The Wall Street Journal-20080122-Campaign -08- Clinton- Obama Exchange Harsh Words in South Carolina Debate
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Campaign '08: Clinton, Obama Exchange Harsh Words in South Carolina Debate
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. -- Perhaps the most brutal presidential debate of this political season unfolded on national television last night when a question on the economy devolved into a protracted series of harsh words between Democratic candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.
Hard feelings between the two boiled over at the podium after weeks of campaign sniping between the camps over mostly trivial matters. Mr. Obama, a U.S. senator from Illinois, started the fusillade by accusing Mrs. Clinton, a New York U.S. senator, of initially failing to include low-wage and unemployed workers in her economic-stimulus proposal.
As tempers between the two candidates rose, and they began shouting over each other, moderator Wolf Blitzer of debate sponsor CNN pleaded for calm. At one point, former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, the other candidate on the stage, asked rhetorically how "this kind of squabbling" will help uninsured children get health care.
The bickering between Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Obama, who are running close in the early nominating battle, has been unfolding for weeks. But with a few exceptions, both candidates have moderated their attacks when appearing at national debates. Last week in Las Vegas, for example, after attacking each other through their campaigns, over comments Mrs. Clinton and one of her surrogates had made that the Obama camp suggested were racially insensitive, the two made amends. The squabble ended at the podium when Mrs. Clinton termed some of those comments improper, and Mr. Obama said he was convinced Mrs. Clinton had spent her life fighting for equality.
Last night, both candidates delved into the opposition research vault, dredging up dirt that had little to do with the question at hand. For example, a discussion over free-trade pacts ended with Mrs. Clinton's saying Mr. Obama had expressed admiration for Reagan Republicans; Mr. Obama denied he had made such a case and said that "while I was working those streets, watching those folks see their jobs shift overseas, you were a corporate lawyer sitting on the board of Wal-Mart."
Mrs. Clinton, who once sat on the board of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. but has since criticized some of its practices, had her own pointed response. "I was fighting against [Republican] ideas when you were practicing law and representing your contributor, Rezko, in his slum- landlord business in inner-city Chicago." Her reference was to Antoin "Tony" Rezko, a Chicago businessman charged with fraud, attempted extortion and money-laundering in what prosecutors allege was a scheme to get campaign money and payoffs from companies seeking to do business before two state boards, according to the Associated Press. Mr. Rezko has pleaded not guilty to loan-fraud charges.
Mr. Obama admitted he "did about five hours of work" on a property case involving Mr. Rezko when he was a junior lawyer in Chicago. Mr. Obama has donated most of the money he received from Mr. Rezko to charity.
Though the two candidates often take jabs at each other in campaign events, the decision to attack without surrogates and before a neutral audience is risky for both. The voter rap on Mrs. Clinton is that she represents old-school Washington partisanship and sometimes comes off as shrill on the hustings. She got a taste of how her heated rhetoric might go over with voters when she was booed after saying Mr. Obama had "never taken any responsibility for any vote" he has cast.
But the danger is just as real for Mr. Obama, who has crafted a campaign that emphasizes his ability to work with rivals and political enemies in order to reach accord to do away with Washington gridlock. Through the campaign season, Mr. Obama has been careful about picking his fights. Knowing how to walk a reasonable line between ignoring political jabs and responding, his campaign operatives acknowledge, is a difficult dance.
The debate left Mr. Edwards chiding his rivals, "This is not about us personally."
The second half of the debate, which largely focused on race issues, was far more convivial. Indeed, it provided some of the lightest moments on the campaign trail, such as when Mr. Obama was asked whether he agreed with an oft-repeated quote by novelist Toni Morrison whether Bill Clinton was the first black U.S. president because of his dedication to African-American constituents.
"I would have to investigate more, Bill's dancing abilities and some of this other stuff before I accurately judged whether he was, in fact, a brother," Mr. Obama said. "I'm sure that can be arranged," Mrs. Clinton quipped.
