Hillary Clinton, Lazio meet in second debate

Hillary Clinton, Lazio meet in second debate
ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK, OCT 9: Hillary Rodham Clinton, locked in a battle for the critical Jewish vote, broke with her husband's administration on the Mideast policy during her second debate with Senate rival Rick Lazio.

The First Lady said the United States should have vetoed a UN Security Council resolution condemning the Middle East violence and criticising Israel. The resolution passed on Saturday with 14 votes and the United States abstaining.

"I believe that it was a wrong move not to have vetoed it, that it was inaccurate and one-sided," Clinton said during the hour-long debate yesterday.

Democrat Clinton and Republican Lazio, who also criticised the United States on the UN vote, sparred on a wide range of issues, including campaign finance, abortion and a domed stadium in Manhattan.

The debate came with just 30 days left in their high-profile and expensive Senate race. A poll out last week from the Quinnipia University Polling Institute had Clinton leading Lazio, 50 per cent to 43 per cent. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

Clinton took Lazio to task for what she called a violation of their agreement to ban outside money from the race.

"Last month, Lazio said this was an issue of trust and character. He was right," Clinton said. "And, if New Yorkers can't trust him to keep his word for 10 days, how can they trust him for six years?"

Lazio, who insists he has not violated the agreement, blasted her back, raising the issue of whether the Clintons have used sleepovers at the White House and Camp David to generate campaign contributions.

"Mrs Clinton, please, no lectures from Motel 1600," he said, referring to the White House's 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue address.

Later, Clinton was asked to explain her decision to stay with her husband after his affair with Monica Lewinsky became public.

"The choices that I've made in my life are right for me," she said. "I can't talk about anybody else's choices. I can only say mine have been based on my religious faith, on my strong sense of family and what I believe is right and important."