The Democratic Debate

Disclaimer: The following information is what I have taken notes on while watching the debates on tv. Nothing I have written are complete direct quotes, but will give you the general idea of what went on during these debates. Please read on.

In my coverage of the debate, I will only be convering the statements made by who I see as the forerunners of this election, and the issues that I feel are the main issues for the 2008 election.

1) The first question of the night revolved around the Iraq war. Basically, all of the Democrats running are for pulling out of Iraq. But here are some of the responses from Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and John Edwards.

Clinton: Congress has voted as of today to end this war. She proposes to fund the troops and limit the number of days that the troops serve in the war. She also mentioned that she wants to start to pull the troops out of Iraq, and to make the Iraqi government take on the sacrifices to get their own government to work. She also has taken responsibility of her own previous vote for the war, and that we should not concentrate on the past, but rather, “what do we do now.”

Obama: Obama feels that all of the troops need to have the proper equipment in order to perform at their best. He mentioned the American people and how “we” have said that it is time to end this war. He referred to a plan he created back in January that would begin to withdraw troops from Iraq, and there will be benchmarks that will need to be met, to slowly pull out of Iraq.

Edwards: Edwards believes that we need to regain our respect around the world, and in order to accomplish this, he feels we need to be a model. From his statements, it seems as if he feels that we have lost a lot of respect by starting this war with Iraq, and that in order to regain it, we will need to put an end to this war.

2) Abortion. Last week, the Supreme Court made a ruling to pass the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act. Due to time constraints, Hillary Clinton was not asked her opinion on this issue.

Obama: He thinks that most Americans realize that abortion is a difficult decision, and that we need to trust women to make their right decision for themselves with their doctors, and religious leaders. He feels that we should not be concentrating on what we as Americans should not discuss what we do not agree on (abortion) and that we should start talking about things we do agree on. And one of those issues is to try to lower the teen pregnancy rate.

Edwards: Believes in a women’s right to choose, and also thinks it is important for candidates to realize this is a difficult issue and that they should respect that.

3) In the aftermath of the Virginia Tech shootings, the issue of gun control is pushing towards the foreground of these elections. Hillary Clinton was asked if the Government failed the students at VT.

Clinton: “Yes.” Hillary feels that the government did fail the students at VT. She spoke of her memories of Columbine, and how after, the Clinton administration realized that they needed to get guns out of the hands of the wrong people and to limit the access to people who should not have guns. There needs to be a harsher background check and after the VT shootings, it is apparent that our current system does not work.

My own thought: What worries me is the fact that even the democratic candidates do not want to go against the 2nd amendment. I realize that being able to own a gun is supposed to be one of our rights as an American, but look at what owning guns has done recently. How can we determine one person is more sane than another. How do we know if someone who has not been committed to a mental institution, will not harm someone else. Were those kids from the Columbine shootings ever committed to a mental institution?

4) The last issue I will cover is Health-care. Universal Health-care has been a hot phrase among the Democratic candidates. All of them have been forced to come up with their own plans, which all remind me of Hillary Clinton’s plan (please refer to my last blog covering Hillary’s health-care).

Obama: He mentioned 3 steps that I was able to write down in my coverage. 1) that there will be a national pool that people can buy into similar to the way the health-care system is set up for federal employees. 2) The government will subsidize for those who cannot afford health insurance. 3) He will make sure that we will lower the cost of health-care, and provide preventative care. (All very similar to Hillary Clinton’s plan.)

Edwards: He wants to provide health-care with taxes. One of the things he will do, will be to take away the tax cuts for people who make 200 grand or more. He will also require the employer to cover all employees. He will also ban the pre-existing conditions rule that many insurance companies have. That is, if you have a pre existing condition, the new insurance you are on, will not cover that.

Final thoughts: I will have to admit, I have really been focusing all of my attention to Hillary Clinton during my coverage. Since I am the most familiar with her campaign and where she stands on most issues, I was not sure how the other candidates would compare. Barack Obama does have some clear cut ideas for some of the issues, but I do feel that he might be lacking on direct plans. I like how he is always referencing the American people. I believe he can possibly tie us all together. We have been split apart by this Bush Administration, and I believe that we do need to start to stand together. It would be beneficial for America to have a president that can bring us together, instead of pull us apart. I have to go out on a limb here, but I think that Barack Obama does have that quality. I also want to say that Dennis Kucinich, an Ohio Congressmen in the U.S House of Representatives, made some very valid points. I think he could be a good president, but he is standing in the shadows of Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and John Edwards. I am not sure what he would have to do to get noticed. I will end with a statement made by Kucinich “This is not American Idol, we are voting for a President.” Well said Kucinich. Well said.

