Face off — Sean Hannity vs. Rocky Anderson

Round One. Salt Lake Mayor Rocky Anderson labels the war in Iraq an "egregious" crime based on a "total fabrication" and calls for President Bush's impeachment.

Round Two. Radio and TV talk show host Sean Hannity accuses Anderson of unfairly singling out Bush when Democrats also called for the war, says the mayor is undermining the war on terror and argues "it's not George Bush who should be impeached or removed from office — it's your mayor."

Round Three. During a question and answer session, statements about the war dissolve into personal jabs between the two personalities during their much-anticipated debate Friday in Kingsbury Hall at the University of Utah.

But as tough as the slams were, it was difficult at times for either of them to get a word in over the cheers, boos and heckling from the capacity audience as each made his case about the war and the state of the nation.

Moderator Ken Verdoia, associate director at the U.'s TV station, KUED, had a difficult time keeping the two on track and several times chided the audience, at one point saying, "Let's take a deep breath, everybody," to try to quell the ruckus.

The statements from the two debaters, followed by questions submitted by the audience, lasted about two hours.

Anderson stressed that while many should be held accountable for the U.S. involvement in Iraq, it is Bush who has repeatedly lied. "He was selling us a bill of goods," the mayor said.

For his part, Hannity poked fun at Anderson, calling him a part-time mayor and a full-time protester. And, he said, Anderson and activists like him aren't helping, they're hurting.

"This enemy actually believes, in their dark fanaticism, that they are doing God's will when they kill innocent men, women and children," he said, referring to Saddam Hussein's reign of terror before the war and the ongoing problems with terrorists and Saddam loyalists.

Anderson, meanwhile, countered that the war has been the best "recruiting tool" terrorists could hope for ... . Getting out of Iraq as an occupying force" is the only real solution.

The debate, hosted by the the Associated Students of the University of Utah, came about after the Fox cable news network canceled a scheduled appearance by Anderson on the "Hannity & Colmes" show. Hannity made an off-the-cuff challenge in response to Anderson's reaction to the cancellation, sparking the debate.

As they were leaving, some of the listeners said that both Anderson and Hannity made good points and bad ones. A few said the near-constant audience disruptions were distracting.