Sept. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Hillary Clinton's main competitors for the Democratic presidential nomination last night tried to chip away at her record as a New York senator and former first lady on the issues of Iraq, Iran and health care.

Former North Carolina Senator John Edwards said Clinton's vote yesterday in favor of designating Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization may push the U.S. closer to war with Iran. Illinois Senator Barack Obama emphasized his long opposition to the conflict in Iraq, which Clinton voted for, and said Clinton ``closed the door to a lot of potential allies'' when she pursued a universal health-care program as first lady in the early 1990s.

``At that time, 80 percent of Americans already wanted universal health care, but they didn't feel like they were let into the process,'' Obama said during a debate at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire.

The Democrats used the event, broadcast on cable network MSNBC, to try to sway voters in the state that traditionally holds the nation's first presidential primary, where a victory can provide crucial momentum for a campaign. Clinton leads there with support of 43 percent of Democratic primary voters compared with 20 percent for Obama and 12 percent for Edwards, according to a Sept. 17-24 poll conducted by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center for CNN and television station WMUR.

Previous Experience

Clinton, who also leads in national polls, defended her policies and said her previous experiences have left her ready for the White House.

``I know how to find common ground and how to stand my ground,'' Clinton, 59, said. ``We need to start with leadership that can deliver results.''

As in past debates, the leading candidates largely agreed on many issues. Clinton, Obama and Edwards all said they couldn't commit to pulling all U.S. combat troops out of Iraq by 2013, the year the next president's term will end.

They also said that Iran must be stopped from becoming a nuclear power.

Yesterday's 76-22 vote by the Senate on a resolution urging the Bush administration to designate the elite branch of Iran's military known as the Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization showcased one of the issues on which the top three disagree. Edwards, 54, said the resolution reminded him of the authorization that Congress gave President George W. Bush to take military action against Iraq.

Dealing With Iran

``I have no intention of giving George Bush the authority to take the first step on a road to war with Iran,'' he said.

Clinton responded that the designation would give the U.S. ``the options to be able to impose sanctions on the primary leaders to try to begin to put some teeth into all this talk about dealing with Iran.''

Inclusion on the list of terrorist organizations would block assets of the group and people who support it. While Clinton voted for the measure, two other Democratic presidential candidates in the Senate, Joseph Biden of Delaware and Christopher Dodd of Connecticut, opposed it. Obama didn't vote.

Several times in the debate, Clinton sidestepped questions about how she would handle a particular foreign policy situation or domestic issue. Pressed on whether she would raise taxes or cut benefits to shore up the Social Security system, Clinton said she didn't want to discuss how she would negotiate.

``I'm not putting anything on the proverbial table,'' Clinton said.

Cap on Taxes

Obama, 46, said that lifting the cap on the amount of income that can be taxed for Social Security ``is probably going to be the best option.''

Edwards also said he would look at the cap.

``I don't understand why somebody who makes $50 million a year pays Social Security tax on the first $97,000,'' he said, ``and not on the rest, while somebody who makes $85,000 a year pays Social Security tax on every dime of their income.''

All the candidates said they wouldn't condone torture as a means of procuring information on possible terrorist attacks when asked whether the president should make a finding or guarantee a pardon for someone who beat information about a ``big bomb'' out of a suspect.

Moderator Tim Russert of NBC News then informed Clinton that the person who had raised that scenario with him was Clinton's husband, former President Bill Clinton. ``So he disagrees with you,'' Russert said.

``Well, he's not standing here right now,'' Clinton said.

Pushed on whether there was a disagreement, Clinton laughed and said, ``Well, I'll talk to him later.''

To contact the reporter on this story: Kristin Jensen in Washington at kjensen@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: September 27, 2007 00:16 EDT