Edwards, the party's 2004 vice presidential nominee, depicted Clinton as the embodiment of the political status quo, noting the amounts of money she has taken from interest groups.
"Will she be the person who brings about change in this country?" asked Edwards, whose attacks were the most persistent. "I believe in Santa Claus. I believe in the tooth fairy. But I don't think that's going to happen."
While Clinton vigorously defended herself at times, she seemed unrattled by the attacks, though she stumbled in the final minutes on an immigration question. Mostly, she was content to restate her positions and to scoff at the notion that her election would not represent significant change.
"I have been standing against the Republicans, George Bush and Dick Cheney," she said, "and I will continue to do so, and I think Democrats know that."
Clinton's rockiest moment came when she appeared to endorse states' giving driver's licenses to undocumented immigrants, then backed away from it. Several of the other candidates said they had no idea what her true position was, although only Sens. Christopher J. Dodd of Connecticut and Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware, the latter after the debate, said they were against giving such licenses.
One question that her rivals were eager to discuss during the debate, telecast by MSNBC, was whether Clinton could win a general election.
Polls show more than 40 percent of voters say they have ruled out voting for her next November. At the same time, she is winning hypothetical matchups with various potential Republican nominees, most of whom talk of her as if she already has been nominated.
