PHOENIX (AP) – Democratic presidential hopefuls focused fire on Wesley Clark in a campaign debate Thursday night, calling the retired general a belated convert to their party – and indecisive to boot.
“I did not vote for George Bush. I voted for Al Gore,” Clark retorted in the most contentious of four debates to date in the battle for the Democratic nomination for the White House.
Sens. John Kerry, Joe Lieberman and John Edwards, as well as former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean all criticized Clark, who jumped to the head of the pack in several national polls within days of entering the race less than a month ago.
Dean said that exactly one year ago, Clark advised a Democratic congressional candidate in New Hampshire to vote for legislation supporting the war in Iraq – a war the former general now criticizes sharply.
Lieberman, a supporter of the conflict, jabbed at Dean and Clark simultaneously. In a backhanded compliment, he said Dean had been steadfast in his opposition to the war.
By contrast, he criticized Clark for what he called a history of inconsistency on Iraq. He said Democrats need a candidate who can “reach a conclusion and stick to it.”
Kerry said that despite Clark’s declarations, the former Army general “did say he would vote for the resolution” approving the war. He also said Clark had praised Bush at a Republican fund-raiser last year – at a time he said the Bush administration had already won tax cuts for the rich from Congress and was trying to tap into the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska for oil.
Edwards spoke dismissively of Clark, saying that he opposed Bush from the start – even “when some on this stage had hope for” him.
“I could still have hope in early 2001 that this administration would learn its lessons, as most administrations do,” said Clark, who attended a GOP fund-raiser that year.
“Americans believed they had selected a compassionate conservative,” he added. “Instead we had a guy who has deepened the deficits. He’s taken us recklessly into war. And he’s been a radical, not a compassionate conservative.”
With the pace of the campaign quickening, the Democrats traded jabs over economic policy as well.
Gephardt told one woman in the debate audience he favors repealing Bush’s tax cuts in their entirety, and insisted that would not result in an increase in taxes for the questioner.
But Kerry, who favors retaining Bush’s tax cuts only for middle-income individuals, said, “You’re going to pay more tax” if all cuts are repealed.
The field of Democratic contenders – shrunken by one with Florida Sen. Bob Graham’s withdrawal from the race – met onstage at the Orpheum Theater in Phoenix, capital of a state that holds an early primary on Feb. 3.
The candidates sat on tall chairs in front of identical lecterns, each one bearing a CNN logo. The cable network sponsored the debate, and Judy Woodruff, a network anchor, served as moderator.
Clark labored to fend off the criticism from the early moments of the debate. “I would never have voted for war. The war was an unnecessary war and it’s been a huge strategic mistake for the country,” he said.
At one point, Clark struck an above-the-fray pose, saying, “I’m not going to attack a fellow Democrat,” he said.
But even that drew a sharp response.
“I want to say … welcome to the Democratic presidential campaign. Look, none of us are above questioning,” said Lieberman.
When they weren’t sparring with one another, Democrats took time to heap fresh criticism on Bush’s postwar policy in Iraq, faulting him for failing to win significant help from other countries.
“You remember on your report card you had your English grade, your history grade and then it said, plays well together? He flunked that part,” jabbed Gephardt of Missouri.
Former Sen. Carol Moseley Braun of Illinois made a similar point, saying, “I think we have to work well with others and begin to bring our troops home with honor.”
Dean accused several rivals of giving Bush “a blank check to go to war in Iraq” by voting for or voicing support for a congressional resolution last year.
But Dean also said he would support Bush’s request for $87 billion to maintain the troops stationed in Iraq and help rebuild the country.
That, in turn, drew a challenge from Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich, who said the troops should be brought home because “they are targets” for terrorists in the land that Saddam Hussein once ruled.
Edwards sought to make the case that his working-class background as a millworker’s son made him the best candidate to defeat Bush.
Kerry of Massachusetts, who grew up wealthy and remains that way, quickly rebutted that. “In Vietnam, nobody cared about your background,” said the war veteran.
Halfway through the debate, the format switched.
The lecterns disappeared, the men shed their suit jackets and fielded questions from the audience. The first one came from a veteran of Iraq who asked what the Democrats would do for military families.
All nine raised their hands and Clark, a former NATO commander, drew laughter when he eagerly sought the floor.
“God bless you,” Lieberman said to the questioner when it came time for him to speak.
It marked the first time in any of the debates that the candidates were asked to respond to questions from men and women whose votes will prove decisive in the early primary states.
AP-ES-10-09-03 2150EDT
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