Who Wants to Be A President?

For those of you who have always aspired to run for President but held back because you didn’t have the $1 million to get started, today may be your lucky day. Reality TV producer Mark Burnett and MySpace.com are teaming up to launch the political reality TV show Independent. The show will follow around presidential hopefuls as they interact with the public and the My Space community, with the winner getting $1 million that must be used to finance a presidential run or donated to a political cause. I know some people might think it’s a bad idea to give the MySpace generation so much potential power in a presidential election. But not only do I think this is a great way to get young adults involved in politics, but I hope that at least in some small way this will level the presidential playing field just a little bit. The show, which is currently without a network, is expected to launch in early 2008. More information can be found here and here.

Rudy Giuliani pulls a Dick Cheney; Obama Responds

No, I am not implying that Rudy Guiliani shot somebody in the face. But I am referring to a remark that America’s mayor made to a New Hampshire crowd yesterday, where he said, more or less, that if a Democratic candidate is elected President in 2008, the United States will be at a greater risk of a terrorist attack.

Barack Obama has responded, saying in a statement that, “Rudy Giuliani today has taken the politics of fear to a new low and I believe Americans are ready to reject those kind of politics.”

Some of you may remember a similar tactic used by Dick Cheney in 2004, who said that, “If we make the wrong choice, then the danger is that we’ll get hit again — that we’ll be hit in a way that will be devastating from the standpoint of the United States.”

It’s not the remarks themselves that bother me, though I am against the use of scare tactics for purely political reasons (which I think is the case here, and I do expect better from Giuliani). I just don’t think there’s any logic that supports the argument that Giuliani (or Cheney) made.

An Inconvenient Candidate?

 

I don’t like to spread rumors (okay, well maybe I do a little bit), but is Al Gore seriously considering running for President in 2008? “Friends of Al Gore have secretly started assembling a campaign team in preparation for the former American vice-president to make a fresh bid for the White House.” It doesn’t look like he’d do so bad….In nationwide Democratic candidate polls, Al Gore consistently places 3rd, behind Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack O’Bama. All that can really be said is that Mr. Gore has not definitively declared that he will not run, leaving open the possibility if he wants to get in.

I’m not sure if Gore would be able to take his passionate, outspoken, academy-award winning position on climate change and turn it into a national election campaign strategy, but he certainly has a lot of support. Perhaps another Clinton/Gore ticket is underway….

Bros Before Hoes

I’m sorry, this was too funny not to share. I found this T-Shirt this weekend searching on T-Shirt Hell, and just had to share. You can order your own shirt here.

And if you have seen the Stewart/Colbert T-Shirts and wondered where you could get your own shirt, stop by Buster Tees. Or check it out here.

John Edwards’s Hair… Worth $400.00??

Now, you may be wondering why I am posting a blog about John Edwards and his hair. First of all, have you ever noticed that no matter where John Edwards is or no matter what he is doing, his hair is always the same? Well, I have. His hair is always perfect, shinny, and neat, but I guess when you pay $400.00 for each trim, it better look that good. Yeah, that’s right $400.00 bucks a cut! Now this is one of those stories that no candidate wants out there. It runs about as counter to the working-class. Worse for Edwards, his campaign picked up the bill for two of the $400 Beverly Hills stylings. Hey, you’re rich like Edwards (or any other current candidate for president) and you want to blow a bunch of money on a facial or a pedicure, go for it! But what Edwards supporter is going to be happy to learn that the the tab for his hair cut just come straight out of campaign donations?

One reason the cost of the cut was so steep even by Beverly Hills standards is that Torrenueva (Edwards’s barber) went to Edwards rather than the candidate coming into the stylist’s salon…

Don’t get me wrong, I like John Edwards quite a bit as a candidate, but I have a suggestion on the hair matter. Go to a corner barbershop in Iowa or New Hampshire the next time you need a trim.

Update: Who ever let this video out is going to be in big trouble… hahaha .. this is great!

VA Tech Tradegy – Candidates Respond, Will it Change the Campaign?

Unfortunately Monday, April 16th this country watched as one a national tragedy unfolded in front of our eyes as young students and teachers were taken hostage in what should have been a safe environment – their college campus. The day ended with many unanswered question – why? how? and who?

As with any news on a national scale, the 2008 candidates used their blogs and other methods to send out their statements and thoughts on this sad day in American history. The AP has a nice round-up here. Probably the most disturbing sediments came from McCain who said he didn’t know the details of the attacks before firmly standing behind the Second Amendment stating that every American deserves the right to bare arms.

