Painfully polite Democrats on show

By Kevin Anderson BBC News Online in Washington

The final Democratic candidate debate ahead of the New Hampshire primaries was the most important two hours of Howard Dean's career, political commentators said.

It was all rather nice and restrained

After a disappointing loss in Iowa and an irrational exuberance, Mr Dean has fallen from the top of the polls to the butt of late-night TV jokes.

But the stakes were high for all the Democrats on the stage.

John Kerry and John Edwards needed to build on the momentum they won in Iowa, and Joe Lieberman and Wesley Clark needed to gain some momentum after skipping Iowa.

Dean's damage control

What a difference a few weeks have made in the political fortunes of Howard Dean.

Just weeks ago, pundits asked if anyone in the crowded field of eight Democrats could stop the Dean machine.

And now the question has become whether Howard Dean can do anything to reverse his fall.

It was caused by more than his disappointing third-place finish in the Iowa caucuses; it was also the wild-eyed, frenzied speech he gave to supporters following his defeat.

The main aim was not to lose any ground

In one of the many jokes made about the speech and the candidate comedian Jay Leno said, "Now I hear the cows in Iowa are afraid of getting mad Dean disease."

In the debate, Mr Dean hoped to refocus on his record as a fiscally conservative, socially liberal candidate who supports education and health care and who opposed the war in Iraq.

In a tone-downed version of his attack on President Bush, he said: "We've not had one Republican president in 34 years balance the budget. You can't trust right-wing Republicans with your money,"

"I'm much more conservative with money than George Bush is," he added.

Genteel debate

Benefiting from his momentum coming out of Iowa, John Kerry has now wears the mantle of front-runner.

But he was spared the withering attacks that Mr Dean suffered when he rode the top of the polls.

John Kerry has risen as Howard Dean has fallen

The debate in New Hampshire was a far cry from the fiercely fought debates in the lead up to the Iowa caucuses.

Howard Dean's decline and Dick Gephardt's race-ending fourth place finish in Iowa were attributed to the attacks they traded ahead of the caucuses.

At one point in the debate, Mr Lieberman said, "nice try" when a moderator tried one last time to give him the chance to launch an attack against his rivals.

They did disagree, notably on the war in Iraq.

But as with most areas in the debate, they chose to criticise President Bush but not one another.

Mr Lieberman defended his support of the war.

"We made the right decision. I didn't need George Bush to convince me that Saddam Hussein was a threat to the United States of America," he said, adding later, "This was a just war."

Mr Kerry and Mr Edwards voted for the Iraq war resolution but have strongly criticised President Bush's failure to gain international support for the war.

In some of the strongest terms he has used to date, Mr Kerry said of President Bush, "He has run the most arrogant, inept, reckless and ideological foreign policy in the modern history of our country."

No stand outs

The debate also previewed some of the issues that will the eventual Democratic candidate will face in the autumn against President George Bush.

The candidates were asked about taxes, gun control and same-sex marriage.

"I look forward to that fight," Mr Kerry said.

He did what a front-runner needed to do. He did not stumble, and he played to his strengths, often highlighting his military service.

Not much ground was won or lost for the candidates in this painfully polite debate.

As for Mr Dean, he softened his toned and reminded voters about his record.

But he faces an uphill battle to reverse that political momentum that has seen his 30-point lead swing to a 10-deficit.