Democratic presidential candidates Bill Bradley, left, and Vice President Al Gore shake hands before debating tonight in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP photo)

DES MOINES, Iowa -- Bill Bradley challenged Vice President Al Gore Monday night to demand the administration issue an immediate order banning racial profiling, but Gore shot back in campaign debate, "I don't think President Bill Clinton needs a lecture from Sen. Bill Bradley" on standing up for blacks and Hispanics.

In their sixth and final debate before next Monday's kickoff Iowa caucuses, the two Democratic presidential hopefuls agreed the Confederate flag should come down from atop the South Carolina statehouse.

Gore went one step further, saying "it's only the Republican candidates for president" who disagree because they are "so scared of the extreme right wing."

Both men said the father of Elian Gonzalez, a 6-year-old Cuban boy at the center of an international dispute, should come to the United States to press his claim for custody.

A number of racially sensitive issues came up in the hour-long televised debate on the federal holiday honoring the late Martin Luther King, Jr., a "Black-Brown Forum" that both men hoped to use to appeal to voters in other states with a larger minority population than Iowa. MSNBC carried the event live.

The issues ranged from racially insensitive comments made by Atlanta Braves baseball player John Rocker, to the controversial New York minister, Al Sharpton.

Gore is the national front-runner by far in the public opinion polls, and also is hoping for a clear triumph over Bradley in Iowa next week. Bradley leads in most polls in New Hampshire, which holds the first primary eight days after Iowa's caucuses.

Perched on stools on a debate stage in Iowa's capital city, both men said firmly they oppose racial profiling, the practice by which some police offers target racial minorities for traffic stops.

"We all know what driving while black is," said Bradley, who has made race relations a cornerstone of his career in public life. "It is breathing while black."

When Gore said he would issue an executive order banning the practice, Bradley served him a challenge.

"We have a president now," he said. "You serve with him. I want you to walk into his office and say, `Sign this executive order today."'

His remarks were greeted with applause, but Gore had a ready reply.

"I don't think President Bill Clinton needs a lecture from Bill Bradley about how to fight for African Americans" and Latinos, he said.

"It's one thing to talk the talk. It's another thing to walk the walk," Gore said, to scattered boos from the audience. Gore also added that the mayor of Newark, Sharpe James, "asked for help on the policy of racial profiling when you were in the Senate" representing New Jersey.

"He's here today, and he's supporting me because President Clinton and I have helped him with racial profiling," Gore the vice president added.

Gore sidestepped a question of whether he would appoint a Hispanic to the Supreme Court, and to list some possible contenders for the seat. He jokingly asked his questioner whether he possessed a law degree, then said he would make appointments that reflect "the diversity of the country."

Bradley said, "I could never appoint someone who would turn the clock back on civil rights."

The proceedings were disrupted briefly by a young woman who stood at her seat in the audience to pose a question about global warming. As security guards moved to silence her, the moderator, Tavis Smiley of Black Entertainment Television, quipped, "I get my 15 minutes (of fame) and this is what happens to me."

The Confederate flag has surfaced as an issue among Republican presidential contenders, who are competing in a South Carolina primary on Feb. 19. The leading GOP hopefuls, Texas Gov. George W. Bush and Arizona Sen. John McCain, have refused to take a stand on the issue, saying it is up to the residents of South Carolina to decide whether the flag should fly atop their statehouse.

While both Gore and Bradley said they believe the flag should come down, the vice president also noted that some people view the flag favorably. "We have to try to bring them into a shared understanding of why, as a symbol, it is so hurtful," he said. Gore also told his questioner he would not agree to participate in an NAACP boycott of South Carolina, because "I don't think a president of the United States should ever boycott an individual state."

Bradley said the flag "offends our common humanity and it is not the future of our country."

"It's only the Republican candidates for president who are so scared of the extreme right wing, that they will be tolerant of intolerance, less they offend the offensive. It ought to come down," Gore added.

Blacks account for a small minority of the vote in Iowa, but given the date and fact that a black state lawmaker organized the event, a "Black-Brown" forum, the two Democrats pledged support for continued efforts to support civil rights and combat racism.

Both men condemned the racist remarks made recently by Atlanta Braves pitcher John Rocker.

Bradley used a question on the issue to recount that as a professional basketball player three decades ago, part of his job on the New York Knicks was to take aside any white player "who didn't understand" the need to treat blacks respectfully.

The candidates were asked if they would agree to the Rev. Al Sharpton's request for a public meeting. Gore ducked, saying he had met with Sharpton in a larger group. Bradley said he had visited Sharpton's church in Harlem, though he added, "I don't agree with Al Sharpton on everything."

The moderators asked if it was unfair to minorities for the majority-white states of Iowa and New Hampshire to have such a disproportionate voice in the early primaries. Both said yes, and cited the more personal nature of campaigning in those small states.