A Little Dialogue Between The Two Of You
What does Obama need to be vetted on ... ?
HRC:
"We are all advocating for change we all want to change the status quo which is George W. Bush ..." "I think there is a lot of room to ask all of us questions." Sen. Obama, as the Associated Press described it, "he could have a pretty good debate with himself." Was for universal health care a few years ago, she said, but now offers a proposal that doesn't cover everybody.
Obama:
Said he has been entirely consistent in his health care plan. Doesn't believe govt should be penalizing those who don't have health care, unlike HRC and Edwards. Raise the cap on payroll taxes so that wealthier individuals pay a little more into the system.
Clinton interrupts:
"You have a mandate in your health care plan. You mandate parents to have health care for children. ... You stopped short going the distance ... "
SPLIT SCREEN ALERT
Edwards:
"Anytime you speak out for change the forces of status quo attack." Stepping to Obama's defense, he requests an "unfiltered debate between the agents of change."
CLINTON, FUMING, voice rising:
"Making change is not about what you believe, it's not about a speech you made, it's about working hard. there are 7K kids in nh who have health care because i helped to create the Children's Health Insurance Program .. "
Richardson jumps in: "I've been in hostage negotiations that have been a lot more civil than this."
(JENNIFER SKALKA)
Clearly the candidates did not have enough time to answer the question but here are some other issues Obama needs to be vetted on (h/t Matt Stoller):
called Social Security a 'crisis';
attacked trial lawyers;
associated unapologetically with vicious homophobes;
portrayed Gore and Kerry as excessively polarizing losers;
boasted as his central achievement an irrelevant ethics bill;
ran against the DC establishment while taking huge amounts of cash from DC;
undermined Ned Lamont in 2006;
criticized NAFTA while voting for a NAFTA-style trade agreement;
compiled opposition research on the most effective liberal pundit in the country;
refused to promise that American troops would be out of Iraq by 2013; and
endorsed the central plank of the Bush-Cheney foreign policy doctrine, the war on terror.
How can Obama claim he's an agent of change when he's never led any substantive change?