Dems Rip Court Ruling, Show Unity at Third Debate

June 29, 2007 — -- Thursday's third Democratic presidential debate, which came just hours after a Supreme Court decision curtailing the use of race in public school assignments, featured broad agreement among the eight Democrats vying for their party's presidential nomination that while the nation has made progress on issues of race, there is much more work to be done.

"You can look at this decision today, which turned the clock back on the promise of Brown v. Board of Education, that was resting on the fact that children are better off if they are part of a diverse, integrated society" said Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., of the 5-4 Court ruling. "So, yes, we have come a long way. But, yes, we have a long way to go. The march is not finished."

Sen. Barack Obama's, D-Ill., comments on the continuing importance of race were deeply personal. Obama, who would be the nation's first African-American president, sought to connect with the mostly black audience by pointing to the role that Thurgood Marshall and Howard University, the site of Thursday's debate, played in the 1954 landmark Brown decision that led to the desegregation of the nation's public schools.

"Thank you to all of you who have made me who I am," said Obama of Marshall, who graduated from Howard's law school. "You know, this is where Thurgood Marshall and the team from Brown crafted their strategy. And if it hadn't been for them, I would not be standing here today."

Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., responded to the Court decision by touting his efforts to oppose President Bush's Supreme Court nominees as a senior member of the Judiciary Committee.

"As some of you know, I was awfully tough on Roberts and Alito," said Biden. "They have turned the Court upside down."

The debate, which focused mostly on domestic issues and steered clear of the contentious issue of Iraq, was free of the clashes among the top-tier candidates that were present when the Democrats held their second debate in New Hampshire.

For the first time in a debate this election cycle, the disproportionate incidence of HIV/AIDS among African-American women was addressed.

"If HIV/AIDS were the leading cause of death of white women between the ages of 25 and 34, there would be an outraged outcry in this country," said Clinton.