By PATRICK HEALY
CARSON CITY, Nev., Feb. 21 — Two Democratic presidential rivals of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton applied more pressure to her over Iraq today, extolling the virtue of admitting mistakes about the war — which she has not done — and comparing politicians who do not to President Bush.
The toughest words, made here at the first Democratic candidate forum of the 2008 race, came from former Senator John Edwards of North Carolina. He said that Americans needed “a different kind of leadership” from a president who, Mr. Edwards said, had refused to admit errors on Iraq. Mr. Edwards has apologized for his 2002 vote to authorize military action in Iraq; Mrs. Clinton cast the same vote and has stood by it while also criticizing the war strategy.
“We need a leader who will be open and honest with you and with the American people — who will tell the truth, who will tell the truth when they’ve made a mistake, who will take responsibility when they’ve made a mistake,” Mr. Edwards said.
“If we want to live in a moral and just America and we want America to be able to lead in a moral and just world, we need a leader who is honest, open and decent,” he added.
Asked by the forum’s moderator, George Stephanopoulus of ABC News, about Mrs. Clinton’s explanation that her vote was cast sincerely based on military intelligence at the time, Mr. Edwards replied: “Whether it’s good enough I think is between her and her conscience — it’s not for me to judge.”
Another candidate, Senator Christopher Dodd of Connecticut, who has also renounced his 2002 vote, said there was “nothing wrong” with admitting mistakes.
“There are two things that people in public life — two responses people in public life never like to give, and I don’t understand why: ‘I made a mistake’ and ‘I don’t know,’ ” Mr. Dodd said. “I’ve made them in the past, I’ll make them in the future.”
Because the forum rules prevented direct engagement among the candidates — indeed, they only appeared on the stage one after another — Mrs. Clinton was inhibited from responding immediately. Once it was her turn, she reiterated her opposition to the war and outlined her new plan to cap troop levels and start withdrawing some units from Iraq within 90 days.
If the president does not move in her direction, she added, “I think we should require that he has to seek additional congressional authority, because it has run out on what George Bush has tried to do in Iraq.”
Of the major Democratic candidates, only Senator Barack Obama of Illinois was absent; he was campaigning in Iowa. Yet he was here in spirit — at times the focus of the forum, and of some reporters, drifted to the e-mail attacks today between the campaign war rooms of Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Obama over an Obama donor’s personal criticism of the Clintons this week.
Mr. Geffen, in an interview with a columnist for the New York Times, described Mrs. Clinton as “incredibly polarizing” and “ambitious,” and also said Mr. Clinton might make trouble for his wife’s campaign by causing a new scandal in their lives.
Mrs. Clinton, when asked at the forum if Mr. Obama should denounce Mr. Geffen’s remarks, said: “I want to run a very positive campaign, and I sure don’t want Democrats or the supporters of Democrats to be engaging in the politics of personal destruction. I think we should stay focused on what we’re going to do for America.” She added, to strong applause, “And you know, I believe Bill Clinton was a good president, and I’m very proud of the record of his two terms.”
When pressed, she said she would leave it up to the Obama campaign to make its decision on Mr. Geffen, and then noted that she was “excited” to be in Nevada “with the other candidates who came” — a comment that only drew attention to Mr. Obama’s decision to skip the event.
The Geffen remarks bubbled up throughout the forum: One candidate, former Gov. Tom Vilsack of Iowa, joked about being “polite” to Mrs. Clinton, while another, Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico, said Mr. Obama should denounce Mr. Geffen’s remarks.
“If we’re going to win, we have to be positive,” Mr. Richardson said. “I think these name-callings are not good. I don’t know Mr. Geffen. I don’t know what was said. I was actually studying for this presentation, so I didn’t see all the news,” he added, to laughter.
Mr. Richardson and another candidate, Senator Joseph Biden of Delaware, also used the Geffen flap to call on the Democratic field to forswear negative campaigning.
Not everyone seemed to agree with that. Outside of the event here in the state capital of Nevada — which is scheduled to hold the second round of presidential caucuses next January — leaflets attacking Mrs. Clinton as unelectable were tucked under the windshield wipers of cars. The leaflets, of unknown provenance, were titled “Why Can’t She Win?” and cast her as unlikable among liberals (over the war) and conservatives (over just about everything).
Other than Iraq, health care insurance received the greatest discussion among the candidates, with most of them promising to enact universal health coverage. Mr. Richardson pledged that he would not increase taxes to expand health care, but rather focus on preventative care, while Mr. Edwards repeated his plans for a massive health care program that would include higher taxes on wealthy Americans.
“I think we have reached a place in American history where small baby steps, incremental steps are not enough — we need big, transformational change,” he said to some applause.
Mrs. Clinton, who has been portrayed by Edwards advisers and others as an incrementalist, said she wanted to develop a plan to provide universal care without spending billions of dollars more, given that the United States already spends hundreds of billions more on health care than any other nation.
Yet she also presented herself as a bold goal-setter, recalling President John F. Kennedy’s pledge to put a man on the moon in a decade.
