Democratic Debate (January 15)

Democratic Debate Live-Blogging

Mahalo Live-Blogging

  • 8:00 pm: Debate concludes.
  • 7:56 pm: Viewer question: Tell us when you made the decision to run for President.
    • Clinton made the decision over New Years' last year because she believes there must be solutions for the problems facing our country. She wants to be a problem-solver.
    • Edwards made the decision with his family last December. Decided this was the cause of his life, defending the poor, and that this is what he wanted to spend his time doing.
    • Obama decided in December '06 while on vacation with his wife and kids. Wondered whether his family could manage the stress of a presidential run, but the most important question, he said, was whether he should be president. Could he offer this country something no one else could? He concluded he could bring the country together.
    • Edwards believes it was appropriate because he had met Musharraf years ago. He claims to have said things to Musharraf that were "tough," including urging him to continue the march towards democratization and demanding that he allow in foreign investigators.
  • 7:52 pm: Russert asks Clinton if she is implying that Al Qaeda would purposefully test an Obama administration and not her administration.
    • Clinton denies that this is what she's saying. She confirms, however, that she believes British Prime Minister Gordon Brown was tested in this way. She differentiates between realism and using terrorism to create fear for political gain.
  • 7:47 pm: Williams asks Clinton about Karl Rove playing what she had called "the fear card." Then asks about a quote in which she implied Al Qaeda pays close attention to American politics. Does she feel she'd be better at preventing terrorism than Obama?
    • Clinton: "The fact is that we face a very dangerous adversary and to brush that aside is a mistake." The next president has to be prepared to fight "a relentless enemy." Says that she doesn't feel they've discussed Homeland Security enough in the campaign - calls defending the country the president's highest priority.
    • Obama feels that "we have been dominated by a politics of fear since 9/11." Calls the attack a trauma to the country and commends Clinton's work helping New York recover. He condemns her use of terrorism to score political points against opponents and does not want to perpetuate such a discussion. Wants to be honest with Americans about how he will implement the 9/11 Commission findings, about the hunt for Osama bin Laden and about getting out of Iraq.
  • 7:44 pm: Third and final break.
  • 7:40 pm: Brings up gun control issue and Michael Bloomberg's Mayors Against Guns campaign. Asks Clinton whether she will try to aggressively implement a gun control plan.
    • Clinton: "I am against illegal guns...I am also a political realist." Doesn't want the federal government pre-empting plans in states and communities. She wants a national registry of felons and those who have been in institutions. "We do need to crack down on illegal gun dealers" and enforce the laws we already have. Wants to reinstate assault weapons ban. She favors the Second Amendment.
    • Obama does not think we could register guns and gun owners on a federal level as president. He supports what he calls "common sense enforcement." Wants to prosecute unscrupulous gun dealers, a plan he claims has been blocked by the NRA. Supports tradition of lawful gun ownership.
    • Edwards is supportive of Second Amendment rights, but favors an assault weapons ban. "We do need a president who understands sportsmen and hunters..."
  • 7:35 pm: Another viewer question, from debate sponsor "The 100 Black Men." Why does Obama feel that so many black men exit the educational system and what would he do about it?
    • Obama: "Children of a very early age are starting school already behind." Wants to put money in early childhood education, particularly amongst the poor. Every dollar spent on childhood education lowers dropout rates and improves reading scores. Wants to ensure that No Child Left Behind is not punitive. "We have good answers for how to make these schools work. What we don't have is a sense of urgency on the subject in the White House." He says parents, particularly African-American fathers, need to be more involved with educating and caring for children.
    • Clinton commends Obama for taking on the full range of the discussion. "This has to start in the families." Wants to give parents more tools to educate their children.
    • Edwards agrees with Obama that we need universal pre-school. Also wants to create second-chance schools for older people who have dropped out.
  • 7:33 pm: Russert asks Clinton about a statement by one of her staffers about Hispanics not wanting to vote for a black candidate.
    • Clinton: "This is a black-brown debate and we haven't talked a lot about black-brown issues." There is a lot she feels these communities could solve together. "We need to have a political system where people feel like they can vote for anybody because we're all on the same page."
    • Obama says that, in Illinois, Latino voters voted for him and earns laughter and applause. "When Latino voters know of my commitment to them and the work I have done for years, they gravitate towards my candidacy." He wants to be both a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants.
  • 7:32 pm: Williams asks Edwards about requiring citizens to speak English.
