By Charles E. Roop
Below are the live blogs during the Democratic Presidential Debate that was aired live on CNN Sunday evening.
7:02: Sweet…no long speeches.
7:05: Obama answered well to the current administrations anti-terror measures
7:06: On Edwards"bumper sticker" slogan, I agree to an extent. My point: Iraq was originally not part of the war on terror. Now it is because of the mess the U.S. caused in Iraq.
7:10: Agree with Biden on continuing funding for Iraq war…will elaborate later.
7:11: Clinton said Reps are all for the war and with Bush on the war…not completely true…
7:12: Obama slammed Edwards on Edwards’ version of leadership! Obama: "Your four and a half years too late." Boya!
7:17: Dodd is right on the policy. The war has not made us better and it, well, it’s pretty much a civil war.
7:20: Biden has a point: we need 67 votes in the Senate to end it now. The votes are not there.
7:24: Edwards admits it was a mistake to vote for the war. However, when Edwards and Clinton voted for the war, they did not read the intelligence estimate.
7:26: Gravel: candidates who voted for war should not be president…"moral" issue. A little harsh, man.
7:29: Gov. Richardson has a pretty good stance on immigration. I don’t believe in splitting families, but people need to earn their citizenship.
7:34: Biden and Obama discuss a 700-mile fence. Great ideas…
7:35: English-only language issue: Clinton has a point on "official" language. Obama’s response was also pretty good.
7:49: I agree with Clinton that "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" policy was just a transition. However, I believe that needs to change. Biden calls for change as well.
7:56: Obama has a great point on Middle East policy. With a great military needs great diplomacy.
7:56: Gas prices question…waiting for interesting positions…
Dodd: 50 mpg standard? That would be sweet, but hard to do…but it can be done.
Edwards: An investigation on oil companies sounds good and tax cuts on oil cos need to be removed. But consumer demand also needs to drop.
3-minute recess: Candidates are doing well, so far. However, former Sen. Gravel kind of trails off and comes off as an ass. Edwards has been on the attack, especially on Clinton and Obama.
Question on Iraq pullout and rebuilding military:
Kucinich: cut military funding, but making it stronger? Huh?
VA medical issues on hospital choice:
Obama: vets should be allowed to go to private and other hospitals if they have trouble getting care.
Richardson: sounds like a universal plan…but asks it to be fully funded.
Gravel: satisfied with VA care…but points out Walter Reid medical facility.
Obama and Richardson had good ideas…debatable.
Iran question:
Clinton: Iran to have nuclear weapon "unacceptable" and wants diplomacy. "Diplomacy" is not in Dubaya’s dictionary and needs to return.
Edwards: Wants to drive wedge.
Biden: Thinks that Iran is a decade away from weapons, not a year or two. Okay, people which is it?
Hunting bin Laden:
Roop: blow his ass up!!
Darfur:
- Enough of the abstract "would you…" questions. Each situation would be different.
- Damn, Biden is very vocal about the issue. I thought he was going to blow his head off
Definition of rich:
Obama: $250,000+ The Senator wants to institute fairness.
Edwards: (enough to afford a $400 hair cut)
Earmarks and budget:
Clinton: the good ‘ol days: 6 years ago: a balanced budget and surplus. Damn, I miss that. Thanks, Bush.
Biden: "Reform the system" for a public financing system.
Top priority for first 100 days
Edwards: travel around (and spend $400 for a hair cut) and restore alliances.
Clinton: bring troops home
Obama: bring troops home, health care
Richardson: preschool for every American, minimum wage for teachers at $40,000 (sweet!), education
Kucinich: no war, diplomacy, end NAFTA, etc.
Gravel: blah, blah, bitch, bitch, bitch
The debate was interesting. You had your entertainment from former Sen. Gravel, extreme passion from Biden and the feisty Edwards with his expensive hair-do. I am still undecided, but I am on the fence with Clinton, Obama and Richardson. Erin is gunning for Clinton as her top choice. However, Erin wants to point out that she’s not rooting for Clinton just because she’s a woman (I don’t know why she asked me to write this becauseI think it’s not needed).
As for Iraq war funding, I believe that as long as the troops are there, there should be some funding. The military needs the funding so they can have the equipment and essentials to do their job and voting against that would give a bad impression. I believe there needs to be a gradual withdrawal that needs to occur soon, but cutting funds is not the way to do it.
Tuesday night will be the Republican debate on CNN at 7 p.m. EDT. I will be watching it for comedic purposes, but I will make a brief post on the debate.
UPDATE: How former Sen. Gravel shot himself in the foot with veteran issues (and this is something I noticed in the debate as well). Check out the post from The Moderate Voice.
