2008 Democratic hopefuls call for Iraq war's end

By John Whitesides, Political Correspondent

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Six Democratic presidential hopefuls courted party leaders on Friday with calls to end the Iraq war but offered divergent views on how to do it, saying the debate would be a crucial test of Democratic leadership.

In separate appearances before nearly 400 members of the Democratic National Committee and hundreds of other activists who jammed a hotel ballroom, the 2008 White House contenders said Democrats in Congress must find a way to pressure President George W. Bush to stop the war.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, who has been criticized for her 2002 vote authorizing the war and for being slow to turn against the conflict, promised to bring U.S. troops home if she was elected to the White House.

"If we in Congress don't end this war before January 2009, as president I will," she said, speaking loudly at times to be heard over a few anti-war hecklers.

"I understand the frustration and outrage," she said. "If I had been president in October of 2002, I would not have started this war."

Clinton said a looming vote in Congress on a nonbinding resolution against Bush's plan to send more troops to Iraq "would be the first time we have said no to Bush."

Several other candidates said U.S. voters who put Democrats in control of Congress in November's election expected more.

"I am disappointed we can't find a way to do more than send a meaningless message to the White House," said Sen. Chris Dodd of Connecticut. "I don't believe spending a week debating a nonbinding resolution is the change that America voted for."

The appearances at the DNC gathering are important for candidates launching an early hunt for party donors and endorsements, and the campaigns tried to pack the spacious ballroom with cheering supporters and signs.

The three early favorites in the Democratic race -- Clinton, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama and John Edwards, the 2004 vice presidential nominee -- drew the warmest ovations. Obama avoided easy applause lines with a quiet, sober speech calling for an end to political cynicism.

STOP TROOP BUILDUP

Edwards, a former North Carolina senator who also voted in 2002 to authorize the war but now says his vote was wrong, said Democrats had to stop the troop buildup. He brought the crowd to its feet by asking it to "stand up" for America.

"They're counting on us to be weak, to be political and to be careful," he said of the Bush administration. "This is not the time for political calculation. This is the time for political courage. It is the time to stand up."

Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio and retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark, who has not declared yet whether he will run for the White House, also condemned the war.

Four more Democratic presidential hopefuls -- Sen. Joseph Biden of Delaware, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack and former Alaska Sen. Mike Gravel -- will speak on Saturday.