ST. PAUL -- On the day that Saddam Hussein was sentenced to death, candidates for Minnesota's open U.S. Senate seat stressed their sharply contrasting opinions about the future of the former dictator's country.
The U.S.-led coalition must shift control to Iraqi authorities and begin sending troops home or redeploying them to other countries, Democrat Amy Klobuchar said.
"We just can't keep going the way we're going," she said.
Independence Party candidate Robert Fitzgerald argued that U.S. troops should be pulled out of Iraq immediately.
"How much longer are we going to chew them up and spit them out?" Fitzgerald said.
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Mark Kennedy, a Republican, said the United States already is transferring power to Iraqi leaders and that diplomacy with terrorist organizations isn't an answer.
"When you have no solutions or just a pull-out-now solution, that shows you they cannot be trusted with the security of this country," Kennedy said of his opponents.
Their exchange came Sunday during the Senate candidates' final debate of the campaign. The hour-long debate at the Fitzgerald Theater was broadcast live on Minnesota Public Radio.
In a debate that yielded little new information, the candidates focused on their oft-repeated campaign themes. Klobuchar said Washington, D.C., is ripe for change and she can provide it. Kennedy, meanwhile, said Minnesotans should rely on his six years of experience in Congress. Fitzgerald painted himself as a viable alternative to Democrats and Republicans, at times interrupting the debate to claim his opponents weren't answering the questions.
The candidates pledged support for renewable energy sources, citing the importance to rural Minnesota's economy.
The candidates were asked by an audience member what they regret about their campaign. Kennedy said he would have liked to talk with "each and every voter" about issues, and Fitzgerald said he regretted not reaching eligible voters who don't vote. Klobuchar said she regrets negative advertising run by Kennedy and Republicans; she acknowledged running two ads critical of Kennedy but said they were in response to his ads.
Kennedy, of Watertown, is completing his third term in the U.S. House, where he represents Minnesota's 6th District. Klobuchar has twice been elected Hennepin County attorney and lives in Minneapolis. Fitzgerald, of Rothsay, left his job as a Fergus Falls cable access television executive early this year to campaign full time, eventually earning the Independence Party endorsement.
Published polls have consistently shown Klobuchar with a double-digit lead over Kennedy. Results of a Star Tribune Minnesota Poll released Sunday put Klobuchar 20 percentage points ahead, 54 to 34 percent. Fitzgerald had support from only 4 percent of respondents in that poll.
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Before the debate, Kennedy was joined on the campaign trail by U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman. The Republican senator said voters will pick Kennedy if they want to see the economy continue to grow. Yet Coleman acknowledged Kennedy's position in the polls with little time before voters head to the polls.
"It's an uphill fight, there's no question about it," Coleman said.
Kennedy said his supporters will turn out on Tuesday.
"We're seeing a lot of momentum moving our way," he said.
