The Democratic Party held the first debate in Orangeburg, S.C. for its 2008 primary debating a number of issues like Iraq, Virginia Tech, President Bush, and even $400 haircuts on April 26, 2007.The favorites, Sen. Hillary Clinton (N.Y.), Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) and former Sen. John Edwards (S.C.), were supposed to be the main attractions but Sen. Joe Biden (Del.) stole the show.Biden, who is known for his outspoken demeanor,
\n was asked if he would assure the American people that he would not embarrass the people as president.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Biden simply answered, \u201cYes.\u201d Laughter from the audience followed.Sen. Barack Obama hesitated on a question about terrorism and whether he would be able to defend the country. This was the first time that anyone had legitimately critiqued the candidate. He was also critiqued by Rep. Dennis Kucinich (Ohio). Kucinich took the opportunity to note that even though Obama opposes the war in Iraq, he continues to fund it.
\nSen. Hillary Clinton spoke out on the gun control issue saying that gun control laws would have prevented the Virginia Tech shooting.
\n\u201cWe have got to do more to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and limit access so people that should not have guns won\u2019t have guns,\u201d she said.
\nNew Mexico Governor Bill Richardson disagreed saying he is a supporter of gun rights.
\nI\u2019m a Westerner, the Second Amendment is precious in the West,\u201d he said.
\nFormer Sen. John Edwards was critiqued about spending $400 on a haircut and using campaign money to pay for it. Edwards answered that it was a mistake.
\nThough the candidates debated each other, they united in criticizing President Bush and his Iraq policy.
\nThe Republican Party will hold its first debate at the Reagan Library on Thursday, May 3.<\/p>\n
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