In what could be a called a more substantive debate than the televised one they engaged in last week, Republican Rep. Charlie Bass and Democratic challenger Paul Hodes discussed Iraq, Afghanistan, the conflict between Israel and Palestine, Hurricane Katrina, and civil liberties before a crowd of more than 100 people at Temple Beth Abraham in Nashua yesterday.

The candidates, taking questions solely from the audience, seemed more relaxed away from television cameras. Each man presented his ideas as starkly different from his opponent's, with Hodes saying he is the only choice for change in Washington and Bass tying Hodes to a Democratic Party that he said would be weak on terror and cost New Hampshire families more money in taxes.

The audience's questions were largely critical of the state of things in Washington and abroad. One person asked how the candidates suggest stopping the escalation of North Korea's nuclear program.

Hodes said the United States needs to return to diplomacy by engaging in both multilateral and bilateral talks with the North Koreans. He said bilateral talks with North Korea worked in 1994 under the Clinton administration.

"North Korea only reinvigorated their nuclear program after we went into Iraq," he said. "After you dub them the axis of evil, and you go after one, they fear that we're going to go after another."

He accused the Bush administration of "cowboy diplomacy."

Bass, who was debating at the temple for the seventh consecutive election and has served on the intelligence committee for five years, said North Korea never stopped its nuclear program. He accused Clinton of starting the "cowboy politics." Under the Clinton administration, Bass said, "Unfortunately, we didn't lasso anything."

Bass said multilateral talks are the only way to pressure North Korea to stop development.

On Iraq, Bass said he is frustrated with the continued deaths of American soldiers, but military leaders - not politicians - must make decisions on the ground.

"Remember, there is one overall objective that we cannot allow to fail on, and that is to make sure that in Iraq there is not an Islamic radical jihadist government allowed to take over that country," he said. "I want to guarantee, if that happens, the terrorists will not settle in Iraq and make that their homeland."

He said terrorists will follow Westerners through Saudi Arabia, Syria, Lebanon, Israel and Europe. "And they'll follow us right to the shores of the United States."

Bass said that if the United States continues with its current plan, Iraqis will control 90 percent of security in their country by the start of 2008.

"That's not a timetable," he said. "That's a process that if extrapolated out will lead to a conclusion."

Hodes said the idea that a "responsible exit strategy" would lead to more terror doesn't make sense. Such a strategy, according to his plan, would include removing the National Guard and reservists from Iraq immediately, moving remaining troops away from the worst fighting and refocusing their mission on training Iraqis and on reconstruction.

Hodes said Iraq was embroiled in a civil war whose combatants are using U.S. troops as "a crutch."

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