Also see:
AOL/Microsoft-Hotmail Preventing Delivery of Truthout Communications •
Go to Original
In a Crucial State, a Contentious Debate
By Dan Balz, Anne E. Kornblut and Shailagh Murray
The Washington Post
Wednesday 27 February 2008
Clinton and Obama clash over tactics in
Ohio showdown.
Cleveland - In their final debate before critical primaries in Ohio and Texas,
Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton clashed sharply on familiar ground,
arguing Tuesday night over who has the better health-care plan, who has been
right about Iraq and who would move most aggressively to rethink trade policy
as president.
In contrast to their debate five days ago in Texas, Clinton and Obama butted
heads from the opening moments, starting with a clash over whether the senator
from Illinois had mischaracterized her plan for universal health care in his
campaign mailings, and continuing throughout the 90-minute session.
"We should have a good debate that uses accurate information, not false,
misleading and discredited information, especially on something as important
as whether or not we will achieve quality, affordable health care for everyone,"
said Clinton (N.Y.).
Obama pushed back with equal aggressiveness. "Senator Clinton has, in
her campaign at least, has constantly sent out negative attacks on us, e-mail,
robo-calls [prerecorded telephone messages], fliers, television ads, radio calls,
and we haven't whined about it, because I understand that's the nature of this
campaign," he said.
The tone of the debate was generally civil but rarely relaxed. Throughout,
there was no mistaking the stakes involved for the candidates, especially Clinton,
who has lost every contest since the Super Tuesday primaries and caucuses of
Feb. 5. Polls show Clinton and Obama in a very competitive race in Texas, while
Clinton holds a narrow lead in Ohio. Obama has closed the gap with Clinton in
both states.
Her husband, former president Bill Clinton, has said that she must win both
Ohio and Texas in order to keep her campaign going, and throughout the debate
Clinton pressed her rival and displayed the greater sense of urgency about getting
her points across. Unless she wins both states by wide margins, Obama will still
hold a lead in pledged delegates to the national convention.
The debate - the 20th involving the Democratic presidential candidates in
the past 10 months - did little to change the overall shape of the race, which
may play to Obama's advantage but will also make the final six days of campaign
crucial to both candidates. Earlier in the day, Obama picked up the endorsement
of Sen. Christopher J. Dodd of Connecticut, who dropped out of the race for
the nomination in January.
Clinton's frustration with her political situation flashed through early on,
when she noted that she seemed to always get the first questions in these debates
and made a reference to a "Saturday Night Live" skit aired last weekend
that mocked reporters for fawning over Obama. "Maybe we should ask Barack
if he's comfortable and needs a pillow," she said.
Obama did not respond to that swipe, but he missed few other opportunities
to parry Clinton's charges. Toward the end of the debate he used humor to counter
Clinton, who had interjected herself into a question about whether Obama had
been strong enough in stating his objections to Louis Farrakhan, the controversial
leader of the Nation of Islam.
Asked to respond to an endorsement of his candidacy by Farrakhan, Obama described
the Chicago figure's anti-Semitic comments as "reprehensible." Adding
that "I obviously cannot censor him," Obama said he had not sought
the support and would do nothing to make use of it.
"I have been very clear in my denunciation" of Farrakhan's past anti-Semitic
remarks, Obama said.
Clinton jumped in to note that, in her 2000 Senate campaign, she had gone to
greater lengths to distance herself from people who had made anti-Semitic remarks.
"There's a difference between denouncing and rejecting," Clinton said,
implying that Obama had not gone far enough. "I just think we've got to
be even stronger."
Obama laughed. "I don't see a difference between denouncing and rejecting,"
he said, adding that he would both reject and denounce Farrakhan if it would
satisfy Clinton, a remark that drew laughter and applause.
The debate was held on the campus of Cleveland State University. NBC anchor
Brian Williams served as moderator, and Tim Russert, host of NBC's "Meet
the Press" joined in the questioning. The debate was aired on NBC affiliates
across Ohio and nationally on MSNBC.
