Nov. 15 Democratic debate transcript

Blitzer: Thank you, Senator.

We heard from Senator Dodd, so let Senator Edwards go ahead.

Would you insist that nominees support abortion?

Edwards: I would insist that they recognize the right to privacy and recognize Roe v. Wade as settled law.

But I want to go beyond what some others have said here, because it is so crucial, if you grew up like I did in the segregated South and you saw how important it was to have federal judges who had some backbone and were willing to stand up against popular opinion.

We had a judge who desegregated the public schools in North Carolina, in Charlotte, North Carolina. He literally had to have armed guards take him from home to work and home each day.

That's the kind of courage and strength we need in a United States Supreme Court justice.

Blitzer: Thank you, Senator.

All right, Suzanne.

Malveaux: Frank Perconte is a student here.

Frank, what is your question.

Frank Perconte: Whether it's the continuing violence in Iraq or if it's a potential confrontation with Iran or even the emerging instability in Pakistan, nothing seems to be getting any better in the Middle East; it only seems to be getting worse.

And if the upcoming election is anything like the last two elections -- if any of you is elected, in all likelihood, you'll be presiding over an extremely divided electorate.

Almost half the country is not going to agree with you on the direction you want to take this country to meet those challenges in the Middle East.

So, my question to you is, assuming you are elected, the day after you take the oath of office, what message will you offer the whole country to unite all of us behind you so you can see us through this period of transition that we're in?

Malveaux: I'd like to throw that to Senator Obama.

Senator Obama, you said on a TV interview just this past weekend you didn't believe that Senator Clinton was able to unite this country.

Why do you believe she can't?

Obama: No, that's not what I said. What I said was I thought I could do it better, that's why I'm running for president.

If I didn't think I could do it better, then I wouldn't be running for president, because the stakes are too high, just as we heard.

Here's what I would do immediately. I would convene a continuous advisory meeting with not just Democrats, but Republicans, specifically on national security issues, because there is a long tradition that our differences in foreign policy should end at the water's edge. And we have lost that tradition.

And there's some wonderful Republicans -- Dick Lugar, Chuck Hagel -- there are a group of them who have continued that tradition, but we have lost it because the polarization of the Bush administration.

So I want Republicans and Democrats and independents to understand that, as president, I am going to want to go before the entire world and say: America's back. We are ready to lead. But we're not just going to lead militarily. We're going to lead by building schools in the Middle East that teach math and science instead of hatred of Americans. We're going to lead by shutting down Guantanamo and restoring habeas corpus in this country so that we offer them an example.

Blitzer: Thank you.

Obama: We're going to lead by talking to our enemies, and not just our friends. And I believe that there are a lot of Republicans who hunger for that kind of bipartisan approach. That's what I will offer as president of the United States.

Blitzer: Senator Clinton -- thank you, Senator...

Senator Clinton, some have suggested, including some on this stage, that you are simply too polarizing to unit the country, if you were elected president.

What do you say to those critics?

Clinton: Well, I say that I am running to be the president of the entire country.

You know, when I started running for the Senate in New York, I heard the same things. And what I did was to reach out to Republicans, Democrats, independents, rural, urban. Because we've got to begin to work together.

That's what I've tried to do in the Senate, working across party lines, trying to find common ground -- to go back to Chris -- you know, working to get health care for Guard and Reservists with a colleague, a Republican colleague from South Carolina.

You know, you have to look to find common ground. It is the responsibility of a leader to try to make that possible.

Now, that doesn't mean there won't be differences, because there are. We're not going to wake up the day after the election and not believe what we believe and not see the world as we see it.

But we can certainly begin under presidential leadership to listen to one another, to look for those chances to find that common ground and work together.

That's the kind of president I will be. I will spend a lot of my time working with not just Republicans, but people who aren't in public life. We've got smart people all over this country who want to make a contribution, who want to give something back. Let's enlist the best that we have and start acting like Americans again to solve our problems and make a difference.