US:In the first televised debate of the 2008 presidential campaign, eight Democratic candidates showed a broadly united front in opposition to the Iraq war and generally avoided clashes with one another. Front runners Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama avoided mistakes as they focused their fire on president George Bush and treated one another with courtesy.
Former vice-presidential candidate John Edwards took swipes at both front runners, suggesting that Ms Clinton's failure to disown her 2002 vote to authorise the Iraq war was a matter for her "conscience", and chiding Mr Obama for his lack of policy detail.
"I'm proud of the fact that I have a very specific universal healthcare plan, which I think is different than some others on the stage who are running for president. And I think we have a responsibility, if you want to be president of the United States, to tell the American people what it is you want to do. Rhetoric is not enough. Highfalutin' language is not enough," he said.
Held at South Carolina State University, a historically black college, the debate allowed the candidates just one minute to answer each question, a format that suited Mr Obama's rhetorical style less than that of his rivals. The Illinois senator performed well, easily sidestepping a question about a campaign donor who is accused of corruption, and talking tough on national security while reminding viewers that he opposed the Iraq war from the start.
Ms Clinton appeared competent and well informed, showing signs of passion when she discussed issues such as the need for tighter restrictions on gun ownership following last week's massacre at Virginia Tech university.
Congressman Dennis Kucinich criticised fellow Democrats for failing to cut off funding for the Iraq war, describing the position of the party's congressional leadership as inconsistent. "The Democrats have the power to end the war right now, and that's what we should do. We're under no obligation to give George Bush any money at all. The money's in the pipeline to bring the troops home, and that's exactly what ought to be done at this moment," he said.
Mike Gravel, a former senator from Alaska, got the biggest laughs of the evening, notably when he was confronted with a statement he made suggesting that it did not matter whether he got elected president or not.
"I made that statement. But that's before I had a chance to stand with them a couple of times. It's like going into the Senate, you know the first time you get there you're all excited - 'My God, how did I ever get here?' - and then, about six months later, you say, 'How the hell did the rest of them get here?'" he said.
Most commentators agreed that none of the front runners had significantly improved or damaged their positions and that, of the outsiders, Mr Kucinich may have gained most by the exposure offered. Republican candidates will meet in their first debate next week.
