Video: After question on NAFTA, Clinton rebukes NBC anchor for asking her questions first 
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Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) faced off over health care early in tonight's debate -- for some 15 minutes -- but it was a question about the North American Free Trade Agreement that caused Clinton to turn on the debate's moderator, NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams.
Repeating a campaign theme of recent days, she appeared to blame the media for covering her unfairly, and questioned why she was receiving questions first in the Democratic debates.
"Well can I just point out that in the last several debates I seem to get the first question all the time," Clinton said, "and I don't mind. I'll be happy to field them." Noting a recent Saturday Night Live episode which lampooned the media's coverage of Obama, she said, "Maybe we should ask Barack if he's comfortable and needs another pillow."
"I just find it kind of curious that I keep getting the first question on all of these issues," she added. "But I'm happy to answer it."
Watch the debate live at this link.
Replying to the question, Clinton said she'd opt out of NAFTA unless the United States was able to "renegotiate the core labor and environment agreements." The trade agreement, developed under President George H. W. Bush and passed as a legislative priority of her husband, Bill Clinton, has drawn scorn for allegedly driving jobs overseas.
The two senators also blamed each other for spreading false information about their respective health care plans Thursday night.
"Senator Obama has consistently said I would force people to have health care whether they can afford it or not," said Clinton, insisting it was not true.
Responding quickly, Obama countered that the former first lady had consistently claimed his plan "would leave 15 million people out ... I dispute that. I think it is inaccurate," he said.
Clinton also asserted that men who are uninsured don't buy insurance because they "think they're immortal."
"About 20 percent of the people who are uninsured have the means to buy insurance," Clinton said. "They’re often young people who think they’re immortal."
Obama dodged a question about his campaign's pledge to take federal funding.
"If I am the nominee I will sit down with John McCain and make sure we come up with a system that is fair to both sides," he said. Obama could presumably raise far more money than the federal system provides, but accepting government money precludes that.
Clinton also said that as far as she knew, her campaign had nothing to do with circulating a photograph of Obama wearing a white turban and a wraparound white robe presented to him by elders in Wajir, in northeastern Kenya. The Drudge Report posted the photograph Monday and said, without substantiation, that it was being circulated by "Clinton staffers."
"We have no evidence where it came from," Clinton said, making it clear that's not the kind of behavior she wants in her campaign.
"I take Senator Clinton at her word that she knew nothing about the photo," Obama said.
Later, Clinton all-but accused Obama of announcing he'd bomb Pakistan.
"I never said I would bomb Pakistan," Obama replied. "What I said was that if we hay key intelligence" on terrorists "and Pakistan was unwilling to [strike them], we should."
DEVELOPING....
This video is from MSNBC, broadcast Feb. 26, 2008.
With AP.
 
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