The National Intelligence Estimate revealing that Iran dismantled its nuclear weapons program in 2003 has been the subject of the first 15 minutes of the NPR debate — with Hillary Clinton’s opponents using the new revelation to attack her vote for the Kyl-Lieberman resolution calling on President Bush to designate the Iranian National Guard a terrorist organization.

Senators Biden and Dodd voted against the resolution, while Obama, though he missed the vote, has criticized Hillary for supporting the resolution. And John Edwards has called it part of the rush for war, saying today that “among the Democratic candidates there’s only one who voted for this resolution, and it’s exactly what Bush and Cheney wanted.”

Responding to Edwards’ charges, Clinton said “I understand politics and making outlandish political charges, but this goes too far.”

She points out that many opponents of the Iraq war (including Obama supporter Dick Durbin) voted for the resolution, calling it a vote for aggressive diplomacy.   She also argued that since the vote commanders on the ground have said they’ve seen Iran draw back from its involvement in Iraq — a point that Joe Biden then disputed.

Oak Park, IL — During a campaign visit to a diner in a Chicago suburb today, two sign-wielding Code Pink anti-war protesters confronted Republican presidential front-runner Rudy Giuliani.

Julia Field and Robin Schermer of the local Code Pink chapter, lifted pieces of paper labeled “noun” and “verb” respectively for a few moments above the former New York City mayor as he greeted about 100 area residents at the Maple Tree Restaurant.

Giuliani was in the Windy City to receive the endorsement of former Illinois Governor Jim Edgar and made the diner appearance following a downtown press conference.

“Look it’s a sentence, it’s got a noun, it’s got a verb, and 9/11,” Field exclaimed, pointing to Giuliani, as she and Schermer held their signs over the GOP candidate. The two protesters said they were attempting to visualize the joke made by Democratic candidate, Sen. Joe Biden, who said at an October presidential debate that, “there’s only three things (Giuliani) mentions in a sentence: a noun, and a verb and 9/11.”

As he passed by them in the diner, Giuliani was initially confused by their signs, asking Schermer, “You’re a verb?” She responded by pointing to Field who was holding the “noun” sign adding, “you’re 9/11.” Giuliani took the joke in good humor, smiling as he continued shaking hands with other patrons.

Protesters are not new to Giuliani campaign trail with Ron Paul supporters, pro-life activists and 9/11 conspiracy theorists, among the groups that show up at his campaign stops. Recently protesters wearing Giuliani masks holding, “Free Bernie Kerik” signs–in reference to the recently indicted former NYC police commissioner and former Giuliani confidante–have appeared outside campaign stops in New Hampshire and Iowa.

Per Mosheh Oinounou

Concord, NH–The war of words over foreign policy experience took another turn today as Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) again questioned Rudy Giuliani’s credentials for the Oval Office Thursday.

Biden touted his resume and fired his latest shot after filing his papers for the New Hampshire primary: “I have known Rudy for a long time…Rudy was saying that Clinton and Obama weren’t qualified on foreign policy. And here’s a man who several months ago said, in a public statement reported in the New York Times, ‘I don’t know who’s further ahead on nuclear weapons, Iran or Korea,’” he said, smirking and holding his hands up.

See the video:

The Biden-Giuliani scuffle began this week when Biden, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said at the Democratic Presidential Debate Tuesday that Giuliani is “genuinely not qualified to be president” adding that, “there’s only three things he mentions in a sentence: a noun and a verb and 9/11.”

The Giuliani campaign initially responded with a harsh statement by spokeswoman Katie Levinson where she accused Biden of never running “anything but his mouth,” and argued she had a “a better chance of becoming president than he does.”

Giuliani then took his own shot yesterday at a campaign stop in Blauvelt, NY, adding, “Did he read that?…I think somebody wrote that for him. Remember Joe doesn’t write his own material,” referring the 1987 scandal where Biden allegedly plagiarized portions of his speeches.

For their part, the Biden campaign sees a fundraising opportunity with the battle, sending an e-mail money appeal to supporters today titled, “Biden-Giuliani Smackdown!” The missive accuses Giuliani of resorting to “gutter politics,” and asks recipients to make a contribution in order to help Biden fight back.

–per Aaron Bruns–

Not so much for the moderators as for the viewers:

1) will Obama’s attacks land? He’s talked about throwing punches at previous debates and has failed to hit Hillary much, if at all. Will accusing her of deflecting questions on Social Security really hurt her with Democratic primary voters, or can Obama come up with something fresh?

2) How will Hillary respond? It’s been mostly with laughter lately. The front runner usually doesn’t have to dignify attacks with a response  — it has a way of dignifying opponents she’s trying to say are beneath her. But if she finally decides to engage on the substance of the attacks (not just saying “what happened to the politics of hope?”) it means she’s concerned that her opponents’ attacks might start to gain traction and define her in the eyes of the voters.

3) What is Edwards’ strategy? He’ll go after Hillary, ‘natch, but he’s been doing it for months and it’s getting him nowhere. With all the media eyes watching for Obama vs Hillary, how does he make headlines? Does he go after Obama to inject himself in the post-debate stories?

4) Can the also-rans make inroads? Chris Dodd will be harsh on FISA and Mukasey, issues on which he led the field in his opposition to the administration. Biden will push his soft partition plan and probably rap the others on experience and how achievable their plans really are; and Richardson will hit the others for keeping troops in Iraq too long. But they’ve been hitting those talking points for awhile now and it hasn’t gotten them out of tier 2. Can anyone make the leap? My money’s on Dodd. He’s moved harder to the left than anyone so far, and has a shot at taking the netroots vote with a strong performance tonight.

The FOX News Politics Unit is going to try something different tonight. Our producers embedded with Democratic and Republican presidential candidates alike, as well as our top editorial minds back in the bureau, will be weighing in on the big moments in tonight’s Philadelphia debate as they happen.

With fireworks expected from the opening question, this one promises to have lots of developments worth talking about. We’ll give you our take, and hopefully you’ll give us yours. Please post your comments, let us know what you’re thinking. We’ll see you here at 9pm.