    • Edwards: We need comprehensive immigration reform and a pathway to citizenship. He's not for amnesty but being able to earn American citizenship. He thinks some of these requirements should include enforcing immigration law (payment of a fine) and learning to speak English. He wants the government to help with the process of learning English.
  • 7:28 pm: Russert, offering a "reality check," argues that the world population will mean that wind power or solar power will be insufficient to meet energy needs.
    • Edwards: Nuclear power "is not the answer," but feels the solution goes well beyond wind and solar power. Agrees with Clinton and Obama that we must break the "iron grip that the gas and oil industry has on our energy policy." Argues Clinton takes more money from these companies than any other candidate. Wants to cap carbon emissions, 80% reduction in carbon emissions, make polluters pay for their pollution, use cellular space biofuels and a moratorium on coal-fired power plants.
    • Clinton's comprehensive plan does not rely on nuclear plants or coal. She wants projects to figure out how we would sequester carbon. "This should be our Apollo moon shot...A president needs to say 'We can do this, America.'"
    • Obama wants to cut consumption of energy. "This is an example of where ordinary citizens have to make a change."
  • 7:24 pm: Russert asks about 2005 energy bill expanding nuclear power plants.
    • Obama voted for the plan to invest in clean energy. He feels we must eliminate dependence on foreign oil. He wants to pursue all possible avenues to staving off climate change. He wants to create a "menu of energy options" and then decide the best route to follow.
    • Clinton says it was known far and wide that this was the Dick Cheney energy company-approved plan. "It was the wrong policy for America" because it strongly favored special interests. She wants to take the 2005 tax subsidies away from the oil and gas industries.
  • 7:20 pm: Williams brings up the notion of storing nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain. Is anyone willing to pledge to kill this notion?
    • Obama says he will end the Yucca Mountain plan because it is not based on sound science. He calls it a mistake and regrets that billions have already been spent on it. "Yucca was a misconceived project." He wants to get together experts and make decisions based on the best science.
    • Clinton voted against Yucca in 2001 and has been consistently against the proposal. Argues that Edwards formerly favored the plan and that Obama has taken donations from companies that support the proposal.
    • Obama: Opposes it even though his state has more nuclear materials to dispose of than any other.
    • Edwards opposes Yucca Mountain plans. He is against building more nuclear power plants because there is no plan to dispose of the waste, they are expensive and they are prime terrorist targets.
    • Clinton argues that Edwards voted for Yucca Mountain twice.
    • Edwards responds that these votes were based on shoddy science and forged documents. He has since found out more information and come around to opposing the plan.
  • 7:15 pm: Should top schools, such as Stanford, include ROTC programs?
    • Clinton is open to alternatives.
    • Obama agrees with Clinton that such programs should be enforced. He feels that rural, poor communities disproportionately carry the load and that this is not fair. A volunteer army maintains excellence and is sufficient if we deploy wisely. He has also established a National Service Plan paying for college in exchange for military or civilian service.
    • Edwards also said he would cut off funding to schools that don't have recruitment or ROTC programs. He also wants to do much more to care veterans, cutting down on homelessness, economic strain and mental and physical health problems. Wants a guaranteed stream of funding for the Veterans Administration.
    • Clinton: Discusses the trauma that has been suffered by veterans and her past actions to attempt to help these people with services they need.
  • 7:13 pm: Russert asks Clinton about the volunteer army. Does she think federal funding should be stripped from schools that don't offer space for recruitment or ROTC?
    • Clinton says she would enforce such a law (which is currently on the books already). She wants a new 21st century "G.I. Bill of Rights" and wants to make up for the negligence of the Bush administration as regards the military. She also wants to expand civilian national service.
  • 7:10 pm: Second break of the night.
  • 7:05 pm: Russert challenges candidates that they answered the question differently early in the campaign.
    • Obama says he will not have permanent bases there and will end the war "as we understand it." This will not mean the removal of all troops, which he cannot guarantee.
    • Clinton thinks they all three agree - we will scale back, but may still have a presence in the country. She also argues that George Bush is not the problem, but the entire Republican party. "They have an entirely different view than we do about what we need to have happening..."
    • Edwards: "It is dishonest to suggest that you're not going to have troops there to protect the embassy." The difference, he says, is that there will be no more combat missions or bases.
    • Obama challenges Edwards, but doesn't want to use his one question for another candidate. (Everyone laughs.) "Either you are willing to say that you will go after terrorist bases in Iraq...in which case there will be a combat aspect to that...or you're not." He wants to clarify.
