PHILADELPHIA — On the day after the Democratic debate here, the tempest generated by Hillary Rodham Clinton’s handling of the issue of driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants refused to go away.
Democratic and Republican presidential candidates alike joined in criticizing her Wednesday.
And the Clinton campaign, hoping the episode would not become a metaphor for evasiveness, clarified her position on the issue and put out a Web video mocking her opponents for “piling on.”
During the debate, Clinton struggled with a question about whether she supported a proposal by New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer to allow illegal immigrants to get licenses. At first, she appeared to endorse the idea, saying she understood why Spitzer wanted to issue licenses. Then, she seemed to reject it, saying she “didn’t think this was the best thing for any governor to do.”
Her Democratic rivals seized upon her performance, hoping to use it as confirmation of their claim that she has avoided specific positions and sometimes engaged in doubletalk.
“I think last night’s debate really exposed this fault line,” Illinois Sen. Barack Obama told The Associated Press on Wednesday. “Sen. Clinton left us wondering where she stood on every single hard question from Iran to Social Security to driver’s licenses for undocumented workers.”
At a news conference in New Hampshire, former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards said: “In the course of three minutes, I heard Clinton, Sen. Clinton, say two different things. When you get a yes-or-no question, you can’t say yes and no.”
On Wednesday, Clinton’s campaign issued a statement confirming that she does support the Spitzer plan. “Sen. Clinton supports governors like Gov. Spitzer, who believe they need such a measure to deal with the crisis caused by this administration’s failure to pass comprehensive immigration reform,” it said.
Republicans joined in the attack on the Democratic front-runner, slamming her for waffling and then supporting an idea that the electorate does not welcome.
A CNN/USA Today poll last month found Americans oppose driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants by a 3-1 ratio. Among Democrats, it’s almost 2-1.
“She was being attacked all night for taking different positions in front of different audiences, and then by the end of the night, she took different positions in front of the same audience,” GOP candidate Rudy Giuliani told radio host Glenn Beck. “… Of course, you don’t give out driver’s licenses to illegals.”
