Quotes From the Democratic Debate

Friday, Nov. 16, 2007 | 4:33 a.m.

Quotes from the Democrats' debate Thursday night in Las Vegas.

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HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON

-On what she meant by calling her presidential rivals an "all-boys club": "Well, it is clear, I think, from women's experiences that from time to time, there may be some impediments. And it has been my goal over the course of my lifetime to be part of this great movement of progress that includes all of us, but has particularly been significant to me as a woman. And to be able to aim toward the highest, hardest glass ceiling is history-making. Now, I'm not running because I'm a woman. I'm running because I think I'm the best qualified and experienced person to hit the ground running, but it's humbling."

-On health care: "Well, I hear what Senator Obama is saying, and he talks a lot about stepping up and taking responsibility and taking strong positions. But when it came time to step up and decide whether or not he would support universal health care coverage, he chose not to do that. His plan would leave 15 million Americans out. That's about the population of Nevada, Iowa, South Carolina and New Hampshire. I have a universal health care plan that covers everyone."

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BARACK OBAMA

-"Right now, an employer has more of a chance of getting hit by lightning than be prosecuted for hiring an undocumented worker. That has to change. They have to be held accountable. ... When we do those things, I believe that we can take the undocumented workers, the illegal aliens who are here, get them out of the shadows, make sure that they are subject to a stiff penalty, make sure that they're learning English, make sure that they go to the back of the line so they're not getting an advantage over people who came here legally.

-On U.S. troops in Iraq: "They are making a difference in certain neighborhoods. But the overall strategy is failed because we have not seen any change in behavior among Iraq's political leaders. And that is the essence of what we should be trying to do in Iraq. That's why I'm going to bring this war to a close. ... That's why we have to initiate the kind of regional diplomacy, not just talking to our friends, but talking to our enemies, like Iran and Syria, to try to stabilize the situation there."

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JOE BIDEN

-"This is not about experience. It's not about change. It's about action. Who among us is going to be able to, on Day One, step in and end the war? Who among us understands what to do about Pakistan? Who among us is going to pick up the phone and immediately interface with (Russian President Vladimir) Putin and lay off Georgia because (President Mikhail) Saakashvili is in real trouble? Who among us knows what they're doing? I have 35 years of experience."

-On Supreme Court nominees: "I have taken on those justices who, in fact, show no balance - they are ideologues. We have enough ideologues. We have enough professors on the bench. I want someone who ran for dog catcher. I want someone - literally, not a joke. When Hillary's husband asked me for his advice when he was appointing people, I wanted to go to people and so did he - we couldn't. Four people turned it down. We wanted to get someone who, in fact, knew what it was to live life."

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JOHN EDWARDS

-"It's just absolutely amazing to me that there's actually an open discussion in the United States of America about what kind of torture will be tolerated. I'll tell you what kind of torture will be tolerated when I'm president of the United States - no torture will be tolerated when I'm president of the United States."

-"What we have to do, what America needs to do and what I will do, as president of the United States, is to lead a long-term international effort to rid the world of nuclear weapons. It is the only way we're going to keep the world secure and keep America secure."

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CHRIS DODD

-"Frankly, when a campaign is about turning up the heat or who's angrier or who's yelling louder, the American people turn off, in terms of listening. They want us to come together. They want a president that can lead the country."

-On which is more important, human rights or national security: "Obviously, national security, keeping the country safe. When you take the oath of office on January 20, you promise to do two things, and that is to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States and protect our country against enemies both foreign and domestic. The security of the country is number one, obviously."

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DENNIS KUCINICH

-"A Kucinich appointment to the Supreme Court would have a litmus test on abortion. It's a question of a woman's right to choose and a right to privacy. But a president has to do more than that. A president has to be a healer. And this has been one of the great divides in our country. And so I want to let the American people know that I'll stand for prenatal care, postnatal care, child care, a living wage, universal health care, sex education, birth control."

-"You cannot look at Pakistan and the destabilization that is occurring in many Muslim nations without understanding the role that our aggression against Iraq has played in contributing to that destabilization. So I am speaking about a new policy of strength through peace, no more unilateralism, no more pre-emption, no more first-strike, open-dialogue diplomacy and adherence to international law."

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BILL RICHARDSON

-"The future is renewable. It's not oil. It's not coal. It's not nuclear. What you do with the waste is you don't put it in Yucca Mountain. All my life, as secretary of energy, as a congressman, I opposed the site, for environmental reasons, water saturation. ... There is a technological solution, a scientific solution. What I would do, I would turn Yucca Mountain into a national laboratory. We have the greatest brains in our national lab scientists. We need to find a way to safely dispose of nuclear waste."

-"I would increase military pay and educational benefits, a new GI Bill for our military. But what I would also do is, with our veterans - you know, in military families, I would have a hero's health card for every military person in this country ... which would mean that they could get health care, not just at the VA system, but anywhere they want. I would fully guarantee funding at the VA."