    • Edwards: As long as there are combat troops in Iraq, it continues the occupation. "The occupation must end." He would keep a quick response team in Kuwait, which he says makes all the difference.
    • Obama calls this "a distinction without a difference."
  • 7:04 pm: Do the other candidates agree to withdraw troops by the end of '09?
    • Clinton agrees. So does Edwards. Edwards: "I will have all combat troops out in the first year that I am president of the United States."
  • 7:00 pm: Change of plan: Candidates will only ask one question. Clinton asks Obama to join her in pushing Bush to pass his plans for Iraq through Congress, rather than pledging to deal directly with the Iraqi government. Will he co-sponsor her legislation to reign in President Bush?
    • Obama: "We can work on this, Hillary. We have unity in the Democratic Party on this." He says he has a plan to get troops out by the end of 2009. Proposes to give Joint Chiefs a new mission: Start to phase out our involvement in Iraq.
  • 6:58 pm: Candidates were asked to prepare questions for one another. Edwards asks Clinton and Obama about fundraising from pharmaceutical and health insurance industries.
    • Obama, like Edwards, does not take money from lobbyists or PAC's. He refers to those who send him money as "small donors" who take a personal stake in his campaign. Obama: "I alone, of the candidates here, have taken away the power of lobbyists" with his law from earlier this year about transparency in terms of bundling donations. Wants a system to publicly finance campaigns.
  • 6:57 pm: Williams reminds candidates not to go over their allotted time.
  • 6:55 pm: Viewer question: Is Clinton aware of long-term effects on housing markets that would be caused by her plan to freeze interest rates?
    • Clinton argues that mortgage crisis will get more and more out of control, and the solution is to freeze interest rates to preserve balance. Says that freezing interest rates and home foreclosures is only one part of a larger economic plan. Wants to employ people in "green-collar jobs."
  • 6:52 pm: Viewer question: What safeguards would Obama put in place to protect people from the reversal of Bush tax cuts, adversely affecting their savings?
    • Obama wants to exempt middle class people from increases in capital gains tax and dividends. Argues that Warren Buffett, billionaire, admits to paying a lower tax rate than his secretary. This is why Obama stresses more taxes on capital gains and dividends that tend to go to the wealthy. Wants to close loopholes, which he feels will help the economy grow.
  • 6:48 pm: Same question to Clinton
    • Clinton: "Sure, I do." She notes that it never became law, and that she opposed the 2005 version of the bill. "We need urgently to have bankruptcy reform..." Discusses her plan to make mortgages more transparent; brings up Countrywide Bankruptcy. "The priorities and the values are absolutely wrong." Brings up the minority groups sponsoring the debate, and that these communities are "most victimized by these subprime mortgages." She feels a genuine sense of urgency on this issue.
    • Obama opposed both bills, calling them "bad ideas." They were pushed by credit card and mortgage companies, he argues, and put those institution's interests first. Agrees with Clinton that we have to amend predatory lending practices. "We need to change how politics is done in Washington.
  • 6:45 pm: Russert asks Edwards about voting for the Bankruptcy Bill in 2001. Does he regret the vote?
    • Edwards: "I absolutely do." Need universal health care, need a new energy policy, need a national law against predatory lending, need to raise the minimum wage to $9.50/hr, make it easier for kids to go to college. He wants to pay for tuition and books for all students who are willing to work.
  • 6:38 pm: Question for Clinton about Citigroup and Merrill Lynch seeking foreign investment. Does that strike her as fundamentally wrong?
    • Clinton says she is very concerned about it because "these are huge pools of money." Such funds are controlled by governmental entities and thus need to be much more transparent. Blames the problems on the Subprime Mortgage Crisis. Has a plan to freeze interest rates and solve the problem.
    • Edwards agrees with Clinton that we need more transparency. "The fundamental problem is what's happening to the core of the American economy." Too much economic growth occurs with the wealthiest Americans and biggest corporations; middle class doesn't feel financially secure.
    • Obama blames the lack of a coherent, realistic energy plan. Wants to reduce our dependence on foreign oil by exploring alternative fuels and setting strict emissions standards. Subprime mortgage mess occurred, he says, because the Bush administration does not believe in oversight.
  • 6:35 pm: First of three breaks in the two hour debate.
