"If a Southern person running — if John Edwards or Bob Graham had said that — they'd have been run out of the race," Mr. Sharpton continued. "I don't think you're a bigot, but I think it is insensitive, and I think you ought to apologize."
Dr. Dean, the former governor of Vermont, turned to Mr. Sharpton and responded: "We're not going to win in this country anymore as Democrats if we don't have a big tent. And I'm going to tell you right now, Reverend, you're right, I am not a bigot."
Mr. Edwards, who was born in South Carolina, then bounded across the stage wagging a finger. "Unless I missed something, Governor Dean still has not said he was wrong," he shouted. "Were you wrong, Howard? Were you wrong to say that?"
Dr. Dean responded: "No I wasn't, John Edwards. Because people who fly the Confederate flag — I think they are wrong, because I think the Confederate flag is a racist symbol. But I think there are a lot of poor people who fly that flag because the Republicans have been dividing us by race since 1968."
The exchange came at the start of the "Rock the Vote" debate, intended by its organizers to offer a somewhat offbeat view of the candidates by having them answer questions from young voters. And there were, indeed, the offbeat questions, like whether the candidates had smoked marijuana and whether they preferred PC's to Macs.
Dr. Dean, Mr. Edwards and Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts said they had used marijuana. Gen. Wesley K. Clark, Senator Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut, Representative Dennis J. Kucinich of Ohio and Mr. Sharpton said they had not. Former Senator Carol Moseley Braun of Illinois drew applause when she refused to answer the question.
Still, the attacks on Dr. Dean turned the session into one of the year's most intense debates, and it left Dr. Dean appearing rattled and upset. It also clearly cheered his opponents — in particular Mr. Edwards and Mr. Kerry — who have been frustrated by Dr. Dean's strong early showing in Iowa and New Hampshire, and whose aides predicted that the argument would reverberate for weeks.
Mr. Sharpton and Mr. Edwards led the rebuking of Dr. Dean. The other Southern candidate, General Clark, of Arkansas, was silent during the exchanges.
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