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WASHINGTON - Senate Democrats said Tuesday that Condoleezza Rice (news - web sites) lied to them, misled Americans about the Iraq (news - web sites) war or served as an apologist for Bush administration failures in Iraq, but she remained on track for confirmation as secretary of state.

Rice, who has been President Bush (news - web sites)'s national security adviser for four years, was one of the loudest voices urging war, Democrats said. She repeatedly deceived members of Congress and Americans at large about justifications for the war, said Sen. Mark Dayton (news, bio, voting record), D-Minn.

"I don't like impugning anyone's integrity, but I really don't like being lied to," Dayton said in opposing Rice's nomination on the Senate floor. "Repeatedly, flagrantly, intentionally."

Rice is expected to win confirmation on Wednesday. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., predicted that Rice would have "an overwhelming majority" of votes.

Sen. Richard Lugar (news, bio, voting record), R-Ind., cautioned against "inflammatory rhetoric that is designed merely to create partisan advantage or to settle partisan scores."

Rice would succeed Colin Powell, who often found himself on the outside looking in with Bush's close circle of war and national security advisers.

By contrast, Rice is a trusted Bush loyalist. As a principal architect of the Iraq invasion and the administration's war on terrorism, she shares blame for overstating the threat posed by Saddam Hussein (news - web sites), Democrats said.

Dayton accused Rice and other Bush administration officials of "lying to Congress, lying to our committees, lying to the American people."

Politicians rarely use the word "lie," preferring some of the milder terms other Democrats used Tuesday.

"There was no reason to go to war in Iraq when we did, the way we did and for the false reasons we were given," said Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass.

Rice is not directly responsible for intelligence failures prior to the Iraq war that overestimated Saddam's nuclear capability, said Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich. "But she is responsible for her own distortions and exaggerations of the intelligence which was provided to her," Levin said.

"Dr. Rice is responsible for some of the most overblown rhetoric that the administration used to scare the American people," Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., said.

The Senate set aside most of the day Tuesday to debate the Rice nomination after Democrats revolted against a plan to confirm Rice last week, on the same day that Bush took his oath for a second term.

"We should have been done last week," Frist said. "I was disappointed that we are having to march through the debate today. But ultimately the vote will occur."

Republicans who took the floor to endorse Rice included Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., who has been a sometime critic of the Bush administration's Iraq policies.

"Dr. Rice has the intelligence, the integrity and the experience for this job. She has the president's confidence," Hagel said.

In his dealings with Rice, "she's always been candid and honest, and she listened," Hagel said.

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee on Tuesday sought to capitalize on sharp questioning of Rice during her confirmation hearings. The DSCC sent a fund-raising e-mail signed by Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., with the subject line "Taking a Stand."

"I will continue to make my voice heard on the Senate Foreign Relations committee, but in order to put the brakes on four more years of misdirection in Iraq and reckless policies at home, we need to elect more Democrats to the Senate during the 2006 midterm elections," Boxer wrote, noting her questioning of Rice. "Click here to contribute to the DSCC today."

"This disturbing letter puts to rest any doubts some may have had that this is all about politics," Rice spokesman Jim Wilkinson said.

Meanwhile, the Republican National Committee sent an e-mail to its supporters with the subject line "Meet the New Face of the Democratic Party." It portrayed Boxer as having a "left of liberal" voting record and being closely tied to the Hollywood elite. The e-mail included a link for supporters to "support the Bush agenda by becoming a team leader today."

Democrats, in the minority in Congress, often resort to delaying what they cannot defeat.

Byrd, the longest-serving Democratic senator and a student of the Constitution, insisted that his party is merely doing its duty.

"I am particularly dismayed by criticism I have read that Senate Democrats by insisting on having the opportunity to debate this nomination have somehow been engaged in nothing more substantial than petty politics or partisan delaying tactics," Byrd said, his voice rising in anger.