PHILADELPHIA — Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s chief Democratic rivals, concerned about her growing lead in the polls, criticized her candor, consistency and judgment Tuesday in a televised debate more pointed than earlier presidential forums.
Illinois Sen. Barack Obama began immediately, saying Clinton has changed her positions on the North American Free Trade Agreement, torture policies and the Iraq war. Leadership, he said, does not mean “changing positions whenever it’s politically convenient.”
Former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina was even sharper at times, saying Clinton “defends a broken system that’s corrupt in Washington, D.C.”
Clinton, standing between the two men, largely shrugged off the remarks and defended her positions. She has been the focus of Republican candidates’ “conversations and consternation,” she said, because she is leading in the polls.
She said she has specific plans on Social Security, diplomacy and health care.
“I have been standing against the Republicans, George Bush and Dick Cheney,” she said, “and I will continue to do so, and I think Democrats know that.”
Clinton defended her Senate vote in favor of designating Iran’s Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist group. Obama, Edwards and others have said Bush could interpret the measure as approval for a military attack.
Edwards caustically challenged Clinton’s claim that she stands up to the Bush administration: “So the way to do that is to vote yes on a resolution that looks like it was written literally by the neocons?”
“In my view, rushing to war – we should not be doing that – but we shouldn’t be doing nothing,” Clinton said. “And that means we should not let them acquire nuclear weapons, and the best way to prevent that is a full- court press on the diplomatic front.”
It was the Democrats’ first debate in a month, and during that time Clinton has solidified her position as the front-runner.
Obama has criticized her for failing to explain how she would save Social Security and for a vote on Iran. Edwards has turned to questions of honesty and integrity, areas where polling shows voters are divided on Clinton.
Other candidates in the debate were Delaware Sen. Joe Biden, Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich.