“I want to have universal health care coverage by the end of my second term, and with everybody working on that I think we can do it,” she said to applause.
Edwards Needles Clinton About Iraq Vote
By BETH FOUHYCARSON CITY, Nev. - Former Sen. John Edwards jabbed gently at Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton on Wednesday in the first all-candidates forum of the 2008 Democratic presidential campaign, saying her refusal to disavow a 2002 vote on Iraq was "between her and her conscience."
"It's not for me to judge," said Edwards, who _ like Clinton _ voted in 2002 to authorize the invasion of Iraq, but unlike her, has since apologized for his vote.
The event format did not permit Clinton to respond to Edwards' swipe, which stood out on an afternoon in which Democrats launched serial attacks on President Bush's war policies.
"The worst we can do is tear each other down," said New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, who called on his Democratic rivals to sign a pledge to avoid negative campaigning and concentrate their energy on taking the White House away from the Republicans next year.
Among Democratic presidential contenders, only Barack Obama skipped the event, which was hosted by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Union. The Illinois senator campaigned in Iowa instead.
The convergence of so many candidates underscored Nevada's newfound importance in the 2008 nominating campaign. The state will hold caucuses on Jan. 19, five days after the lead-off Iowa caucuses and presumably only a few days before New Hampshire's first-in-the-nation primary.
In their time on stage, several of the candidates made an explicit pitch for the votes of union members, stressing their backing for legislation designed to make it easier to join unions, for example.
Edwards, Clinton and others drew cheers when they voiced support for universal health coverage, and Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio vowed to pull the United States out of NAFTA soon after taking office in the White House.
But the Iraq war overshadowed all else at the two-hour event, Democrat after Democrat vying to show their eagerness to end U.S. participation in a conflict that has resulted in the deaths of more than 3,100 U.S. troops.
"Sign me up. No negatives," Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware said just after Richardson made his appeal. Moments later, though, he spoke dismissively of congressional efforts merely to stop Bush's plan to deploy additional troops. "Don't talk about capping and all that. Do something," he said.
Clinton and Obama support separate bills to prevent an increase in troop levels above those in effect in January.
Kucinich was more direct. He said he had voted against authorizing the war in 2002, adding, "People are looking for a president who does the right thing when it matters the most."
Former Sen. Mike Gravel of Alaska, a quarter-century out of office, was the eighth candidate. "I don't think it's a big deal whether I get elected president or not," he said at one point.
The event occurred on a day in which aides to Obama and Clinton clashed over remarks made by DreamWorks founder David Geffen, a one-time supporter of President Clinton who has lined up behind the Illinois senator in 2008.
The Hollywood mogul was quoted in the New York Times as saying while "everybody in politics lies," the former president and former first lady "do it with such ease, it's troubling." Aides to the New York senator promptly called on Obama to give back a campaign donation from Geffen.
Clinton sidestepped a question of whether Obama should denounce Geffen's remarks. "I sure don't want Democrats or supporters of Democrats to be engaging in the politics of personal destruction," she told moderator George Stephanopoulos.
Sen. Chris Dodd of Connecticut, the first to speak, brushed aside a suggestion from some administration allies that the withdrawal of troops from Iraq would create chaos.
"How much more chaos could there be in Baghdad than exists today?" he asked to applause from the audience at a union-sponsored event near the Nevada state capitol.
"Time has run out on what President Bush has tried to do in Iraq," said Clinton when she took her turn on stage. She touted her legislation to begin a troop withdrawal within 90 days, and as she has repeatedly, declined to apologize for her vote to authorize the war in 2002.
Former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack struck a similar note. "I want to challenge every single one of you and ask a simple question, what have you done today? What have you done today to end this war in Iraq?
"It needs to be ended now. Not six days from now, not six months from now. Not six years from now. It needs to be ended now, and it is up to you," he said.
Edwards, the party's 2004 vice presidential nominee, said it was time to begin a troop withdrawal. "I voted for this war. I was wrong to vote for this war. I should never have voted for this war. I take responsibility for that. No one else is responsible for it.
He added, "But the truth is, if we want to live in a moral and just America, and we want America to be able to lead in a moral and just world. We need a leader who is honest, open and decent and trying to do the right thing."
Stephanopoulos asked Edwards moments later whether he had been referring to Clinton.
"Well, whether it's good enough I think it's between her and her conscience. It's not for me to judge," said the former North Carolina senator.
The program called for each contenders to make brief opening comments, then field three questions from Stephanopoulus, an ABC News broadcaster and former aide in Bill Clinton's White House. That meant, for example, that Clinton was backstage when Edwards spoke.
The Republican National Committee used the forum to try to put its own spin on the candidates, releasing "research documents" containing unflattering critiques of each of the Democrats hours before the event.
In recent years, Democrats have sensed political opportunity in the mountain West, a fast-growing region long dominated by Republicans. Nevada, with its large Hispanic population and influential labor unions, was considered a battleground state in 2004, and President Bush won the state by just 3 percentage points.
Associated Press Writer Brendan Riley in Carson City, Nev., contributed to this story.
A service of the Associated Press(AP)
