Live Blogging the Democratic Debate
Obama making opening statement, talking about people being frustrated at economic situation. "They are frustrated with Washington and not being listened to...I'm running for president for that reason."
Clinton: People feel their government is not solving problems. Provide health care, education true passport to opportunity...I'm running because I feel we can fulfill the promise of tomorrow."
Wow, a commercial debate after short opening speeches.
Gibson starts with a zinger ... why won't you choose each other as vice presidential nominee?
Obama starts with an answer - it's too early to say. We're still in middle of campaign. But both candidates will be working together after convention
Clinton, "I'll do everything I can to make sure one of us is presidential nominee. I'll go anywhere to make the case and I know Barack will too...I've traveled the country and seen the failed Bush polices. So regardless of differences between us, th things we have in common are greater."
Gibson now asks Obama about "bitter" remark
Obama says I did not express myself well. "But what I was trying to say was that when people feel they can't count on Washington, they start to care more about issues like guns and hot-button issues. When those issues are exploited, it makes us harder to solve other issues.'
Clinton: "I'm the granddaughter of a mill worker from Scranton ... I don't believe that my grandfather or my father cling to religion when Washington is not listening to them. That is a fundamental misunderstanding." Same with guns. "That is not how people live their lives. Sure, people are frustrated, but it doesn't work that way.
George Stephanopoulos: Do you think Obama can beat John McCain or not.
She avoids the question. "We have to beat McCain ... after having gone through 16 years of being attacked by Republicans we have to go after every vote everywhere.
"But can he beat McCain?"
"Yes, yes, yes, but I can do a better job."
"Sen. Obama do you think that see can beat McCain?"
"Yes, I've said so before ... but I want to talk about things that she said, and how she has referred to me as an elitist .. As a man of faith I've done a lot to reach out to these groups, ...
Obama brings up the "baking cookie remark" from 1992 as an example of a stupid statement. "I remember watching that on TV, and said to myself, that's not who she is..."
Clinton: "I was responding to your remarks ... obviously what we have to do as Democrats is make sure we have enough votes to win in November ... as George said, GOP will jump on them"
Gibson asks why he rescinded invitation to Wright to announce presidency if he had never seen or heard bad things?
Obama says it was based on statements that Wright had just made in Rolling Stone magazine ... Obama said he made his speech on race because we need to move beyond race.'
Gibson: Do you honestly believe that 8,000 people should have walked out of the church?
Clinton: I made a personal remark, I can only speak for myself ... you get to choose your pastor, not your family.
Obama points out that Clinton's own pastor pointed out that Obama maintained a vibrant ministry for years ...unless we can bridge some of these divides, we won't get anywhere." Talks about his work as community divide.
George S.: Do you think that Wright loves America as much as you do? If you get the nomination, what about seeing all those videos again and again?
Obama says that if it wasn't this, it would be something else ... the notion that Americans would be distracted by something that somebody other than me says, doesn't give American people enough credit
GeorgeS: Does he love America as much as you do?
Obama points out that Wright was a Marine, but he is angry about things that he saw later.
George S. asks about poll that shows people don't trust her. Plays video of voter who said he lost his vote.
Clinton blames her Bosnia mistake on lack of sleep [important to note that comments were also made in the morning].. things happen when you talk as much as we do ... I apologize, I said I was sorry ...
Obama says that what is important that we don't get so caught up in attacking each other that we forget about economy, Iraq war, etc. ... for us to be obsesses with these mistake and not focus on what we need to do.
Gibson: Voter asks Obama why you don't wear American flag? ... how do you convince Democrats that this would not be a vulnerability.
Obama, "I revere the flag and the country" ... says his story would not be possible in any other country .."I've tried to show my patriotism in the way I treat veterans in Congress, the way I feel about the Iraq war ... I will fight for those issues ... the kind of manufactured issue that is a problem in this campaign.'
George S: Asks about relationship to former Weatherman William Ayers.
Obama: This kind of game, that anyone I know, that their ideas could be attributed to me, the American people are smarter than that.
Clinton still tries to pin him more to William Ayers, using the guilt by association argument to say that the Republicans will use it against him.
Obama points out that President Clinton pardoned two members of the Weatherman Underground. Obama says he has taken some tough punches from Clinton. 'I'm looking forward to debating McCain ... When people are voting, they are going to be thinking about Bush policies, not who I might know vaguely"
Commercial break
(As Marc Ambinder at theAtlantic.com notes, 35 minutes of shots to Obama's midsection ... ABC is treating him as the front runner. Also please excuse any typos, we'll go back and correct between breaks)
Gibson: If military commanders say to you that bringing those troops home would be bad for situation, would you still do it?
