Democratic candidates fought to differentiate themselves Thursday during their debate at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Candidates debated several key policy issues including health care, Social Security, foreign policy, and education. They agreed the most on issues regarding the war in Iraq.
John Edwards, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, Sen. Joe Biden, Sen. Hillary Clinton, Sen. Chris Dodd, Sen. Barack Obama, and Sen. Dennis Kucinich participated in the debate. Candidate Mike Gravel was absent.
The debate began with Obama and Edwards separating themselves from Clinton on multiple issues, including how to provide universal health care for Americans.
Clinton said her plan would make health care mandatory while Obama said the primary focus should be on making health care more affordable.
Differences among candidates were also apparent when they discussed U.S. relations with foreign countries. Candidates were asked questions about how to avoid war with Iran, whether or not trade policy with China should be reformed and ““ particularly ““ whether the United States should continue to offer Pakistan financial aid despite the country’s president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, having declared the nation in a state of emergency.
Pakistan’s current volatile political situation also led to a discussion about whether candidates would prioritize U.S. national security regarding Pakistan over recognizing human rights violations in the country.
Clinton and Dodd maintained that the primary duty of a president is to ensure national security, while other candidates disagreed. Some said that the national security and human rights are not necessarily mutually exclusive, indicating that fostering democracy in Pakistan would create a more secure U.S.
“Pakistan’s democracy would strengthen our battle against extremists,” Obama said.
Candidates were also divided on the issue of merit-based pay for teachers. Clinton spoke out in favor of a school-based merit policy, which would include rewarding entire schools that performed well.
Dodd, on the other hand, felt that individual teachers who undertake the challenge of educating underprivileged urban youth should receive more benefits.
Biden said that a central problem with merit-based pay is that it cannot be quantified, and Richardson emphasized a need for general education reform.
“We need a college education policy that deals with huge loans that are killing our college students,” Richardson said.
Consistent with previous debates, candidates agreed on taking immediate action to end the war in Iraq. They all agreed that the recent troop increase was not an effective way to combat issues dealing with the war.
Candidates also discussed the disposal of nuclear waste, method of selection for supreme court justices, drivers licenses for illegal immigrants, and racial profiling.
Kyle Kleckner, president of Bruin Democrats, said that the debate widened the race for the Democratic nominee.
“I actually think that Biden, Richardson, and Kucinich did well. I think they proved that the race is still open,” Kleckner said. “I think the second-tier candidates proved that they are ready to move to the first tier.”