Candidates display rare candor in Democrat debate

WASHINGTON — In a blunt conversation before a largely African-American audience, the Democratic presidential candidates on Thursday occasionally departed from polite talking points as they discussed everything from the spread of HIV to racial profiling in the criminal justice system.

Sen. Hillary Clinton asserted that, if white women were dying from AIDS at the same rate as black women, there would be an "outraged outcry" instead of the current response, which she suggested is tepid.

Sen. Barack Obama, the only African-American candidate on the stage, blamed "homophobia" for the failure to stop the spread of AIDS in "our community."

Delaware Sen. Joseph Biden urged people to be tested for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS,noting that he and Obama had done so.

That prompted Obama to clarify that he had been tested with his wife, Michelle at his side, as a public demonstration of the importance of HIV testing while on a trip to Africa. "I don't want there to be any confusion about what happened here."

Like several exchanges of the night, the back and forth between Obama and Biden drew a mixed reaction, as some audience members laughed and applauded the candor but others sat silently.

The response was a testament to the uniqueness of the forum thus far in the debate season, which has included spirited interactions but never such blunt conversation about the most sensitive issues in churches, homes and communities around the country.

But that was the stated goal of event organizers, who held the debate at historically black Howard University and invited only minority journalists to sit on the panel of questioners. The 90-minute forum was moderated by PBS host Tavis Smiley, who said the conversation would focus on issues important to African Americans.

"Issues of diversity, for me, the first Latino to run for president, aren't talking points. They're facts of life," said New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson.

The candidates denounced the court's decision earlier in the day that struck down race-based plans to promote diversity in school systems in Seattle and Louisville, Ky.

Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd said "the shame of resegregation in our country has been occurring for years."

Also participating were ex-North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich and ex-Alaska Sen. Mike Gravel.

Compiled from the Chicago Tribune, The Associated Press and McClatchy Newspapers