The Clash in Coral Gables

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) - Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton insisted Sunday night that it's time to start pulling U.S. troops out of Iraq as she and her rivals for the Democratic prresidential nomination debated the war anew on the eve of a much-awaited asssessment by U.S. commanding Gen. David Petraeus.

In the first presidential debate ever broadcast in Spanish, Clinton primary campaign rival Bill Richardson challenged her to get each and every U.S. soldier out - not just some of them.

"I'd bring them all home within six to eight months," Richardson said in the debate which took place in south Florida and was broadcast on Univision, the nation's largest Spanish-language network. "There is a basic difference between all of us here ... This is a fundamental issue." More here.

Comments

[Maria]

From Politico:

GOP candidates seem to be following the conclusion of its conservative base that the party cannot win over the Hispanic vote, Rosenberg said. “I think we will look back on this time and it will be seen as one of the greatest strategic blunders in American history,” he added.

Quite the contrary: the Democrats just alienated a huge portion of their base: Non-Hispanic Americans who resen their perceived pandering to Hispanics.

Election over.

So Edwards thinks illegal aliens "deserve" citizenship and wants to extend U.S. style welfate to latin America and Kucinich wants to pull out of NAFTA.

Gravel doesn't think Hugo Chavez is an enemy - we made him into one.

Good thing none of them have a prayer of becoming President!

[Zhombre]

PRESS ONE IF YOU WANT TO CONTINUE THIS DEBATE IN ENGLISH.

1

Oops, there goes Maria. But she would probably misspell "dos". Yeah, "she" is a real role model for Hispanics...

8:49 - As a Democrat, I really hope you work for the Republican Party.

Hey whoples..Better be nice to them Cubans without them the GOP is toast in this state.You wont be able to elect the Great legislature and Gov that are destroying us with taxes and insurance .Be careful..make sure to keep your base the religious right ad insurance cos in power!

wowser - did you see how packed the place was?! and more than 2,000 questions submitted - good turnout by the Dems and they seem to realize, there are much more than just Mexicans and Cubans that make up the "latino" voters of the US.

Good job and good debate.

[Omega83]

how about instead of having the debate translated into Spanish, the candidates actually encourage potential voters to learn English?

Republicans are intolerant bigots.

[Omega83]

funny, 9:21...I seem to remember from history class that Abe Lincoln was a Republican (freed the slaves and all), and so was Ike (enforced Brown v Board by using the National Guard)...

and yet Democrats still have a Klansman in the US Senate.

[agatha]

Hillary is not two-faced...she's three-faced with constantly changing positions on Iraq depending on the audience of course. She will come up with yet another position after Gen Betray Us delivers his "report."

what a FUBAR - the questions from the moderators were in spanish translated into english for the candidates who then responded in english (because even fluent spanish speakers like richardson wasn't allowed to go there) which was then retranslated for viewers - eek. pandering is a b***h isn't is.

Miami style politics has arrived with the Dems. Well sort of...say one thing in the Spanish language media and another in the English language media and then laugh at the hapless voters and others (the folks are not citizens and there cannot vote?).

I love you Miami!

By a 74-24 vote, the Senate approved a proposal by Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., prohibiting the Transportation Department from spending money on a North American Free Trade Agreement pilot program giving Mexican trucks greater access to U.S. highways.

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