Larry King says it’s been a very lively 60 minutes that “moved very quickly.” Is he insane? I’ve seen one interesting exchange between Obama and Edwards. Biden is entertaining to watch. Hillary strikes me as deliberately boring.
Jenny, a wife of a soldier in Iraq, asks about rebuilding the military after long time spent fighting in Iraq.
Kucinich: Cut off funding for war. Peace is the way we reflect our strength. This administration misuses this military.
Wolf: Yes, but how do you rebuild military?
Kucinich: Cut spending 25 percent overall. A lot of waste out there. A small fraction goes to the troops. Got to end the United States commitment to war as an instrument of diplomacy.
Obama: We may agree on cutting certain weapons systems, but I don’t want lengthy tours, give them all the support they need on the ground. When they come home, treat them with honor and dignity they deserve. This administration did it on the cheap. Post-traumatic stress syndrome.
Dodd leads round of applause for those serving. We’re not listening to our senior military people.
Q: Why can vets not recieve treatment at hospital of his choice?
Obama: We don’t have a full-service VA here. VA does a pretty good job of negotiating a good drug price. If a hardship for family, they ought to be able to use any.
Richardson: Under my health care plan, you serve, you get a hero’s health care card. You get coverage anywhere you need it. We have some good VA hospitals, but some have to go far.
(Wow. One of Richardson’s better answers – he somehow stumbled into a topic he could connect with the questioner on.)
Gravel: I get my meds from the VA. I’m satisfied. But Government has always waged war against the veterans. (WHAT?!?) Did Obama do any oversight work until they read in the Washington Post that there was a scandal up the street at Walter Reed?
Obama: We have done a lot of oversight to get the Bush administration to spend money they need to. Other senators and I said you need to spend a lot more. Six months later, they said they did need it after all.
Medical facilites at Walter Reed were okay; it was the outpatient facilities that were disastrous.
Q: Polly, a retired legal secretary, lived in Iran in the 1960s. Would you use force would you use diplomacy?
Hillary: We should have been using diplomacy for several years now. Pleased admin is talking to Iranians, but it’s long overdue. We need a process of engagement. We always talked to the Soviets. Iran having a nuclear weapon is absolutely unacceptable. (Some applause.)
Wolf: What if diplomacy fails?
Hillary: I’m not going to get into hypotheticals. This administration doens’t try diplomacy. Occasionally they send Dick Cheney, and that’s hardly diplomatic in my view. (Yuk-yuk-yuk. Easy shot. Cheap laughs.)
Edwards: The Iranian people rallied for America after September 11. Clear path. Europeans have leverage. Carrots and sticks. We need to drive wedge between leader and the people.
Biden: Do away with the policy of regime change. Understand how weak Iran is. They are a decade away. They import almost all refined oil. By 2014, they’ll be importing crude oil. If they stuck a missile, put it on a pad, I’d take it out.
Q: How do you reconcile security interest in Pakistan with lack of democracy?
Clinton: Really important question. Supported Musharaff for a number of years. Has not moved toward democracy. Become quite anti-democratic. Removed chief justice. Rely on him to control tribal areas. This is an area where America needs to be focused like the proverbial laser.
(Urrrrrgh.)
Need a special envoy. I suggested to White House.
Kucinich, asked about hypothetical of taking out bin Laden with a hellfire missile with innocents near the target: I would not use assassination as a tool. bin Laden ought to be held account in an international law.
Obama: I don’t believe in assassinations, but Osama declared war on us. When you’ve got a military target, you take him out. Unfortunate that during the inital push into Afghanistan because we let him slip away, because we were distracted. (What? By what? What distracted us in October 2001, Senator?)
Given Kucinich’s hypothetical, all of the Dems raise their hands, but they complain about not knowing how many innocents would be at stake in the shock, and complain about responding to hypotheticals.
Edwards: Recognize danger of losing Musharraf. If he loses power, radical Islam, we don’t know who would take his place.
Q: Darfur, what’s our role?
Biden: Need to stop talking about that. A lot of talk. UN is ready to put in 21,000 troops. Capital has forefeited their sovreignty by committing genocide. Send NATO, could take out the janjaweed tomorrow.
(I’m almost inspired.)
Wow – Wolf can’t get control – they just keep talking over each other.
Hillary: We’re not going to respond to these hypotheticals. (Gets applause. Sounded a little rhymes-with-witchy to me.)
Richardson: We need Europeans and China to lean on Darfur. Consider staying out of the Olympics if China won’t help out in Darfur.
Dodd: Stopping the Olympics from happening doesn’t get us there.
Edwards: I applaud my friends being so vocal on this. We don’t have the moral authority to lead anymore. Need to give education to 100 million around the world.
Obama: We have humanitarian and security interest in ungoverned areas like this. Our moral claims are eroded when Guantanamo is open.
Biden is tub-thumping on Sudan. Shut down the janjaweed! THAT’S our moral authority!
Wolf goes back to Richardson’s idea of boycotting Olympics if China doesn’t object to Sudanese genocide. But Richardson insists we don’t need another military involvement.
An 18-year old asks about mandatory service. Mike Gravel says he would want volunteerism, but not mandatory. For every year you serve, you get four years of education free. (WHAT?!?)
Kucinich: Quotes JFK. Inspire young people. To make it mandatory loses the point.
Dodd: Opposes bringing back draft. Talks about peace corps service.
[tuned out a bit, updating posts]
Obama says he would roll back tax cuts for those making $200k or more. Lower taxes on unspecified “middle class.” Objects to earmarks.
Edwards: I don’t know what a rich person is, but $200k is what I use in my plan.
Q: Problem with deficits?
Richardson: I’m a governor, I’ve balanced five budgets. I’m a pro-growth Democrat. Grow the economy, it will help Social Security.
Wolf: Would you give up earmarks for Connecticut?
Dodd: Wolf, thanks for the question. I wouldn’t want a rigid straitjacket, but we need more stringent rules. I believe in pay-go.
Mike Gravel says we should have the line-item veto! Complains that no one else showed up to the report by the national comptroller.
Hillary: We had a surplus six years ago – cut spending, and raised revenues. Bush tax cuts disporportionately benefit richest Americans. AMT has to be reformed, eventually eliminated. We have done this before.
Gravel: You’re raiding the Social Security fund!
Kucinich: Interest groups have a control on our country! They’re seizing oil of Iraq using our troops! We can recover our country totally! Interest groups support some of my friends on this stage!
Biden: Let’s go for public financing of elections. Earmarks in the middle of the night, reform the system. That will change earmarks.
Edwards: Reestablish America’s moral authority in the world. We know what real American values are. Reestablish alliances.
Hillary: My first priority is to bring troops home from Iraq.
Richardson: I would upgrade our schools. Preschool for every American. (even the old ones?)
Biden: End the war, defuse the possible war with Iran, and defuse possible war on Korean peninsula. No margin for error, next president needs to be smarter than his advisers.
Gravel: Priority is to turn to these people and tell them to end the war now.
Dodd: Return constitutional rights to people.