MA SEN: Sparks Fly Over Health Care In Final Debate

By Felicia Sonmez

The issue differences between the four Dems came into clearer contrast tonight in a wide-ranging debate that touched on financial regulation, the Patriot Act, transparency, Afghanistan, Pres. Obama's Nobel prize and even the unfolding Tiger Woods drama.

But it was the topic of health care reform that drew the testiest exchanges among the four hopefuls vying for the seat of the late Sen. Ted Kennedy (D), with one candidate drawing a comparison to "death panels" and accusing a rival of becoming "the Sarah Palin of the Democratic Party."

Tonight's showdown, the final TV debate of the race, marked one of the last windows of opportunity for Rep. Michael Capuano (D-08), City Year co-founder Alan Khazei (D) and Boston Celtics co-owner Stephen Pagliuca (D) to gain an edge on AG Martha Coakley (D), who has maintained a steady double-digit lead in the polls ahead of the 12/8 primary.

Coakley, Capuano and Khazei all released new TV ads today. Pagliuca plans to go up with a new ad tomorrow invoking Kennedy.

As he did at last night's debate, Capuano took aim at past statements Coakley had made defending parts of the Patriot Act. At one point, given the opportunity to direct a candidate-to-candidate question to Coakley, Capuano asked her to elaborate on her position on the act, which he said "perplexed" him.

That was about as far as Capuano's criticism would go, however. Coakley responded by saying she would vote against the act as it's currently formulated -- an answer that was clearer than her response the previous night, and which seemed to defuse Capuano's argument.

On health care, Coakley and Capuano, who have both said they would not vote for a health care bill that banned federal funding of abortions, contrasted their positions with those of Pagliuca and Khazei, who would support such a bill. But it was Capuano and Pagliuca who exchanged the sharpest blows.

Asked about the argument Capuano made last night -- in which he accused Pagliuca of taking a position that would send poor women "back to the alleys of America" in search of abortions -- Coakley sided with Capuano, saying, "I think that's a real potential."

Capuano said he thought his remark was "fair." Pagliuca then jumped in, calling it "absolutely not fair" and accusing Capuano of making a "total fabrication."

"This is not about back alleys. This is about funding," Pagliuca said. "Why did 218 people in Congress vote for this if it was going to cause back-alley abortions? That's a total fabrication. ... That's the politics. That's death panels."

Capuano said Pagliuca's point was "wrong" and that it was "not just about funding." The two proceeded to talk over each other before Pagliuca capped off the exchange by telling Capuano, "You're going to be the Sarah Palin of the Democratic Party."

Capuano responded with a laugh: "That's the funniest line of the night."

Khazei defended his stance by noting, "I think I could be a bridge-builder, and by the way, we could get some votes from the other side if we give them something."

For both Coakley and Capuano, the biggest difference from last night's debate was not what they said, but what they didn't say.

Coakley -- who last night brought up gender in her response that health care is "personal with every woman who's in this" -- did not appear to make any direct references to gender. The closest she came was in response to a question on Woods and whether the public has the right to know about the "personal foibles of elected officials."

Coakley noted that there's "very little that isn't subject to scrutiny," later adding: "It's very difficult on families."

Meanwhile, Capuano, who has been under pressure to directly engage Coakley in an effort to pierce the frontrunner's air of inevitability, instead reserved his sharpest jabs for Pagliuca.

In fact, Capuano not only refrained from attacking Coakley, but agreed with her and praised her record when she directed her candidate-to-candidate question to him on the role of states in consumer protection.

"Martha, I think you did a pretty decent job on some of these things," Capuano said. "I never criticized you on them."

Other highlights of the debate:

On whether Obama deserves his Nobel prize, Coakley praised Obama but gave a more skeptical response than the others, predicting "we won't know the answer to that probably for another year or two, or maybe longer." Capuano said it's "fine by me," but also quipped, "We're talking about a peace prize that's named after a man who invented dynamite." Khazei and Pagliuca both supported Obama's Nobel win.

Khazei pushed the others on whether they would commit to publishing their full public schedule and their full donor list on their websites, but his question was met with skepticism. Capuano and Coakley said that donor lists are already available on the FEC's website. Capuano added that he wouldn't publish his full schedule, while Coakley didn't directly answer the question.

Capuano, asked to explain why he's "more likable" than the others: "I am who I am. I'm half-Irish, half-Italian. I show my emotions. I actually hug people -- I know that some people get upset about that."

Coakley warned against placing too much importance on likability, noting that "the last time we ... voted for somebody we liked was George Bush."

She went on to mention that, "much to my amazement," a recent Boston Globe survey said she was the candidate people most wanted to have a beer with.