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Democratic presidential hopefuls John Kerry, Carol Mosely Braun and Howard Dean talk Thursday at

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Howard Dean dons a UCLA hockey jersey presented to him at a rally Thursday.

Five of the nine Democrats hoping to make a run at the presidency in 2004 stopped over at UCLA Thursday evening to skewer the Bush administration on everything from the environment to war in what became a roasting of the president.

The attendees included U.S. Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., and Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., former U.S. Sen. Carol Mosely Braun, D-Ill., former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean and civil rights activist Rev. Al Sharpton.

Two days later, President Bush made a campaign fundraising stop in Century City on Saturday, where he addressed increased numbers of U.S. casualties in Iraq and raised more than $5 million. With this addition, Bush’s campaign war chest is on pace to becoming the largest in U.S. history, far outpacing the Democrats’ combined funds.

The UCLA event was intended to serve as a forum for candidates to express their views on environmental problems facing the nation.

“This debate does not start or end tonight,” Deb Callahan, president of the League of Conservation Voters, one of the sponsors of the forum, said to a capacity crowd in the Ackerman Grand Ballroom.

“It will span the next 17 months of the presidential campaign and frankly through the rest of our lives,” she added.

A panel of journalists asked the candidates questions not just on staple environmental concerns such as global warming and automobile emissions, but also on issues like international development and pollution’s effect on minority communities.

The Democratic hopefuls were unanimous in their call for reduced pollution and the enforcement of environmental justice. They strongly condemned the Bush administration for withdrawing from the Kyoto Protocol – an international treaty calling for countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.

Dean, who drew the most applause from the audience during introductions, said as president he would “force change through regulation” by monitoring and punishing polluters. As proof of his capabilities, Dean also pointed to environmental reforms he enacted as governor of Vermont – such as the reduction of lead paint in homes and mercury in water.

Kerry said researchers can “push the curb of discovery” and develop alternative means of fuel and transportation without making significant changes to the American lifestyle.

“I believe the sacrifices that are needed are sacrifices of bad habits and selfishness. But we do not need to ask Americans to sacrifice their quality of life,” he said.

The candidates also expressed outrage over allegations that the Bush administration doctored a recent Environmental Protection Agency report, a tactic Lieberman said was worthy of the regime in the former Soviet Union.

All the candidates also found ways to verbally assault Bush on a wide range of issues besides the environment – including foreign policy, the economy and the administration’s integrity.

“It’s so oily in Washington that it is downright greasy,” said Sharpton, referring to the administration’s alleged “conflicts of interest.” “We need to make the case to the American people to get the greasy people out of Washington.”

Sharpton, Dean and Kerry all said they would make the reduction of U.S. dependence on foreign oil a top priority, a dependence Dean likened to “a hostage situation.”

Although the largely Democratic crowd was very receptive to the would-be presidential candidates, it has yet to be seen how big a role the environment will play in an election year most likely dominated by national security and the economy.

Second-year biochemistry student Maya Remington, and fourth-year English student Laurel Turbin, both said the forum provided good information on each candidate but that, in the end, their position on the environment might not matter so much.