Barbara Boxer in The Los Angeles Times

On Abortion: Don't go back to criminalizing women and doctors

Fiorina reiterated her support for overturning the Supreme Court ruling that legalized abortion, but said, "The most important issue right now in this election is the creation of jobs."

On Civil Rights: Full equality only with same-sex marriage

Boxer, who also favors the repeal of the strictures against gays and lesbians in the military, said homosexual couples would gain full equality only when same-sex marriage was recognized. "The only way to get the rights that married couples have is to go for marriage equality," she said. "I'm glad to say I believe people are coming around to see it."

On Education: $1.2 billion to save the jobs of 16,500 California teachers

Boxer accused Fiorina of opposing every recent job-creation effort in the Senate, including an education bill that provided California with $1.2 billion to save the jobs of 16,500 teachers, and a bill that would increase access to credit and extended tax breaks for small businesses. "Every time you really get past the surface, you see my opponent fighting for billionaires, for millionaires, for companies that shipped jobs overseas," Boxer said.

Fiorina said that the key to economic recovery was less government, taxation and regulation. "To create jobs, we need to make sure in particular our small businesses are freed from strangling regulation and freed from taxation," Fiorina said.

On Energy & Oil: Prop. 23: California clean energy policy creates jobs here

But Fiorina declined to take a position on Proposition 23, the November ballot measure that would suspend California's landmark global warming law until unemployment drops to 5.5% or lower for four consecutive quarters.

Boxer seized on her opponent's reticence, using it as an excuse to return to Fiorina's record at HP: "If you can't take a stand on Prop. 23 I don't know what you will take a stand on," Boxer said. "If we overturn California's clean energy policies that's going to mean that China takes the lead away from us with solar, that Germany takes the lead away from us with wind. I want those jobs created here in America."

On Gun Control: Assault weapon ban has kept people safe

Boxer countered that such bans have kept people safe. "To go back to that dangerous yesterday makes no sense," she said. "It has bipartisan support."

On Immigration: Cosponsored DREAM Act: legal status from college or military

On Jobs: TV ad: Fiorina fired thousands and moved their jobs to China

The new ad features four workers who say they were fired from H-P while Fiorina earned millions of dollars in compensation. One former employee says some of the American jobs eliminated were moved to China: "We even had to train our replacements."

"Fiorina never cared about our jobs--not then and not now," one of the workers says in conclusion.

A spokeswoman for Fiorina described the accusations in the ad as "outlandish, hypocritical" and "completely illogical," and questioned whether the workers featured in the ad had traveled overseas to train their replacements. In light of Boxer's criticisms, Fiorina has also suggested that Boxer return contributions from companies that have laid off workers or moved American jobs overseas.