Supreme Court race decision tops Dems’ debate

The conservative majority cited the landmark Brown v. Board of Education case to bolster its precedent-shattering decision, an act termed a "cruel irony" by Justice John Paul Stevens in his dissent. The 1954 ruling led to the end of state-sponsored school segregation in the United States.

Obama, the only black candidate in the eight-person field, spoke of civil rights leaders who fought for Brown v. Board of Education and other precedents curbed by the high court. "If it were not for them," he said, "I would not be standing here."

Biden noted that he voted against confirmation of Chief Justice John Roberts, who wrote the majority opinion. He said he was tough on Roberts. "The problem is the rest of us were not tough enough," he said, seeming to take a jab at fellow Democrats. "They have turned the court upside down."

All the Democratic candidates in the Senate opposed the confirmation of conservative Justice Samuel Alito, another of President Bush's nominees. Clinton, Biden and Obama voted against Roberts; Sen. Chris Dodd voted for his nomination.

The debate was an opportunity for Obama, who got mixed reviews from his first two debate performances, to stand out and share a bond with the audience. He is in a tight contest for the black vote with Clinton, who benefits from goodwill for her husband among blacks.

Poverty, AIDS, colorblind justice
Segregation was not the only issue. In turn, the candidates discussed their hopes to stem poverty, close the economic gap between the rich and poor, fight AIDS and overhaul a judicial system that doesn't always seem colorblind.

"This issue of poverty is the cause of my life," said John Edwards, the 2004 vice presidential nominee.

Said Obama: "It starts with birth."

Obama criticized Bush's No Child Left Behind program. "You can't leave the money behind and that's what's been done," he said.

Clinton spoke of her efforts in Arkansas to raise school standards, "most especially for minority children."

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, the country's only black governor, introduced the candidates with a warning that a dispirited GOP "is not enough to elect a Democratic president nor should it be. We need to offer a more positive and hopeful vision ... to run on what we are for and not just what we are against."

Shouts of "Obama!" rang out amid the cheers for the eight candidates.

Picking the president — the candidates Click a name below to visit that candidate’s MSNBC page • Joe Biden                 • Sam Brownback     • Hillary Clinton          • Chris Dodd • John Edwards         • Rudy Giuliani           • Mike Gravel              • Duncan Hunter • Mike Huckabee        • Dennis Kucinich     • John McCain           • Barack Obama • Ron Paul                    • Bill Richardson      • Mitt Romney            • Tom Tancredo • Fred Thompson To subscribe to a candidate page RSS feed, click here.

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