Clinton says yes ... best interests of US and Iraq to do so. She says she will immediately ask JCofS to draw up plans to bring home troops, carefully, and tell Iraq that their blank check is gone.
Gibson continues attack, "Are you saying you know better than commanders?'
Clinton says no, but anything can happen. "We have to end problems in Iraq so we can solve other problems in the world ... Bottom line is that we don't know what will happen if we withdraw, but we do know that if we stay it won't be good for Iraq or the US."
Gibson asks same of Obama
Obama says yes, because the president sets the mission, and the commanders follow the mission...Obama says he will always listen to his commanders about tactics, but ultimately the buck stops at the president's desk ... points out that the military is so stretched that if another crisis occurs, we can't respond
George S: Should the US treat an attack on Israel as an attack on the U.S.?
Obama responds that the first thing to do is to make sure that Iran does not get nuclear weapons ... he would talk to Iran, but he would make it clear that an attack on Israel would be strongly dealt with by the U.S.
Clinton agrees, and says that she would expand that deterrent to include other countries' attacks on Israel or other countries friendly to the U.S. Clinton says that she would engage Iran, had to be done, but not through Ahmedinejad.
George S: Will you make a no new taxes for people making less than 200,000 a year and still role back tax breaks if economy is bad?
Clinton says she will role back tax cuts for wealthy regardless of economy. When asked, Obama agrees and said he would cut taxes for people with incomes less than 200,000. Part of his tax plan.
Gibson says Obama would favor a capital gains tax increase, but no more than Clinton did. But Gibson says when capital gains taxes up, revenues down and vice versa
Obama said he brings it up for issues of fairness. People who amass huge capital gains are paying less than their taxes ... Obama says he believe in principle that you pay as you go. Can't have tax cuts without picking it up in other areas.
Clinton says we can do better by investing rather than taxing people ... but she does say that she would raise the capital gains tax, but not above the 20 percent of her husband's administration.
Obama says that he wants to raise the cap on the pay roll tax, especially for those making way more than 97,000 a year. He says only six percent of public fits. Gibson keeps trying to pin it as a tax increase, but Obama says he would be willing to look at limiting impact of those between 100,000 and 250,000 but you still have to do something to solve the social security problem
Clinton says that we can be smarter about doing it, she would call a commission to study it. But Obama points out that the '83 commission mentioned by Clinton not only raised the retirement age but also the capital gains tax. So he says Clinton attacks me for my solution, when she really hasn't got any better answers.
Commercial break
Gibson asks about both candidates past strong statements about need for gun control?
Clinton says she'll bring back cop program, assault weapons ban because cops are outgunned, that police departments will get access to information they need to track illegal guns ...Clinton says she respects 2nd amendment but they also want to be sure we keep these guns out of the wrong hands.
Gibson asks Obama about DC's right to bear arms
Obama says that you do have an individually right to bear arms, but local government have a right to decide how you use those weapons, same as property ... Obama says we have to get beyond politics and see what's working. It is perfectly appropriate to find a way to solve the problem.
George S: Asks if she supports DC gun ban?
Clinton dances around question, Gibson asks do you favor licensing of hand guns?
Clinton says she was in favor of New York rules, but they might not work in another part of the country.
George S: Ask about changes to affirmative action to not favor well-off African-Americans
Obama says it depends on the individual situation. He says he still believes in affirmative action, but it can't be a quota system. It has to be looked at the situation of each individual.
Clinton says our job should be to help each individual live up to their individual potential, let's "affirmatively" invest in our young people.
Quick round ...
What about gas prices?
Clinton says we'll investigate prices to make sure we're not being snookered. Not put more gas into strategic reserves .., maybe a windfall gas tax .. maybe a tax holiday
Obama says we have to investigate price gouging .. windfall tax, raise fuel efficiency on cars ... points out that lots of people overseas want cars too, to we have to find ways to increase gas efficiency.
How would you use President Bush if you were president?
Clinton "I'll have to think about that ..." But she says it does matter having all former work together...
Obama says he's more likely to talk to president's father than current president ... better foreign policy.
(Commercial break)
Time for final question
It's all about the superdelegates? How do you make the case for them that you are more electable?
Clinton goes first ... we need a fighter back in the White House ...she has plans to give money back to middle class ... "I can't do this alone" ,,, I think it is absolutely what we must do to give our children the future they need" .., she trots out all the former brass that supports her ... 'I'll need your help, especially in Penn. in order to get to those question."
Obama ... we're at a defining moment in our history ... things aren't good ... people have lost faith in government, people don't want a politics about spin and PR but a real conversation with the American people ... in the past 15 months, my bet has paid off, people do want change ... my point to superdelegates is that we have to form a new political coalition.
