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WASHINGTON — Setting aside their discord on the Iraq war, eight Democratic presidential candidates presented a largely united front in their third debate Thursday night, vowing to fight racial bias and improve day-to-day living conditions for all Americans.

The debate at Howard University on issues considered key to black voters came hours after a Supreme Court ruling that barred the use of racial guidelines to integrate public schools, a decision roundly condemned by the candidates.

"To say today that you're going to exclude race as a means of allowing for the diversity in our communities is a major step backwards," Sen. Christopher J. Dodd of Connecticut said, "and as president of the United States, I would use whatever tool is available to me to see to it that we reverse this decision today."

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In a blunt conversation before a largely African-American audience, the Democratic presidential candidates on Thursday occasionally departed from polite talking points as they discussed everything from the spread of HIV and AIDS to racial profiling in the criminal justice system.

Sen. Hillary Clinton asserted that if white women were dying of AIDS at the same rate as black women, there would be an "outraged outcry" in the country instead of the current response, which she suggested is tepid.

Sen. Barack Obama, the only African-American candidate on the stage, blamed "homophobia" and other stigmas for the failure to stop the spread of the disease in "our communities" -- an assertion followed quickly by an admiring reminder from Sen. Joseph Biden that Obama himself had been tested for AIDS.

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More conservative Anglican leaders from overseas are building up a presence in the United States to counter the liberal-leaning U.S. Episcopal Church on its home turf.

The Anglican Church of Uganda plans to appoint a former Episcopal priest as an assistant bishop to oversee its American congregations. Rev. John Guernsey of Virginia will be consecrated Sept. 2 in Uganda, according to Most Rev. Henry Orombi, head of the Ugandan province. The date of his installation in the United States has not been released.

Separately, Most Rev. Benjamin Nzimbi of the Anglican Church of Kenya plans an Aug. 30 consecration of Canon Bill Atwood to oversee breakaway U.S. parishes that have affiliated with the Kenyan church.

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WASHINGTON ? A historically diverse field of Democratic presidential candidates ? a woman, a black, an Hispanic and five whites ? denounced an hours-old Supreme Court affirmative action ruling Thursday night and said the nation's slow march to racial unity is far from over.

"We have made enormous progress, but the progress we have made is not good enough," said Sen. Barack Obama, the son of a man from Kenya and a woman from Kansas.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, the first female candidate with a serious shot at the presidency, drew the night's largest cheer when she suggested there was a hint of racism in the way AIDS is addressed in this country.

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On a day when the US Supreme Court issued a direct challenge to race-conscious education policies, the eight Democratic presidential candidates debated issues deemed important to minority voters.

The candidates, meeting last night at Howard University, a predominantly black college in Washington, differed on HIV infection rates, Hurricane Katrina, early childhood education, and a host of other themes rarely touched on in the prior two Democratic debates.

But last night's event was also notable for how personal it was: Senator Hillary Clinton of New York, Senator Barack Obama of Illinois, and Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico all began by noting that their mere presence was a testament to how far America had come.

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