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By John Whitesides, Political Correspondent
CHARLESTON, South Carolina (Reuters) - Hillary Clinton pounced on rival Barack Obama on Monday for his willingness to meet with some troublesome world leaders during a Democratic U.S. presidential debate starring a parade of questions posed through YouTube videos.
The debate featured video questions submitted from around the world via the Internet, from workers in Darfur refugee camps and an animated snowman worried about global warming to a strumming guitarist who sang his question about whether Democrats would raise taxes.
It was highlighted by a clash between the top 2008 Democratic contenders after Obama said he would be willing to meet with leaders of Iran, Syria, Venezuela, Cuba and North Korea. The Bush administration considers the nations regional troublemakers.
Obama, who leads Democrats in fund raising and is looking to cut Clinton's lead in polls, said it was important to search for areas "where we can potentially move forward" and added, "I think it's a disgrace that we have not spoken to them."
Clinton, the New York senator, disagreed, saying such meetings could be used as propaganda purposes.
"Certainly, we're not going to just have our president meet with Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez and you know, the president of North Korea, Iran and Syria, until we know better what the way forward would be," she said.
The format was designed to force candidates to drop their rehearsed answers and sound bites. It sparked lively exchanges between all eight Democratic candidates on Iraq and diplomacy, and an extended discussion of race and gender involving Obama and Clinton.
Asked if Muslim leaders in the Middle East would be able to negotiate and work with a woman, Clinton said that after meeting various foreign leaders as first lady to President Bill Clinton in the 1990s: "There isn't much doubt in anyone's mind that I can be taken seriously."
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