Senate Candidates Touch Base on Immigration and International Policy

The debate between the three U.S. Senate candidates turned to international affairs and immigration.

Republican front-runner Marco Rubio praised American involvement in Iraq while Democratic nominee U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek insisted it was a war launched on false information. Gov. Charlie Crist, who is running with no party affiliation, defended the war in Iraq and praised the Obama administrations policies in Afghanistan, cheering the leadership of Gen. David Petraeus. Crist and Rubio agreed America needs to keep an eye on Iran, and Crist specifically said America needs to support Israel.

Asked about Afghanistan, Rubio called for a stable nation state in Afghanistan. Rubio insisted that a stable Afghanistan would help secure Pakistan, which is a nuclear power. Rubio also praised Petraeus.

Meek said a negotiated settlement with the Taliban was not acceptable. Diplomacy is important, said Meek, calling for the international community to have a seat at the table.

The debate then turned to immigration. We have to have a legal immigration system that functions, said Rubio. Rejecting amnesty, Rubio tore into the current system.

We need a common-sense approach to the problem, said Crist who praised Republicans who called for securing the borders -- before tearing into Washington for being broken.

Meek tore into Rubio. The Democrat called for comprehensive immigration reform and said that talk about securing the border was meaningless. Weve been talking about that for 15 and 20 years, said Meek. Meek hammered Rubio on immigration, saying he and Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Scott wanted to bring an Arizona-style immigration law to Florida.