Ohio Senate hopefuls spar on past problems, future course in Ira
2006-10-02
Source: Columbus Dispatch
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rss feedWhat went wrong in Iraq, and how to make things right, dominated Ohio's first televised Senate debate today.
The confrontation between Republican Sen. Mike DeWine and Democratic Rep. Sherrod Brown was often rancorous as the two sat inches apart on NBC's "Meet the Press." The exchange came 37 days before the midterm elections, when their race is expected to be one of the nation's closest.
Brown, who voted against giving Bush the authority to go to war in 2003, seized on the release of a once-secret national intelligence estimate and new books saying the war in Iraq has increased terrorist threats. He accused DeWine of backing the status quo in Iraq and failing, as a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, to hold the administration accountable.
DeWine distanced himself from President Bush's comments last week that Democrats had become the "party of cut-and-run." DeWine said he didn't know what Bush's statement meant. He said there would not have been a vote for war in 2003 if intelligence about the threat in Iraq had been accurate.
The two-term Republican also said the U.S. should not put a "date certain" on a withdrawal from Iraq, but should pull out as soon as Iraqi security forces are able to control the violence.
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