Edwards emphasized his commitment to fighting poverty, calling it "the cause of my life." He plans to begin a multistate tour Monday in New Orleans to spotlight the millions of people who live in poverty.
Edwards' call for felons' voting rights to be restored also received loud cheers. Yet as a senator from North Carolina in 2002 he voted against a bill allowing felons the right to vote in federal elections.
The topic of voting rights drew an impassioned response from the candidates, many of who spoke of the disputed 2000 election in Florida that saw many black voters disenfranchised.
"The American people don't feel that when they go vote their vote counts," New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson said.
Dodd praised the NAACP for holding a burial ceremony for the "N-word" earlier this week.
"We ought to have more burials. Why not bury neglect? Bigotry? The failed policy in Iraq?" Dodd asked, adding that he believed every Democrat on the stage would be a better president than Bush.
Former Alaska Sen. Mike Gravel also participated.
Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo was the lone GOP candidate and said he accepted the invitation because his message is for all people in the U.S. A vociferous foe of illegal immigration, Tancredo said the wages of black workers suffer because of illegal workers.
- Associated Press writer Corey Williams contributed to this report.
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