Democratic Forum Liveblogging – Part I
21 February 2007 1:32 pm by Taylor Marsh
Democratic Forum Liveblogging – Part I
Coverage sponsored by AFSCME
Liveblogging, so it\’s warts and typos and all…
The candidates are all on stage… except for Richardson. He\’s late. Evidently,
that\’s normal for him.
Barbara Buckley is doing the intros, including Senator Harry Reid.
I introduced myself to Jon Ralston right before the forum began. He doesn\’t
seem to have a lap top with him and sat in the bleachers by the wall, away from
all the new media people, even those of newspapers who were hooked up.
George Stephanopoulos is up now, sitting at a small table, with chairs. It\’s
very kitchen table.
Chris Dodd is up first. His opening statement\’s bottom line: enough of the
\”on the job training.\” It\’s time for experience in the White House.
Straight out of the gate, George Stephanopoulos says Ne-vah-da, then
gets heckled. As an aside, I just want to say that \”This Week\” is
often preempted in many places in Nevada. No doubt, George wants to make \”This
Week\” a Sunday staple. It won\’t happen by talking saying Ne-vah-da.
That\’s okay, George, I do it all the time.
Questions from the audience, with the 2nd one about Iraq. Yes, my vote was
a mistake, said Dodd. There are two things politicians hate to say: \”I
made a mistake and I don\’t know.\” As for redeploying in Iraq, \”How
much more chaos can we create in Baghdad?\”
\”I\’m probably the only candidate here that gets mail from AARP and
diaper services.\” – Chris Dodd
Dodd also made a point of saying that the Senate spent the last few weeks debating
whether they should debate on Iraq. Glad somebody said it.
Next up, Hillary Clinton. Her opening statement was straight at the union audience,
talking about universal healthcare, as well as the right to collective bargaining.
She then talked about government contractors and the \”privatization\”
of the federal government, promising to cut those private contracts by 500,000
when she takes office.
Then Steph turned to Iraq. Hillary added a new word to her Iraq points. Her
vote in 2002 was \”a sincere vote\” and she takes responsibility for
her vote. She then went on to describe the problems in Iraq. She then talked
again about cutting Iraqi funds for their military as being the way to go, putting
as much pressure on the Iraqis as possible.
\”I want to have universal health care coverage by the end of my
second term.\” – Hillary Clinton
Steph also asked about the Obama – Geffen – Clinton scuffle. She talked about
running a positive campaign. To add, her campaign has put out several statements
already. But Hillary didn\’t miss a beat, making sure she said she was \”proud
to be here in Carson City.\” Glad to be talking to the people here today.
It was an obvious dig at Obama skipping the debate.
Vilsack was next. It was all about Iraq for him, especially since he\’s been
a governor and knows what the National Guard goes through. Health care was one
of the questions and Vilsack talked about \”wellness\” and \”curing
the curable diseases.\” His closer also reminded the audience that he started
out in an orphanage. A remarkable story.
Next was John Edwards.
It is time to end george bush\’s war. It is not a time for political calculation.\”
– John Edwards
| Edwards in the media room after talking with Stephanopoulos. |
Edwards\’s opening statement dealt with the middle class and the importance
of unions and all he\’s done to help move this issue forward. Clinton\’s opener
went long. Edwards was even longer and he wasn\’t going to be deterred. He referred
to his \”brothers and sisters,\” which was directed at the unions he
feels are his kin. He also said that he wouldn\’t wait for 6 years to get universal
health care. He\’d start the day of his inauguration to get it done, purposefully
contrasting himself with Clinton.
When he got to Iraq, it is not editorializing to say that he was directing
some of his remarks directly to Clinton. He referred to the importance of a
canidate to be different than George W. Bush, because he couldn\’t admit a mistake.
A president that can be open and honest is important, but Edwards made it clear
that he felt that Iraq needs more than a \”political calculation\” for
a president. He closed by saying \”thank you\” to the unions, especially
for health care, which his own family benefited from.
The reason I missed Richardson was because Edwards took the time to go into
the media room and answer a lot of questions, starting off with Iraq.
What about poverty and gambling, was another question. Edwards was flat out
honest, saying he hadn\’t thought about it, but he would after the question and
thanked the reporter for asking it.
The last question came at the same time someone came to tell him time was up.
What do you think about legalized prostitution in Nevada?
Edwards laughed and said, \”That\’s a good question to leave on.\” Then
laughing and leaving the room Edwards added with a laugh, \”I can\’t believe
you asked that question.\” Chuckling as he walked out the door.
One editorial comment at this point. Clinton didn\’t bother to go into the media
room and field questions. Edwards and others did. But watching Edwards, all
you can come away with is that he\’s The Natural. Whether you like him or not,
like his politics or not, there is a breath of fresh air about him. It\’s unmistakable.
Richardson was next and I missed quite a bit of it.
\”We should not be known for Abu Ghraib.\” – Bill Richardson
Richardson arrived about 1:00 p.m., according to a reporter in the media room.
He talked about \”worker protections\” and \”environmental protections\”
in our trade agreements, which he believes should be fair trade, not just free
trade, which includes dealing with \”wage disparity.\”
Richardson closed by talking about the world and Darfur, but made a point of saying we need to talk to our enemies, too.
