Democratic Presidential hopefuls Hillary Clinton and Barak Obama squared off in what was the 21st debate of the campaign season. Prior to tonight, the last debate was in late February. Let's recap everything that has happened with these two since the last debate:BARAK OBAMA
~ Photo of Obama in native Kenyan garb. Accusations of secret Muslim agenda.
~ Michelle Obama's 'proud to be an American' comment.
~ Geraldine Ferraro's comments.
~ Rev. Jeremiah Wright firestorm.
~ Obama's "A More Perfect Union" speech on race in America.
~ Gov. Bill Richardson endorsement.
~ Obama's 'bitter' comment.
HILLARY CLINTON
~ '3 a.m.' ad campaign
~ Clinton refuses to concede defeat
~ Won Texas and Ohio
~ Clinton's ex-pastor agrees with Rev. Wright
~ Chelsea's 'Lewinsky' response
~ Clinton likens herself to Rocky Balboa
~ Bosnia sniper fire fiasco
~ Clinton releases tax returns (made $109M from 2000-2007)
~ Hillary asks Bill Clinton to shut up about Bosnia.
Anyway, the Philadelphia debate aired tonight and with all that has happened since the last debate, there was much to be discussed. The question is, will they get beyond rehashing the same old sticky subjects and talk about the real issues? Here are the highlights:
The first 45 minutes were about silly stuff that won't go away in the news. The remaining 45 minutes were about the issues. Hillary Rodham Clinton hammered away at Barack Obama while an annoyed Obama accused her of turning off voters by pouncing on gaffes instead of discussing grave problems like the economy and Iraq.
Q1: Will either candidate consider the other for VP?
A1: No...we need to figure out who the Presidential nominee is first
Each candidate acknowledged that the other was capable of winning.
Q2: Sen. Obama - Explain the 'bitter' remarks
A2: He acknowledged that it is not the first time he has mangled a statement. Obama went on to say that people who feel that they are not being heard will rely on what they know, such as religion and traditions.
He said he was attempting to say that because voters feel ignored by government, "they end up being much more concerned about votes around things like guns where traditions have been passed on from generation to generation. And those are incredibly important to them." "People don't cling to their traditions on hunting and guns" out of frustration with their government, Clinton said. She added that Obama had a fundamental misunderstanding on the role of religion and faith.
Both pledged not to raise taxes on individuals making less than $200,000, and said they would respond forcefully if Iran obtains nuclear weapons and uses them against Israel.
They differed over Social Security when Obama said he favored raising payroll taxes on higher-income individuals. Clinton said she was opposed, her rival quickly cut in and countered that she had said earlier in the campaign she was open to the idea.
Clinton issued a first-ever public apology for having claimed erroneously that she landed in Bosnia under sniper fire in 1996 as first lady. "I may be a lot of things but I am not dumb," she said, "I wrote about going to Bosnia in my book in 2004. I laid it all out there. ... On a couple of occasions in the last weeks, I just said some things that weren't in keeping with what I knew to be the case. ... I'm embarrassed by it. I have apologized for it." She previously had explained her incorrect comments by saying she had misspoken.
Obama later erred by saying he had never favored a ban on handguns even though as a state Senate candidate in 1996 he filled out a questionnaire from an Illinois voter group saying he would support such a ban."My writing wasn't on that particular questionnaire ... as I said, I have never favored an all-out ban on handguns," Obama said, even though his handwritten notes did appear on its front page. The response to the question about guns was typed.
Neither rival was willing to say they would ask President Bush to serve in any capacity after he leaves office. Obama volunteered he would be "more likely to ask the advice of the current president's father. He said, that as president, George H. W. Bush had presided over a "wise foreign policy" at the time the Cold War was ending.
Of course the Rev. Wright issue came up and they also debated some of the issues, but for the most part, it was much of the same.
On a side-note, I always enjoy the buzzwords and phrases that are tossed around by every news organization and pundit when certain topics become hot. Remember these: Hussein, patriotism, ready on day one, experienced, reject, denounce, incendiary, inflammatory, divisive, historic, race conversation, bitter-gate, elitist, shame on you.
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