In the final debate before the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses, eight of the nine Democratic presidential candidates discussed minority issues Sunday in the Iowa Brown and Black Forum.

Candidates attacked one another in an attempt to stand apart from the pack in the final week of their current campaigns for the caucuses, which will be held Jan. 19 — the holiday honoring civil rights pioneer Martin Luther King, Jr.

Most of the fire was aimed at front-runner Howard Dean, former governor of Vermont. However, others turned their sights toward each other, including Ambassador Carol Moseley Braun, who commented on the Rev. Al Sharpton’s racial divisiveness. Braun criticized him for dividing the candidates.

“Rev. Sharpton, the fact of the matter is you can always blow up a racial debate and make people mad at each other,” she said. “But I think it’s time for us to talk about, what are you going to do to bring people together? Because these people cannot afford a racial screaming match.”

The Iowa Brown and Black Forum, broadcast by MSNBC and hosted by the network’s Lester Holt and Maria Celeste Arraras of the Spanish-language network Telemundo, was sponsored by African-American and Hispanic groups in order to get the candidates’ views on minority issues. The debate featured all Democratic presidential candidates except Gen. Wesley Clark, who has opted not to campaign in Iowa.

The debate started with Dean being questioned about a comment about the Iowa caucuses he made four years ago. Dean said the caucuses were dominated by special interest groups.

“People are tired of what people said four years ago,” Dean said. “People like me couldn’t win without Iowa or New Hampshire. I’m looking forward to the caucus vote.”

The candidates were asked about the recent economic recovery, which is a key issue in the presidential race and has been a strong point for President Bush recently. Sharpton said the economic recovery was false, because it excluded minorities.

“We must be honest about discrimination and have a president who enforces antidiscrimination laws,” he said. “Fifty years ago, we had to watch out for people with white sheets. Now we have to watch out for people with pinstripe suits and hiring discrimination.”

During the discussion of the economy, Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, attacked Dean, who said he would balance the budget by repealing the Bush tax cut.

“How in the world will Dean balance the budget when he won’t cut Pentagon spending? If you keep the war in Iraq, you can’t balance the budget and help the economy,” he said.

As Dean responded, Kucinich held up a pie chart of the American budget, with the largest slice allotted to defense spending.

Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., who was running strong after Sunday’s endorsement by The Des Moines Register, said race was a defining issue to which other candidates weren’t giving full attention. He said racism stems from larger issues such as economic disparity, which has crushed the middle class.

“All these discussions ignore the bigger picture,” he said. “We’ve had a sea change in America because of the weakening of the middle class. We can’t compartmentalize these things and put them in boxes. All people need health care.”

As discussion shifted to problems in minority voting rights, Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., said he would reduce discrimination by ensuring fair elections in the future, “as opposed to the 2000 presidential election in Florida.”

Rep. Dick Gephardt, D-Mo., offered a global solution to racial problems. He said the key to ending disparity on a global scale was setting up an international minimum-wage plan.

“Over 3.5 billion people in the world live on less than a dollar a day,” he said. “It’s immoral. We need a trade policy that says any person that works needs to be treated like a human being, not exploited.”

Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., focused on progress of racial segregation in America. He said it hasn’t ended because Hispanic students were four years behind their Caucasian classmates in standardized test scores.

“We will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, the end of racial segregation formally, but truly not the end of racial segregation in our schools,” he said. “We have to make a program that gives them financial aid and the personal assistance to make it through college and become full-fledged citizens of America.”