Carson City, Nev. – U.S. Sen. Harry Reid kicked off the Democrats’ first presidential forum of the campaign by declaring in his home state capital that the “future of the Democratic Party begins in the West.”
But that doesn’t necessarily translate into a national airing of regional issues.
The war in Iraq, universal health care and union matters were the focal points for the eight presidential hopefuls.
Water, environmental and other so- called Western issues were never raised in the two-hour forum, in which candidates answered questions from ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos, some submitted by the audience.
Additionally, the candidates tried to distinguish themselves from one another, which occasionally resulted in a verbal jab.
Former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards took New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton to task for refusing to repudiate her 2002 vote supporting the Iraq war.
“It’s not for me to judge,” said Edwards, who also voted for the war but has since said it was a mistake. “It’s between her and her conscience.”
That all the major players except Illinois Sen. Barack Obama made it to the event reveals the new clout of Nevada. The state’s presidential caucus on Jan. 19 is sandwiched between the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary.
Focus on Iraq
As it has for weeks, the war in Iraq dominated the debate as candidates launched political grenades at President Bush and jockeyed to distinguish themselves from their opponents.
Candidates not in Congress were the most critical.
Edwards said more had to be done than congressional speeches, debates and nonbinding resolutions.
And both Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson took jabs at Congress for not doing more to end the war.
“Congress should take their authority … and say to the president, ‘Mr. President, we are no longer going to fund this war,”‘ Vilsack said.
All the candidates supported removing U.S. troops from Iraq, although some differed on specific timetables.
When moderator Stephanopoulos asked Sen. Christopher Dodd of Connecticut whether troop withdrawal may incite chaos, Dodd replied, “How much more chaos could there be in Baghdad than exists today?”
Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio questioned the motivations for starting the war.
What was the biggest reason for the U.S. going to war with Iraq? he asked the audience.
“Oil,” they chanted back.
“Thank you,” Kucinich said.
Each candidate was permitted opening and closing remarks and then answered three questions. There were only a couple of tense moments.
Saying that the “worse thing that we can do is tear everyone down,” Richardson asked his fellow Democrats to take a pledge not to engage in negative campaigning against each other.
Struggle for unity
When asked whether Obama should denounce DreamWorks founder David Geffen – who held a fundraiser Tuesday for Obama – because of critical comments he made about Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, Richardson said: “Yes. If we’re going to win, we have to be positive.”
Asked the same question earlier, Clinton sidestepped.
“I believe Bill Clinton was a good president, and I’m very proud of the record of his two terms,” she said, receiving laughter from the audience.
That the candidates did not address issues of Western importance was somewhat expected.
Many of the die-hard Democrats who will vote in the caucus are similar to those on both coasts when it comes to core Democratic issues, said Eric Herzik, a political science professor at the University of Nevada-Reno.
The event was sponsored by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and the Nevada Democratic Party.
Staff writer Karen Crummy can be reached at 303-954-1594 or kcrummy@denverpost.com.
