The seven remaining Democratic presidential hopefuls took cues from Howard Dean's recent blunder and Senator John Edwards' successful nice-guy approach in a debate in New Hampshire Thursday.
It was the final debate before the New Hampshire primary Jan. 27, and the candidates were careful not to appear aggressive.
A raspy-voiced Dean explained he was hoarse from a cold and not from yelling in the inflamed speech he gave after he came in third at the Iowa caucus Monday. Candidates acknowledged the incident with bitterness as well as some humor several times during the debate.
\I'm not a perfect person and a lot of people have had a lot of fun hooting and hollering at my expense,"" Dean said.
Al Sharpton later responded if he received as much as 18 percent of the vote in Iowa, as Dean had, ""I'd still be hooting and hollering.""
Dean's fiery speech may have cost him the lead in New Hampshire, according to a WMUR-News poll indicating John Kerry is leading in the state.
All candidates agreed President Bush is handling the situation in Iraq poorly. Wesley Clark said his top priority, should he be elected, would be to keep the United States safe.
Similarly, Edwards said he thought the problem with the United States' relationship with the Middle East is that the Bush administration is building relationships with Middle Eastern leaders, not Middle Eastern people.
