LAS VEGAS, Jan. 15 (UPI) -- The three Democratic presidential front-runners debated in Las Vegas Tuesday, each jockeying for an edge going into the Nevada caucuses just days away.
Sens. Hillary Clinton of New York and Barack Obama of Illinois and former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards traded barbs over Iraq and who is best suited to lead the nation.
Clinton and Obama each agreed the other has supported civil rights, USA Today reported.
Race became an issue in the race over the weekend, when Clinton accused Obama Sunday of distorting remarks she made last week that some have interpreted as giving President Lyndon Johnson more credit than black civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. for advancing the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
On Iraq, the three presidential hopefuls said they would end the war, but disagreed about who would end combat operations in the war-torn country the most rapidly.
Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich had hoped to participate in the Las Vegas debate, but the Nevada Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that MSNBC was entitled to prevent him from participating after the network changed its participation criteria and rescinded its invitation to him.