And it's over ...
8:03 PM ET
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04-16-2008
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Lieberman Ready to Speak at GOP Convention
Connecticut Senator Joseph Lieberman (I), the Democratic Party's 2000 vice presidential nominee, said Tuesday that he is leaving open the possibility that he would speak on behalf of his friend Sen. John McCain, the Republican presidential nominee, at the GOP convention in Minneapolis. The Hill reports that Republicans close to the McCain campaign "say Lieberman's appearance at the convention, possibly before a national primetime audience, could help make the case that the presumptive GOP nominee has a record of crossing the aisle. That could appeal to much-needed independent voters."
Democrats have given Lieberman a long leash this year because they need his vote to keep their 51-49 majority in the Senate. But if they pick up several Senate seats in 2008, as is expected, their patience might grow short. Lieberman is close to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, so it would probably take a lot for Reid to back an effort to toss his friend out of his chairmanship of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
But if he did appear at the GOP convention, and gave a former Georgia Sen. Zell Miller-like speech (Miller was a Democrat who attacked his party's nominee, John Kerry) then that could be the deciding factor. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) said he doubts Lieberman would give a Miller-like speech.
"I don't think he's going to act like that if he does that," Brown said. "But of course, I would be disappointed if he does that."
7:42 PM ET
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04-16-2008
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Reuters/Zogby: McCain Is Best Steward for Economy
In what could be a very important indicator for Sen. John McCain, a new poll from Zogby/Reuters shows that Americans favor him as the best steward for the economy by three points over Sen. Barack Obama and by five-point over Sen. Hillary Clinton.
The poll was taken a few days before McCain's major economic speech on Tuesday, which was fairly well received by media and financial experts, although it's emphasis on a gas-tax holidy bothered some Republicans and Democrats who wondered where the money would come from to replace it in the federal treasury.
In a national race, Obama and McCain are even at 45%, with McCain slightly ahead of Clinton 46% to 41%. Interestingly, the poll also included the presence of Ralph Nader and libertarian Bob Barr (if he does win that party's presidential nomination). In both contests, Nader drew 3% and Barr 2%. McCain fared slightly worse against Obama with Barr -- Barr's impact with conservative voters? -- and Nader in the race, but their presence did not change his margin over Clinton.
"Obama still does better than Clinton against McCain, but it's a very close race either way," pollster John Zogby said. "Obama and Clinton hurt each other the longer their race drags on, and McCain is getting a free pass."
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UPDATE: McCain might get high marks on the economy, but it's getting failing grades on his culinary ideas.
The Washington Post reports that several recipes attributed to Cindy McCain were actually copied word from word from The Food Network's site.
"Apparently a Web intern added Rachael Ray to our policy team without her knowing it," McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds deadpanned yesterday. "He was swiftly dealt with, and the page is down for revision."
4:19 PM ET
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04-16-2008
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Clinton and Obama Exchange Musical Endorsements
Has it come to this? Superdelegates are so reluctant to say who they plan to back that the campaigns are now asking their favorite musicians to declare their support.
First it was Sen. Barack Obama's campaign announcing that the Boss, Bruce Springsteen was going to throw his support to the Illinois Senator.
"He has the depth, the reflectiveness, and the resilience to be our next President," Springsteen said in an e-mailed statement. "He speaks to the America I've envisioned in my music for the past 35 years, a generous nation with a citizenry willing to tackle nuanced and complex problems, a country that's interested in its collective destiny and in the potential of its gathered spirit. A place where "...nobody crowds you, and nobody goes it alone."
"Over here on E Street, we're proud to support Obama for president."
Not to be outdone, the Clinton campaign a few hours later announced that legendary Latin musician Willie Colón, was backing the New York Senator.
"Hillary has been on the side of our families for over 35 years -- she has been with us from the very beginning. I want a President who I can count on, someone who in tough times will be there for me -- that's why I'm supporting Hillary Clinton," said Colón.
Well, we don't know who'll win the Democratic nomination, or if they'll win the presidency, but if they do, they'll have great music at the inauguration.
Here's a little Springsteen:
And a little Willie Colón:
1:24 PM ET
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04-16-2008
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Bryant Gumbel Talks Round Ball with Obama
OK, we know that Obama says he's got game on the basketball court. Bryant Gumbel tried to find out on Tuesday night on HBO's Real Sports.
It's a pretty interesting interview. Obama has loved basketball since his father gave him when he was eight on on one of the few trips his dad made to visit him in Hawaii. It became a passion and a refuge for Obama, and as he notes, one of the few places were it was OK to be black in an almost all white environment. His high school went on to win the Hawaii state championship in his varsity year -- when he was Barry Obama. (His old coach, interviewed for the piece, still calls him Barry.)
