Dick Durbin in 2008 Illinois Senate Debates

On Abortion: Abortion is a private decision

On Budget & Economy: Doing nothing in economic crisis abdicates responsibility

Sauerberg said that other steps could have been taken to shore up the economy in the wake of a $700 billion rescue plan passed by lawmakers.

Durbin was quick to defend his vote in favor of last week’s economic rescue package. “The alternative was to do nothing and doing nothing I think would have been an abdication of responsibility,” Durbin said.

On Environment: Drives a Ford hybrid that gets 30 mpg

Sauerberg acknowledged it might be a political misstep for him to drive a foreign car, a Lexus, although he gets about 23 miles a gallon now that he has changed his driving habits. “I’m supposed to probably drive an American car,” Sauerberg said.

On Health Care: Large-scale expansion of taxpayer-subsidized coverage

“I don’t know of another doctor who is so bold as to believe that those people who count on these programs are somehow going to be protected in the market by themselves,” said Durbin, who favors a large-scale expansion of taxpayer-subsidized health-care coverage.

But Sauerberg said Durbin misunderstood his proposal, which he said would expand the availability of health-care coverage and make it portable and less job-dependent. “You can buy it. You can use vouchers. The government already pays for many, many people’s insurance,” Sauerberg said.

On Homeland Security: Veterans angry over accusations that Guantanamo like gulag

Durbin said Monday night that he was among the first senators to call attention to treatment at Guantanamo, though he wound up apologizing for “some words” he used. “They weren’t used in reference to any soldiers, doctor,” Durbin said to Sauerberg. “They were in reference to whoever was involved in what the FBI agents found at Guantanamo.”

On War & Peace: We can’ afford $10B to $15B a month in Iraq

Durbin argued the United States can’t afford to keep spending $10 billion to $15 billion a month, along with soldiers’ lives, to rebuild Iraq. He called for a “systematic, sensible withdrawal.”