline for bringing troops out of Iraq, even as they sought to highlight differences among them on the depth of their opposition to the war and what they would do to end it.

For 90 mostly low-keyed minutes, the Democratic candidates offered a somewhat united front in denouncing Mr. Bush for the way he handled the war and saying that they should work to assemble the votes to try to override Mr. Bush’s expected veto. The debate came on the same day that four of the candidates on stage – all sitting Senators – had rushed back from Washington after voting in favor of the bill.

There were reminders of how there were divisions in the Democratic field over the Iraq war, particularly as several candidates offered criticism of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York for having voted for the resolution authorizing the war in 2002. John Edwards, who voted for the war in 2002 as a senator from North Carolina, but later said he regretted that decision, was asked whether he was referring to Mrs. Clinton when he said on the campaign trail that Americans are looking for a leader who isn’t afraid to admit a mistake.

“I mean, Senator Clinton and anyone else who voted for this war has to search themselves and decide whether they believe they’ve voted the right way; if so, they can support their vote,” Mr. Edwards said. “If they believe they didn’t, I think it’s important to be straightforward and honest.”



http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/26/washington/27demscnd.html?hp