Obama drew one of his sharpest contrasts yet with Clinton on the subject of
the Iraq war. The candidates have both said they would seek to end the U.S.
combat role, but at the outset of the conflict they stood on opposite sides,
with Clinton voting to authorize the war in 2002 and Obama speaking against
it as an Illinois state legislator.
Clinton characterized Obama's initial opposition as a rhetorical stance, made
safely from the sidelines. "He didn't have responsibility. He didn't have
to vote," Clinton said. Since Obama joined the Senate in January 2005,
she noted, their voting records on Iraq have been essentially identical. "When
it wasn't just a speech, but it was actually action, where is the difference?"
Clinton said.
Obama responded: "My objections to the war in Iraq were not simply a speech.
I was in the midst of a U.S. Senate campaign. It was a high-stakes campaign.
I was one of the most vocal opponents of the war, and I was very specific as
to why."
He continued: "The fact was, this was a big strategic blunder. It was
not a matter of 'Well, here is the initial decision, but since then we've voted
the same way.' Once we had driven the bus into the ditch, there were only so
many ways we could get out. The question is: Who's making the decision initially
to drive the bus into the ditch?"
"And the fact is that Senator Clinton often says that she is ready on
Day One, but, in fact, she was ready to give in to George Bush on Day One on
this critical issue - in fact, she facilitated and enabled this individual
to make a decision that has been strategically damaging to the United States
of America."
Clinton used the opening moments of the debate to delve into the details of
her health-care proposal, repeating her assertion that Obama's plan would leave
15 million people without coverage.
Obama did not shy away from pushing back against Clinton - saying that she
had been misrepresenting his health-care plan throughout the race in mailings
and ads that he said were "simply not accurate." Obama said that he
and Clinton both shared the goal of achieving universal health coverage, an
assertion that Clinton disagreed with.
The two also had a spirited discussion about trade, a huge issue here in this
working-class industrial state. Both said they would threaten to opt out of
the North American Free Trade Agreement unless Mexico and Canada agreed to renegotiate
its terms.
NAFTA was a landmark pact signed by Clinton's husband, and Obama has criticized
Clinton for having spoken in support of it before her presidential campaign.
He also has attacked her in a campaign flier that Clinton has strongly protested
as unfair.
Obama continued to duck a question on whether he would commit to using public
funds if he wins the Democratic nomination, despite pledging to do so earlier
in the campaign. Obama said he is not yet the nominee and would, if chosen,
"sit down with John McCain and make sure we have a system that is fair
for both sides." But he did not describe what that system would entail.
Clinton, on a question of financing, defended her decision not to release her
joint tax returns, though she said she would consider doing so. Russert asked
how the public could know who is bankrolling her campaign if she does not open
up her private finances yet continues to loan her campaign millions of dollars.
"The American people who support me are bankrolling my campaign, that's
obvious," Clinton said. Asked whether she would release her returns by
next Tuesday, she demurred. "Well, I can't get it together by then,"
Clinton said.
She also said she would seek to make public records from her time as first
lady that have not yet been released, describing the release of White House
records as a "cumbersome process."
Russert asked the two Democrats if they had any moments in their public lives
that they wish they could undo. "Obviously, I've said many times that although
my vote on the 2002 authorization on Iraq was a sincere vote, I would not have
voted that way again. I would certainly as president never have taken us to
war in Iraq and I regret deeply that President Bush waged a preemptive war,"
Clinton said.
Asked explicitly whether she wished she could take that vote back, Clinton
- who has steadfastly refused to apologize for voting for the war - said yes.
"Absolutely, I've said that many times," Clinton said.
Obama said he wished he had spoken out to stop the resolution on Terri Schiavo,
allowing Congress to intervene in the case of a Florida woman in a vegetative
state, when he first arrived in the Senate.
-------
Jump to today's Truthout Features:
(In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. t r u t h o u t has no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of this article nor is t r u t h o u t endorsed or sponsored by the originator.)
"Go to Original" links are provided as a convenience to our readers and allow for verification of authenticity. However, as originating pages are often updated by their originating host sites, the versions posted on TO may not match the versions our readers view when clicking the "Go to Original" links.
Print This Story
E-mail This Story