NEW YORK—Retired general Wesley Clark joined the Democratic presidential candidates in debate for the first time last night.

The 10 candidates drew sharp contrasts between their policies on trade, taxes, health care and national security in their third debate, held at Pace University yesterday.

For Clark, who entered the race a mere nine days ago, the debate marked one of his first opportunities to stake out stances on the issues. And the former NATO commander—a registered Republican until recently who voted for Nixon and Reagan—was immediately pressed to defend his Democratic credentials.

He seized on the first question to assail Bush’s record, saying Bush embodies “neither [the] conservatism or [the] compassion” that he espoused during his campaign. Clark said he embraces the core Democratic platform, noting that he is pro-choice, favors affirmative action, environmental protection, comprehensive health care coverage and involving our allies in multilateral foreign policy.

“As I looked at this country and looked which way we were headed, I knew that I needed to speak out,” he said. “There was only one party to come to.”

But Clark was light on specific policy proposals, falling back on the fact that he has been in the race just over a week and promising to come forward with concrete initiatives soon.

Despite preaching the virtues of training their guns on President Bush, the other candidates’ rhetoric evolved at times into biting personal attacks and sharp policy disputes with their competitors on stage yesterday.

In a particularly heated exchange, Rep. Dick Gephardt, D-Mo., identified former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean with Newt Gingrich in describing Dean’s support for a Gingrich-backed Medicare cut in 1994.

“You’ve been saying for many months that you’re the head of the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party,” Gephardt stated. “I think you’re just winging it.”

Dean fired back angrily, defending his record on health care with reference to his medical degree.

“That is flat-out false, and I’m ashamed that you would compare me with Newt Gingrich,” he responded. “I’ve done more for health insurance, Dick Gephardt, frankly, than you ever have, because I’ve delivered it to a lot of seniors and a lot of young people—and I’ll stake my record on health insurance against anybody up here.”

Despite promising at one point not to incite “internecine warfare” among fellow Democrats, Dean was at the center of a few other pointed disputes during the debate, exchanging jabs with rival Sen. John F. Kerry, D-Mass., on trade policy and tax cuts and accusing Gephardt, Kerry and Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman, D-Conn., of distorting his record.

Across the Spectrum

For a party in search of a winning message for the 2004 election, the contentious debate highlighted the fault lines between third-way centrist Democrats like Lieberman and liberals such as Dean.

But in a debate focused on economic policy—cohosted by CNBC and The Wall Street Journal—liberals and moderates alike sought to trade on the economic success of the Clinton Administration in laying out plans for future prosperity.