Senate hopefuls turn up volume

One notable moment came when Stephen G. Pagliuca, a co-owner of the Boston Celtics, voiced support for reinstituting a military draft, a striking comment for a Democratic primary candidate and one that he sought to clarify shortly after the morning debate, hosted and broadcast by WTKK-FM.

“I would support a military draft because I think it talks about equality,’’ he said, after which the three other candidates said they would not support a draft.

About two hours later, Pagliuca sent out a statement saying he had misunderstood the question.

“I incorrectly interpreted the question to be asking if I would support a mandatory draft in the event we needed additional troops, and my answer was yes,’’ he said in the statement. “I now realize that was not the question posed to me, and I want to be clear that I do not support reinstating the military draft at this time.’’

Attorney General Martha Coakley, the perceived front-runner in the Dec. 8 primary, spent the hour fending off attacks from her rivals, including criticism that she should have sought higher settlements and individual fraud charges as part of Big Dig legal charges.

But she avoided making any comments that stood out and at times sidestepped queries about her views.

At one point, she resisted saying whether she, as a Massachusetts resident, had any feeling about $9 million in federal stimulus money being spent on a footbridge at privately owned Gillette Stadium in Foxborough.

“So your position is you don’t have a position?’’ said Jim Braude, who moderated the debate with cohost Margery Eagan.

“It’s a question for the governor,’’ Coakley said, before suggesting she might support the project if it creates jobs.

Two candidates also announced noteworthy endorsements yesterday from well-known politicians, an indication that the field is starting to gain national attention with less than four weeks to go before Massachusetts voters head to the polls.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York, a Medford native, is endorsing City Year cofounder Alan Khazei. Bloomberg, who had already maxed out on personal donations to Khazei, plans to host a fund-raiser next Thursday at his private residence in Manhattan.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is set to endorse US Representative Michael E. Capuano, a coup for any challenger to Coakley, who is seeking to become the first female US senator from Massachusetts.

Pelosi, the first woman to serve as speaker of the House, will announce her support for Capuano at a downtown hotel today. The endorsement provides a key boost to Capuano after Coakley criticized a national health care plan that Capuano voted for and Pelosi helped engineer.

“Mike Capuano not only cast a courageous vote for this historic legislation, but was a constructive force in improving this bill and moving it to the Senate,’’ Pelosi said in a statement.

Capuano and Coakley squabbled earlier this week over whether the health care bill should be passed even though it currently contains a provision that would restrict federally funded coverage of abortions. Capuano said he had to vote for legislation over the weekend that included the abortion restriction in order to keep health care legislation alive, while Coakley said she would vote against such a measure unless the abortion component is removed. Ultimately, Capuano said he would vote against a final package if that amendment remains a part of the legislation.

The two candidates continued debating the point yesterday, even as Capuano acknowledged that he and Coakley are now on the same page: Both want the abortion provision removed and would vote against the final health care bill if it remains.

During yesterday’s hourlong debate, only the second live broadcast debate of the primary, the broad contours of the race remained unchanged, with Capuano arguing that he has the Washington experience (“I’ve actually done it’’), Pagliuca highlighting his business background (“This election is about jobs’’), Khazei running as an outsider (“I started my career in Mission Hill, not Beacon Hill or Capitol Hill’’), and Coakley running on her “strong’’ state record.

Perhaps the biggest dispute was over congressional earmarks.

“My earmarks are all on my website,’’ Capuano said. “I’m very proud of them, if you want the truth.’’

“This whole thing is out of control, OK?’’ Khazei said. “These things should be put to an up-or-down vote. It’s a pay-for-play system in Washington.’’

At one point, Capuano and Khazei began to speak over one other until Braude said, “Gentlemen! Hold it, please!’’

“This is the problem with Washington!’’ Pagliuca said later.

“You don’t understand the process!’’ Capuano responded.

“Pork hardens your arteries,’’ Pagliuca said several minutes later. “It doesn’t create long-term jobs.’’

Pagliuca kept the conversation at the dinner table, comparing new jobs to steak. At that point Coakley quipped, “What about vegetarians?’’

When asked about whether they would vote to raise taxes, Pagliuca drew a line at people earning less than $200,000, while Coakley put her limit at $250,000. Capuano did not give a hard figure, and Khazei questioned the question.

“These no-tax pledges are silly,’’ Khazei said.

The candidates also differed on their support for charter schools. Coakley and Capuano said they would not support additional charter schools in Massachusetts without ensuring that they did not suck more money away from public schools. Khazei and Pagliuca said they want to see more such schools.

In the end, all the candidates but Coakley called for more debates. Khazei used almost his entire closing remarks to challenge her to do more.

“I want to ask Martha now, will you agree to four televised debates?’’ Khazei said. “You’re a good debater; it’s very clear. If you aren’t willing to debate us, your Democratic progressive colleagues, how are you going to take on [Senate Republican leader] Mitch McConnell and the Republicans? Politics as usual says, ‘I’m the front-runner, run out the clock.’ ’’

Coakley largely ignored the challenge, saying, “We’ve had a number of debates, but I’m not going to use my minute on that.’’

Matt Viser can be reached at maviser@globe.com.