Head to Head, Clinton, Obama Shelve Rancor

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A Democratic Debate of Historic Proportions

After CNN's Wolf Blitzer introduced them as candidates of great historical importance, Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama showed some love for John Edwards at the Democratic debate Thursday night at the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles.

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Clinton, a senator from New York, said both candidates have passionate supporters and prominent endorsers. But she added: "You have to, as voters, determine who you think can be the best president, to tackle all those problems on Day One, waiting in the Oval Office, who can be the best nominee for the Democratic Party to be able to withstand whatever they decide to do on the other side of the aisle, and come out victorious."

Obama, a senator from Illinois, countered that the presidency is more than that and that he believes he is better equipped than Clinton to provide the country with the leadership needed after eight years of a Bush administration and an era of polarized politics.

"We are bringing in a whole generation of new voters, which I think is exciting," he said. "And part of the task, I believe, of leadership is the hard nuts-and-bolts of getting legislation passed and managing the bureaucracy. But part of it is also being able to call on the American people to reach higher."

Clinton was challenged to explain why it would be good for the country to have another Clinton in charge after 20 years in which either a Bush or a Clinton has occupied the Oval Office.

"It did take a Clinton to clean after the first Bush, and I think it might take another one to clean up after the second Bush," she said to enthusiastic applause.

The Kodak Theatre, site of the Academy Awards ceremony in the heart of Hollywood, served as the venue for Thursday's forum, and the pre-debate spectacle on the streets outside rivaled Oscar night. Hollywood stars scrambled to get what was considered one of the hottest tickets in town, and while the audience was filled with television and movie luminaries, many others came up empty-handed, according to reports.

The debate was sponsored by CNN, the Los Angeles Times and the Politico Web site. CNN's Wolf Blitzer served as moderator, with Doyle McManus of the Times and Jeanne Cummings of Politico also questioning the candidates.

Clinton and Obama were solicitous of Edwards and his wife, Elizabeth, eager to win a possible endorsement from their departed rival and even more focused on appealing to his supporters, who could help make the difference in Tuesday's contests.

On the subject of the Iraq war -- arguably the issue that has shaped the course of the Democratic contest -- Obama made a crisp if familiar argument: that his judgment about the invasion reflected a broader skill for understanding the world. Obama also said his consistent opposition to the war would make him a stronger candidate in the general election.

"You know, Senator Clinton mentioned the issue of gravitas and judgment," he said. "I think it is much easier for us to have the argument when we have a nominee who says, 'I always thought this was a bad idea, this was a bad strategy. It was not just a problem of execution.' " Clinton countered that she had believed that sending weapons inspectors back into Iraq at the time Congress approved the war resolution in 2002 was a "credible idea," repeating her contention that she did not know that Bush was going to invade.

She argued that she believes in "coercive diplomacy," but when faced with repeated questions about her decision not to support an alternate measure, she sought to focus on comparing their Senate records.

"I certainly respect Senator Obama making his speech in 2002 against the war," she said. "And then, when he came to the Senate, we've had the same policy because we were both confronting the same reality of trying to deal with the consequences of George Bush's action."