Obama touts ideas, Clinton pushes results

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NEW: Obama says he and Clinton differ on how to bring about change

AUSTIN, Texas (CNN) -- Sen. Barack Obama said while he and Sen. Hillary Clinton share a lot of policy positions, "there's a fundamental difference between us in terms of how change comes about."


Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are facing off in a high-stakes debate.

more photos » The Democratic presidential candidates are facing off in Texas in their last debate before the state's March 4 primary.

"If we don't bring the country together, stop the endless bickering, actually focus on solutions and reduce that special interests that have dominated Washington ... we will not get anything done," Obama said.

Obama was responding to Clinton's reference to a recent interview with an Obama surrogate who could not name any of his accomplishments.

Clinton said she and Obama offer different records of accomplishment.

"Obama responded effectively -- he defended his achievements, and characterized Clinton as suggesting his supporters are delusional for supporting him. The line played well," said CNN senior political analyst Bill Schneider.

Clinton, who has been marketing herself as the candidate in the "solutions business," said, "I do think that words are important and words matter, but actions speak louder than words, and I offer that."

Clinton opened the debate by telling voters she "offers a lifetime of experience and proven results." Watch Clinton make her appeal to Texan voters »

Obama said "what's lacking right now is not good ideas."

"The problem we have is that Washington has become a place where good ideas go to die." Watch Obama talk about his plan to change Washington »

Clinton and Obama also exchanged jabs on the issue of plagiarism.

Obama, asked about recent accusations of plagiarism in his speeches, said it was a sign that politics had entered the "silly season." Clinton responded that vision "cannot be Xeroxed."

When asked how a President Clinton would be different from a President Obama on the economy, both candidates stressed that they have similar plans for the economy, because it's the "Democratic agenda," as Clinton described it. Watch the candidates weigh in on the economy »

Obama said a sense of fairness and balance must be restored to the economy.

"We've got to stop giving tax breaks to companies that are shipping jobs overseas and invest those tax breaks in companies that are investing here in the United States of America," he said. "We have to end the Bush tax cuts to the wealthy and to provide tax breaks to middle-class Americans and working Americans who need them."

Clinton said the foreclosure crisis needs to be addressed immediately.

"I have been saying for nearly a year we had to crack down on the abusive practices of the lenders. But we also need a moratorium on home foreclosures," she said.

Clinton said she would issue a 90-day moratorium and freeze interest rates for five years.

On immigration, Clinton said she would introduce a path to legalization within her first 100 days in office. Watch the candidates debate immigration »

Obama said it is critical to "tone down the rhetoric" when it comes to the immigration debate.

"We are a nation of laws and we are a nation of immigrants, and we can reconcile those two things," he said.

Both candidates said the country needs comprehensive immigration reform.

On Cuba, Obama said he thinks the United States' policy with the country has been a "failure." Watch the candidates talk about Cuba »

When asked if she would meet with the person who takes over for Fidel Castro, who resigned this week, Clinton said she would not do so "until there was evidence that change was happening."

Obama said he would meet with the future leader of Cuba without preconditions, but added, "Sen. Clinton is right that there has to be preparation."

The last time Clinton and Obama debated was before the Super Tuesday contests. Both scored big in those races, splitting two dozen contests from coast to coast.

But in the two weeks since Super Tuesday, Obama has swept every race. He's heading into the debate on an 11-contest winning streak, and Clinton is doing everything she can to stop his momentum.

"There is a difference between rhetoric and reality," Clinton said while campaigning in Texas Thursday. "The reality of the people here ... is what I am focused on." Go behind the scenes at the debate »

Clinton is facing an uphill fight. She's faced loss after loss, and Obama raised more than three times as much money last month.

Even former President Clinton admitted while campaigning in Texas on Wednesday that his wife must win in Texas and Ohio when those states, along with Vermont and Rhode Island, hold primaries. Texas, with 193 delegates, is the most valuable prize that day.

Clinton has done well with Latino voters, who could play a big role in the primary. Obama, however, has been steadily chipping away at Clinton's base, and his campaign is hoping that trend will continue. Watch how pressure on Clinton is building »

"He's riding a winning streak and leads Clinton by more than 140 pledged delegates, but he faces some challenges in Texas, a state with a large Latino population. Clinton's done quite well with such voters so far this primary season," Schneider said.

A CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll out Monday suggests the Democratic race in Texas is a statistical dead heat.

In the survey, taken before Obama's Tuesday victories in Wisconsin and Hawaii, 50 percent of likely Democratic primary voters support Clinton as their choice for the party's nominee, with 48 percent backing Obama. The poll's margin of error is 4.5 percentage points.

Two other recent polls also show the race statistically even.

"One reason the race appears to be tight is that Texas Democrats are having a hard time choosing between two attractive options," CNN polling director Keating Holland said.

"Likely Democratic primary voters would be equally happy if either candidate won the nomination, and they don't see a lot of difference between them on several top issues."

The debate took place on the campus of the University of Texas. It will be replayed on CNN Saturday and Sunday at 8 p.m. ET. The debate was also to air in Spanish on Univision at 11:30 p.m. ET on Thursday.

Texas Democrats held an online lottery for 100 seats to the debate, and more than 43,000 people entered the drawing.


"We've got rock stars for candidates, that's the truth," said Boyd Richie, who heads the Texas Democratic party. "People are excited about that. They want to see this debate."

The remainder of the 1,600 seats, most of which were controlled by the Democratic party, were distributed by invitation only. E-mail to a friend