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IowaPolitics.com: Dem campaigns clash over Iran
10/24/2007

By Chris Dorsey
IowaPolitics.com

DES MOINES – At a global leadership forum Tuesday, surrogates from the top four Democratic presidential campaigns used the topic of Iran to compare and criticize the actions of other candidates.

Nearly 90 minutes passed at Tuesday’s U.S. Global Leadership forum, sponsored by the Center for U.S. Global Engagement and U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy, before representatives from the campaigns of Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, New York Sen. Hillary Clinton, Gov. Bill Richardson and former Sen. John Edwards exchanged harsh words.

Obama saw the resolution as a measure to keep troops in Iraq, Obama surrogate Greg Craig said. That’s why the senator has been critical of Clinton voting in favor of the resolution, the former adviser to Bill Clinton said.

Clinton representative Christopher Rossi quickly pointed out Obama didn’t even cast a vote on the resolution. Rossi said Clinton’s vote in favor was cast as a tool for potential sanctions against Iran, which he added has supported Hezbollah, Hamas and insurgent militias in Iraq. The University of Iowa professor said those three factors, combined with Iran wanting to annihilate Israel and people would come to the same conclusion.

“It was a bad vote,” said Edwards’ surrogate Mike Signer, deputy policy director for foreign affairs and national security on the former senator’s campaign. “If is were so important why didn’t (Obama) come back to vote. You never have to question what Senator Edwards believes”

The intra-party criticism came the same day that Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., called upon his fellow Democratic candidates Monday to come to an agreement on Iran (Biden was not present Tuesday night at the Temple for Performing Arts, nor did the campaign have a surrogate there).

At a campaign stop in Leon, Biden, who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said it was important for the Democratic presidential hopefuls to come together to pose a united front so the Bush Administration cannot use the recent Senate resolution as ammunition to fight Iran.

"We are going to say things in the spirit of trying to get ahead in the nominating fight that are going to give (President) Bush excuses, excuses that we should not take a chance on," Biden said.

Richardson surrogate Ambassador Leslie Alexander was not combative at the Tuesday night event. He said it was important not to focus in to narrowly on one country.

“The thing is, Pakistan already has the bomb,” said Alexander, adding that nation could be more likely to use it before Iran develops a weapon and uses it. “We don’t know what the issues of tomorrow will be.”

Tuesday’s conversation included the need for more bi-partisan cooperation as representatives from Republican candidates also spoke at the event. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney was represented by former Congressman Jim Talent, Arizona Sen. John McCain’s surrogate was former Iowa state Sen. Chuck Larson and J. French Hill served as former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee’s spokesman.

Hill said it is important for the United States to continue to adapt to an ever-changing world.

“The world we are in is new,” he said. “It is dynamic and changing.”

Talent said it was important to look forward to new challenges.

“The Berlin Wall fell nearly 20 years ago,” the former Missouri congressman said. “What is the next thing coming down the pike? How do we prepare?


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