PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 31 (UPI) -- Democratic presidential candidates discussed Iran, illegal immigrants and other issues in Philadelphia putting Sen. Hilary Clinton, D-N.Y., on the defensive.
The debate Tuesday at Drexler University, moderated by NBC’s Tim Russert and Brian Williams, was the fourth of six official debates among the Democratic presidential contenders.
Speaking against Clinton’s posture on Social Security, Iran, and Iraq, former Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., said “The American people … deserve a president of the United States that they know will tell them the truth … “a quote appearing on CNN’s Web site reads.
Edwards was speaking out against Clinton’s seemingly oscillating policies he saw as pandering to the general electorate.
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson suggested he wasn't interested in inter-party attacks, saying “It’s pretty close to personal attacks that we don’t need.”
In a quote appearing in The Washington Post, Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., criticized Clinton’s support for the Bush administration’s actions against Iran and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.
“What you didn’t learn back in ’02, you should’ve learned by now,” Dodd said. Edwards made similar sentiments, adding the legislation Clinton supported was “written literally by the neo-cons.”
Defending her positions, Clinton said, “I have stood against George Bush and his failed policies.”
Other exchanges involved Clinton’s alleged vacillating policies on illegal immigration and social security.
