Colin Powell

Politicker Photo

U.S. Sen. John Kerry (D-Boston) following Monday's debate

BOSTON - U.S. Sen. John Kerry and his Republican challenger Jeff Beatty met for round two Monday in another feisty debate that ranged from social issues to the current financial crisis facing the country.

For the first time in the race, both candidates discussed social issues at length. With Monday's news of an 8-year-old's accidental death while shooting an Uzi at a gun show in Westfield, both candidates were asked what they would do to make sure such an event never happens again.

Beatty said he has worked in the past to help keep schools safe and said the country needs "to enforce the laws we have."

"I think that if we enforce the laws we have, we'll be OK," he said.

Kerry, in contrast, said the current loophole that allows citizens to purchase weapons at gun shows needs to be closed.

"It just  defies common sense that we have people that can go out, through the gun show loophole, and buy semi-automatics anywhere in the country without adequate background checks," the senator said. "We have to close that loophole."

NEWTON - Republican challenger Jeff Beatty took numerous swings at John Kerry in a contentious debate here Monday night, and the Boston Democrat defended his record, firing back a few salvos of his own.

U.S. Sen. John Kerry (D-Boston): Politicker PhotoThe most heated moment of the night came during the foreign policy discussion. Beatty, a former Army Delta Force officer and CIA officer, sharply criticized Kerry for his 2002 vote to authorize the use of force in Iraq and accused him of casting his vote for political reasons.

"I would not have gone into Iraq. I saw the information. I realized it was insufficient. Same information Sen. Kerry could have read if he had wanted to read in the National Intelligence Estimate. We never should have gone into Iraq," Beatty said. "You knew when you voted for that war that we didn't have what we needed to go to war. And you didn't care because it was all about getting elected president. You've got blood on your hands for 500 Massachusetts families who have had a loved one wounded or killed, over 80 killed. And you voted for that war because your advisors told you vote for it, it will help you get elected president."

Asked to respond, Kerry was blunt.

"It's insulting. And it's frankly disgusting, to be truthful with you," the senator said. "I would never do that as a combat veteran. The fact is, I did better than read the NIE. I went over and met with the intelligence officers. I met with [former CIA head] George Tenet, I went to the National Security Council. I talked at length with [former Secretary of State] Colin Powell. I did all the due diligence. And frankly it was Colin Powell's conversation with me that persuaded me that they were going to do the things the president promised -- exhaust the remedies, go to the U.N., do the inspections. And frankly, every promise was broken and I did exactly what I said I was going to do: I opposed it and I've led the opposition because they broke their promises."

The chairman of the Republican Liberty Caucus of Massachusetts endorsed Barack Obama late Sunday night, joining other Republicans who have recently moved away from their party's own standard bearer, John McCain.

U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.)Jason Burkins, who is also a member of the Somerville Ward 5 Republican Committee, said in an email that he no longer sees eye-to-eye with the principles of the national GOP.

"Though I have always disagreed with the party on various issues, I have always been able to find more common ground with my fellow GOP brethren than with the Democrat Party," he said. "Since the election of George W. Bush as president, over the past eight years, that common ground has slipped and dwindled."

U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy will not testify in Ted U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Hyannis Port)Stevens' corruption trial, The Hill reports.

Kennedy, a Hyannis Port Democrat, was named as a possible witness at the beginning of the trial.

The Hill reports that Kennedy was not on the list of 15 witnesses submitted by Stevens' defense.

U.S. Sen. John Kerry emphatically defended his 2002 vote to authorize the use of force in Iraq Tuesday, pointing the finger at then Secretary of State Colin Powell for providing faulty evidence in the run up to the war. Sen. John Kerry (D-Boston)

In a phone interview with conservative talk show host Ken Pittman on WBSM Tuesday afternoon, Pittman asked Kerry (D-Boston) to explain how he at one time voted for the use of force in Iraq and then came to vehemently oppose the U.S. operation there. Kerry welcomed the opportunity.

"Absolutely, I'd be delighted to do that," he said. "I spent a long time on the telephone with Colin Powell on the Sunday before the vote and Colin Powell assured me they were going to do all of the planning necessary, they were not going to rush to war. He assured me that they were going to do all the inspections and exhaust the remedies of the United Nations and finish the diplomacy."

Kerry based his vote "largely on the conversations with Colin Powell," believing that the administration would not rush into war. Kerry didn't place all of the blame on Powell, however, saying that he too was given faulty information.