  • 6:33 pm: Williams asks Obama about some of the fraudulent information about him on the Internet. Discussion that he is secretly a Muslim is the focus. How does his campaign combat this kind of attack?
    • Obama: "I am a Christian. I have been sworn in with a Bible. I have led the Pledge of Allegiance in the U.S. Senate." Has been victimized by lies, but the American people are too smart to fall for these kinds of e-mails. Brings up climate change, universal health care and other economic issues as more important to Americans than Internet lies.
  • 6:30 pm: Obama given a chance to respond to Clinton.
    • Obama: You've got to be a good manager which is why you need to build a good team. Bush, Obama says, was very efficient. (This gets a laugh). "What he could not do is to listen to perspectives that didn't agree with his ideological predispositions."
  • 6:26 pm: What's your greatest strength and greatest weakness?
    • Obama: Bringing people together is his strength. His weakness is poor organization. He loses things.
    • Edwards: Greatest strength is the endurance to keep fighting for what he believes in his entire life. His weakness is a very powerful emotional response to perceived pain.
    • Clinton: She wants to be an instrument to make changes alive and real in everyday American lives. She calls it her life's work. She tries to create opportunities for others because she has been blessed in her own life. "I think I can deliver change." her weakness is impatience and that she's easily frustrated. She disagrees with Obama's previous answer, because the presidency is largely about running a large bureaucracy. "It's a really hard job."
  • 6:24 pm: Russert asks Obama about quote that he is not an "operating officer." Isn't that what Americans want?
    • Obama: "Being president is not making sure that schedules are being run properly or that paperwork is being shuffled effectively. It involves having a vision for where the country needs to go." He wants to mobilize Americans to push aside special interests standing in the way of real change.
  • 6:24 pm: Would Clinton acknowledge that Obama and Edwards are prepared to be President?
    • Clinton says she will leave this up to the voters.
  • 6:22 pm: Is Clinton concerned about consequences of negative comments in the primary during the general election?
    • Clinton: "I have the highest regard for both Senator Obama and Senator Edwards...The issue for the voters...is, who is ready on Day One to walk into that Oval Office, knowing the problems that are going to be there." Calls Bush "pathetic" for begging for cheaper oil during his current Middle East visit.
  • 6:21 pm: An audience member has interrupted the debate arguing about "race-based questions."
  • 6:20 pm: Does Edwards feel that he and Obama were "piling on" Clinton in their last debate?
    • Edwards: "My job as a presidential candidate is to speak the truth as I see it...whatever the consequences are. I do believe that I am a candidate for president who is fighting for change." He discusses his fight against vested corporate interests.
  • 6:17 pm: Does Obama regret a comment in which he somewhat snidely called Hillary Clinton "likable"?
    • Obama says he does, and that his comment came out wrong. He thinks all 3 of the candidates are good, capable people.
  • 6:15 pm: Viewer question: How should Democrats choose between the first viable female and first viable black candidate? What should a white man do in running against these historical candidacies?
    • Edwards: People should choose who would be the strongest agent for change. "I'm proud of the fact that we have a woman and an African-American that are strong candidates for the Presidency...It says very good things about America.
  • 6:12 pm: Russert asks about Robert Johnson quote implying Obama had drug use in his past. Will Clinton ban Robert Johnson from working on her campaign?
    • Clinton accepts Johnson on his word. "What's critical here is that the American people understand clearly what is at stake in this election."
    • Obama says he does not. Judgments are based on who they think is speaking to the issues about which they care most.
  • 6:09 pm: Moderator Tim Russert asks Obama about his campaign materials and the racial-tinged debates with Clinton
    • Obama: Convinced that all candidates are committed to racial equality. He expects to be judged as a candidate on his abilities and ideas. Doesn't believe these attacks have attempted to marginalize him as the "black candidate." "Race is a factor in our society."
  • 6:04 pm: First question, to Hillary, about the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. and the racial dimension of the Democratic race thus far.
    • Clinton: "We are all family in the Democratic Party."
    • Obama: "Race has always been an issue in our politics in this country. One of the premises of my campaign...is that we can't solve these challenges unless we can come together as a people."
    • Edwards: "Having seen the pain and the struggle and the sacrifice of so many up close...I think we, all of us, have an enormous responsibility not to go back, but to go forward."
  • 6:02 pm: Moderator Brian Williams introduces the sponsors and candidates.
  • 6:00 pm: Welcome to our Mahalo live-blog. The candidates are taking the stage and preparing to begin.

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