During the debate, Clinton struggled with a question about whether she supported a proposal by New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer to allow illegal immigrants to get licenses.
At first, she appeared to endorse the idea, saying she understood why Spitzer wanted to issue licenses. Then, she seemed to reject it, saying she "didn't think this was the best thing for any governor to do."
Her Democratic rivals seized upon her performance, hoping to use it as confirmation of their claim that she has avoided specific positions and sometimes engaged in double-talk.
"I think last night's debate really exposed this fault line," Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois told the Associated Press yesterday. "Senator Clinton left us wondering where she stood on every single hard question from Iran to Social Security to driver's licenses for undocumented workers."
At a news conference in New Hampshire, former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina said: "In the course of three minutes, I heard Clinton, Senator Clinton, say two different things. When you get a yes-or-no question, you can't say yes and no."
Yesterday, the Clinton campaign issued a statement confirming that she does support the Spitzer plan.
"Senator Clinton supports governors like Governor Spitzer who believe they need such a measure to deal with the crisis caused by this administration's failure to pass comprehensive immigration reform," her campaign said.
Republicans joined in the attack on the Democratic front-runner, saying she was both waffling and supporting an idea that the electorate does not welcome.
According to a CNN/USA Today survey taken in mid-October, Americans oppose licenses for illegal immigrants by a 3-1 ratio. Democrats oppose the idea by almost 2-1.
