The candidates vying for the 25th congressional seat clashed Wednesday over the Wall Street rescue plan, healthcare and the war in Iraq, although the two men kept their exchange cordial, in contrast with recent bitter public spats.

''I'm not going to attack or criticize my opponent,'' incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart said at the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce forum. ``I think the American people are tired of insults, and I won't do it.''

Democratic challenger Joe Garcia, also low-key, fired the first salvo, chastising Diaz-Balart for voting twice against the $700 billion Wall Street rescue plan. Garcia said passage was a must in light of South Florida's dire mortgage foreclosure crisis.

''The level of my opponent's ignorance of how Wall Street and the economy works is frightening,'' Garcia said. ``I would have held my nose and voted for it.''

But Diaz-Balart said he felt the measure placed a financial burden on average taxpayers.

''I didn't go to D.C to protect the Wall Street fat cats; I went to D.C. to protect you, the taxpayers,'' he said. ``How much money did this plan require Wall Street to put on the table? Not a cent. This was a blank check from the taxpayers.''

The two candidates also disagreed on healthcare.

Garcia said hundreds of thousands of South Floridians can't afford healthcare. If elected, he said, he'll work to to get them covered.

Diaz-Balart said he opposed universal healthcare: ``I support unrestricted access to quality medical care, but I don't support socialized healthcare.''

On the war, the two differed on setting a timeline to withdraw from Iraq.

Garcia, who described the war as ''the biggest foreign policy blunder in the history of the United States,'' said the timeline should be set by the Iraqi people.

Diaz-Balart said he's leaving it to ''the military generals'' to decide when the time is right to pull out.

Garcia urged the audience to elect him. ``This is your chance to send someone to Washington who can fix your problems.''

Diaz-Balart said he has represented the district well, bringing home billions for Everglades restoration and transportation.

Join the discussion

Note: If this is your first time using our NEW commenting system, you will have to LOG OUT and then LOG BACK IN.

The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. In order to post comments, you must be a registered user of MiamiHerald.com. Your username will show along with the comments you post. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

     Showing: Oldest first Newest first Most-recommended first Least-recommended first

@Nyx.AuthorDisplayName@ wrote on @Nyx.PostedAtTime@:

@Nyx.CommentBody@

@Nyx.Recommender@ @Nyx.AbuseReporter@