Clinton, Obama make nice in debate

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 31 (UPI) -- The two remaining Democratic presidential hopefuls focused more on attacking Republicans than each other in a debate Thursday in Los Angeles, CNN reported.

The debate was the last before the Feb. 5 Super Tuesday primaries, which could make one of the two rivals the presumptive candidate.

Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York and Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois also mentioned John Edwards a number of times, CNN said. Edwards, a former senator from North Carolina, ended his campaign Wednesday, so his supporters -- and his endorsement -- are up for grabs.

Clinton at one point said that both she and Obama are trying to be "responsible" because President George W. Bush -- from what he said in his State of the Union message Monday -- plans to leave 130,000 U.S. troops in Iraq at the end of his term.

The biggest difference between the two, as usual, was on healthcare, CNN said. Clinton favors a system in which everyone would be required to have health insurance, while Obama wants to provide insurance for those who do not now have it, but without a mandate.

The debate was sponsored by CNN, the Los Angeles Times and Politico.com.