Most of the other public comments talk of the bigger picture sending their thoughts and concerns for the families of those lost.

CNN asks the next question – will gun control become a topic now for the 2008 election?

Bill Schneider provides some excellent insight into the issue, stating that gun control has not been an issue in this country in more than 12 years, and the last gun control issue passed was in 1994!

He also states that less than 50% of the American population is for stricker gun laws in a study from January 2007, the lowest number since 1990. But Bill also points out that gun pros vote as opposed to those in favor of gun control:

“But public anger is not usually sustained very long, whereas gun owners remember every gun control vote as a threat to their rights. Gun owners vote the issue. Supporters of gun control typically don’t. So politicians believe they will pay a price at the polls if they support new guns laws, even when most voters agree with them. When it comes to public opinion, intensity matters. Not just numbers.”

As a firm believer in stronger gun control in this country, I do hope that this becomes a larger issue in the next election. But Bill brings up some good points that this will probably take a back seat to the Iraq War, Foreign Policies and Health Care.

Senator Kerry for President 2008/2012…?

Do you remember back in January, when Senator John Kerry said that he would not run for President? Well, even though he said he wasn’t going to… he lied….

Hillary Clinton and Universal Health Care

http://www.hillaryclinton.com/video/20.aspx

In the above link, Hillary Clinton discusses her plan to achieve universal health care at a forum sponsored by SEIU and the Center for American Progress.

 

The Democratic Party stands united on this issue that there needs to be Universal Healthcare.  This is emerging as the number one issue for the 2008 Election.

 

Here were the main points made by Hillary Clinton on Universal Healthcare:

 

1)      She is in favor of Universal healthcare that rings in the 47 million who are uninsured.

2)      She wants to begin by guaranteeing coverage to people who already have insurance.  A lot of people think they have insurance until they need it because of pre-existing conditions.

3)      She wants to end insurance discrimination during while in the Senate.  Insurance discrimination is when people who have pre-existing conditions, are not covered under new insurance plans.  This can be very costly, and Hillary is determined to end this. 

4)      She wants the government to make better use of the money in the system.  We already spend more money than anyone in the world.  She wants to improve quality and control costs.

5)      We have to modernize and reform the way we deliver healthcare, and we have to change the way we finance healthcare.  To do that, we will have to take money away from people who make out well now.

 

Questions that arose after Hillary’s speech:

 

Who will we take money away from? 

      Insurance companies make money by spending a lot of money, to try to avoid paying for the healthcare.  She wants to change so that the insurance will cover preventative care which will in change, cost less money.

How will we acheive universal coverage?

      Every employer will provide insurance or pay into a pool that will provide money for their employees.  Massachusetts and California both have implemented Universal healthcare, which is achieved by having an individual mandate.  This individual mandate means that the individual is responsible for attaining their own health care policy. 

There are two other methods that we can draw from to acheive universal healthcare which are:  Medicare, which is for people over 65, and The Federal Employees Health Benefit Plan, which has a sharing pool, with a lot of different choices. 

Hillary stated that there can be a back up government complement approach, like the Federal Employees Health Benefit plan, along with requiring the employer to provide coverage. 

How are we going to aid low income families, who live on a fixed income, and have health insurance, but still spend a lot of money out of pocket, which they don’t have?  So how can we fix this?

 

1)      End insurance discrimination, and make it clear that the health insurance will have restrictions.

2)      Move us towards electronic medical records.  People in Healthcare spend so much time writing the records, and trying to read records.  There is a paper system in the healthcare field.  Because we rely on paper, we are wasting money.  We can save 100 billion dollars a year if we can move to electronic medical records. 

Where does the upfront money come from?

 

      We will need approximately 200 million dollars to change to Electronic Medical records.  We need to emphasize wellness and prevention, rather than waiting for a problem to happen.  How can we save money over the long run?  It will cost money upfront, so we can fix the system to serve people better. 

Obama is second to back out of Fox News Debate (and Clinton is 3rd)

Barack Obama announced today that he will not be attending the Fox News Debate scheduled to be held on September 23 in Detroit. Obama is the second candidate to boycott the event, John Edwards was the first to announce he would not be partaking in the event.

Interestingly, Obama’s camp did not include any comment on his official blog, but instead linked to the above ABC News article. Obama has had problems with the network since the beginning of the year, when they made untrue allegations that Barack “had attended an extremist Islamist madrassa as a child living in Indonesia.”

“‘CNN seems to be a more appropriate host,’ an Obama campaign aide tells ABC News.”

Hillary Clinton has also decided to not participate. What will this mean for the debate?  Will the rest of the Dems decide to participate without the top three contenders or will they also resign?