Then he went to college and forgot about the sport until he went to Harvard law school where he became addicted to pick-up basketball. When he met his wife, Michelle, asked her brother, former Princeton star and now coach at Oregon State Craig Robinson, to take him out on the court as a way to see if he "passed the test." He did.
The show also features some footage of Obama in a pickup game. He's pretty good actually.
But he's not the player he once was. As Robinson said in the interview, Obama "started out as a black player who played black and is now more of a black player who plays white, just so he doesn't hurt." Robinson added that after age 35, "We all play white." (Translation - slower and closer to the ground.)
Here's the interview:
12:53 PM ET
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04-16-2008
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Obama Admits "Bitter" Remark a "Distraction" for Dems
In an interview with the editorial board of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Sen. Barack Obama admitted that his comments about residents of small towns in Pennsylvania being bitter about their economic situation and as a result clinging to guns, religion and anti-immigration sentiment "represented a distraction not just from his campaign message but also from Democratic efforts to overcome stereotypes that Republicans have exploited for decades."
"What I do regret is that in one quick statement that wasn't phrased properly I detracted from what I think has to be a genuine effort on the part of Democrats to speak to constituencies we haven't always reached out to," Mr. Obama said during a wide-ranging interview with the paper.
"The basic proposition, what I was trying to say is something I deeply believe, which is that people feel abandoned economically, they don't feel that Washington pays any attention to them. They have heard a lot of empty promises over the last two to three decades ... they're very cynical about the possibility of change.
"They then rely on those things that they can count on. They rely on faith, just like I rely on faith when times are rocky for me. They rely on traditions, like hunting that's been passed on through generation to generation to generation. When people are angry and frustrated they are also subject to being divided, and politicians will exploit those instincts about so-called wedge issues. Karl Rove explicitly targets those issues and made it an entire campaign strategy over two elections."
Meanwhile, the paper itself announced its endorsement of Obama: "Pennsylvania -- this encrusted, change-averse commonwealth where a state liquor monopoly holds on against all reason and where municipal fiefdoms shrink from sensible consolidation -- needs to take a strong look at the new face and the new hope in this race. Because political business-as-usual is more likely to bring the usual disappointment for the Democrats this fall, the Post-Gazette endorses the nomination of Barack Obama, who has brought an excitement and an electricity to American politics not seen since the days of John F. Kennedy."
10:08 AM ET
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04-16-2008
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Two New Polls Have Tough News for Clinton
Two new polls -- Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg and Washington Post/ABC News -- have some tough news for Sen. Hillary Clinton and lots of good news for Sen. Barack Obama.
The Times/Bloomberg poll shows that Clinton is "losing traction" to Obama in key states like Pennsylvania and Indiana. The survey found that she leads Obama by five-points in the Keystone State, 46% to 41% and is behind him by five-points in Indiana, 40% to 35%. In North Carolina, Obama has a 13-point lead. The survey was conducted under the supervision of the Times poll director. Over 600 people were surveyed in each state, and each survey had a margin of error of +/- four percent.
One interesting finding in the poll - the Rev. Jeremiah Wright flap appears to be helping, not hurting Obama in Pennsylvania: "24% said his handling of the issue made them think more highly of him; 15% said it made them think less highly of him; 58% said it made no difference in their views." But many in each state think the issue could "hamper him" in a general election.
One bit of good news for Clinton is that there are huge numbers of undecided in each state, 12% in Pennsylvania, 19% in Indiana and 17% in North Carolina.
Meanwhile, a Post/ABC poll shows finds that by a 2-1 majority, Democrats believe that Obama is more electable in the fall election. That's a significant blow to the Clinton campaign, which has made Obama's electability a major issue.
"The poll finds other pronounced problems for Clinton. Among all Americans, 58 percent now say she's not honest and not trustworthy, 16 points higher than in a precampaign poll two years ago. Obama beats her head-to-head on this attribute by a 23-point margin. The number of Americans who see Clinton unfavorably overall has risen to a record high in ABC/Post polling, 54 percent -- up 14 points since January. Obama's unfavorable score has reached a new high as well, up 9 points, but to a lower 39 percent."
But the poll also shows that Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents are growing wearing of the campaign. Many believe it has become too negative and that the candidates spend too much time arguing about "things that really aren't important." And here is another bit of bad news for Clinton - most people blame Clinton for the problem, by a margin of 52% to 14 %, while 25% blame both equally.
8:45 AM ET
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04-16-2008
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