December 13, 2007
Liveblogging The Final Dem Debate Of 2007!
4:10. All over, no more debates until next year, hurray!
Up until a couple of months ago, there seemed to be a critical mass of Democratic support building behind Clinton, in part because of her metamorphosis into a suddenly "human" and likable politician and the assumption that the Clinton machine could best take on the Republican nominee next year. The political press carried on that change vs. experience debate all summer and into the early fall.
But now the nomination fight has been upended, and polls [PDF] show (subscription) that Obama and Edwards are viable in general election matchups, too. That eliminates for some voters their primary thesis for supporting Clinton, and it's why she's been struggling to stay afloat this month.
Most of us can look forward to relaxing with family in a week or so, but for the presidential contenders and Iowans it's closing arguments time. One thought to keep in mind: Part of the shifting around in this field and in the GOP as well is that the Iraq war has largely dropped out of the debate. Iraq no longer dominates the front page because of the decrease in violence and because of the campaigns. That changes in March at the latest, when Gen. David Petraeus is due back in Washington to report on the ground situation. We know the military part of the surge is working, but we are not much farther than we were in September on political reconciliation. The "what's next?" question is still hanging out there, unanswered. The GOP front-runners have more or less indicated loyalty to the Bush administration's policies, so answers will have to come from the Democratic field.
Early reactions: boring, boring, nice, snark.
3:26. Silly question time Part II: Why are Iowa voters so great?
Everyone: they "make up their own minds," take the electoral process seriously, food on a stick, etc.
3:21. Silly question time Part I: New Year's resolutions?
Clinton: Exercise and "run a campaign that Democrats can be proud of."
Edwards: "Somewhere in America tonight a child will go to bed hungry. Somewhere in America tonight a family will go to the emergency room and beg for health care for a child." Etc.
Obama: "be a better father and husband" and "remind myself constantly that this is not about me."
3:15. Obama says he will prioritize "restoring our respect in the world" and "redoubling" foreign aid efforts to help win that respect.
And now for why Clinton was until recently the anointed front-runner: She receives swell marks for sheer improvement as a politician. Humorous anecdote about Bush's signing statement on FEMA legislation. She pledges to "remove the legacy of George Bush."
3:13. Hey, Obama: You have no foreign policy experience and a bunch of ex-Clinton officials advising you. What gives?
Obama: "Hillary, I'm looking forward to you advising me as well." Haha.
3:08. OK, seriously -- where in all of white-bread Iowa did that question come from? Yes, Biden had a sort of Macaca Moment early in his campaign, but he was an early adopter, as the kids say, of the civil rights movement.
He says so, and Clinton et al. chime in with a "Hear, Hear!" and applaud. One of the most touching moments of this long and silly and sometimes ugly campaign season.
Obama, who in case you missed it is not a white guy, is given the ball, and he is only too happy to "testify" on Biden's behalf. "I have absolutely no doubt about the commitment in his heart," Obama says.
3:07. Washburn to Biden: Are you a racist?
Awesome. Really?
3:00. First-year agendas.
Obama: order Joint Chiefs to come up with a plan to end the war, initiate diplomacy (which in this field translates to: phone world leaders and inform them I am not George W. Bush), tell new attorney general to review "every single executive order" handed down by Bush. Also: universal health care.
Biden: implement his partition plan for Iraq, make clear to the world that Bush's policies on torture, rendition and detainees are done with, "catastrophic health insurance" for all children, preschool education proposal. Not the usual predictable fare, those last two.
Richardson: again with his completely unrealistic plan to pull all U.S. troops from Iraq and leave no "residual" forces behind.
2:52. Everyone here is in the same place, more or less, on education. Repeal/reform No Child Left Behind, raise teacher salaries, increase training, create programs targeting kids at earlier ages. Obama and Dodd stress parental involvement -- makes sense, but no one ever says how to involve parents who aren't already inclined to be involved in their children's education. Clinton wants to expand federal funding for special education and technology.
2:46. Obama "probably would have voted against" the bill, Biden would have voted for it, Clinton would have voted against. Smart to remind everyone here that a lot of New York, particularly upstate and central, is rural and fairly conservative.
2:43. Washburn: So, every one of you senators missed the farm vote...
Zing.
2:36. Personal statement time again.
Biden: This election isn't about experience vs. change, "it's really about action and pragmatic solutions."
Richardson: Who loves you, Iowa? I do!
Candidates sometimes think it's funny to admit how much they need to suck up in the early primary states, but is it? Is it really?
Thankfully, Richardson turns serious and laments that the Iraq war is dropping out of campaign coverage. "We're somehow losing sight that this is the most important, fundamental issue affecting our country." Anyone else wonder if the public has so given up hope on the war that they've moved on to the economy/health care by default?
2:31. A reminder here that the protectionist tide swelling in middle-class America is bipartisan. As a matter of policy, protectionism is simply untenable, and politicians really need to do a better job of explaining why that is.
That said, the Red Menace (aka China) surfaces here again as it has in GOP debates. Edwards assails "big corporations" profiteering from business in China, Biden says he's voted against every trade agreement "since CAFTA" because of loopholes on environmental and labor standards, and Clinton says NAFTA (her husband, again) should be revised.
2:25. The candidates each get 30 seconds to make a personal statement at different points in the debate. Obama's up first: "Our nation's at war, the planet's in peril.... We need the courage to change." (Take that, Senator Clinton.)
Edwards is next: "What makes America America is at stake.... Corporate power and corporate greed -- we have to take them on, we can't make a deal with them." (Take that as well, Senator Clinton.)
2:19. Who says Democrats aren't capable of a foreign policy with teeth? Good response from Dodd on China: "I don't mind competing with someone, but this is more of an adversarial relationship." Certainly, years of playing nice with China hasn't gotten us very far on tariffs, trade, currency, human rights, and so on. Dig a little deeper and this issue also potentially hurts Clinton, because President Clinton was so harshly criticized for his most favorable nation status push when he was president.
2:15. The No. 1 question Iowans wanted answered is how would the candidates prioritize balancing the federal budget. Is anyone else reminded that the Democratic nominee will most likely be a senator -- and therefore not exactly known for fiscal restraint -- while the GOP nominee will most likely be a budget-balancing chief executive (governor/mayor)?
Obama: invest in education and infrastructure, trade deals, end the war, redirect tax breaks from corporations to the middle class. "We're not going to be able to dig ourselves out of that hole in one or two years," he says.
Richardson: reminds everyone he's a governor, backs the line-item veto.
Biden: end the war, tax cuts for the wealthy, and here's something we're not hearing a lot -- cut $20 million a year from "special programs" in the military like Star Wars and new nuclear weapons research.
Dodd: restore "a sense of confidence and optimism," tackle health care and energy costs.
Edwards: a populist attack on "corporate power and greed." Remember Al Gore's populist message in 2000, and how it helped sink him with moderates? In real terms, the economy hasn't changed dramatically over the past seven-plus years. Psychic angst about the economy, however, appears to have exploded.
Clinton maybe gets a fiscal responsibility boost-by-association thanks to her husband. She also goes after corporate tax breaks, though she is the most Big Biz-friendly candidate of the top tier and has the most realpolitik attitude toward taking donations from lobbyists.
2:02. Showtime. Register editor Carolyn Washburn makes the introductions.
1:52. Welcome to The Gate's liveblog coverage of the Des Moines Register's Democratic candidates debate. At 2 p.m. EST, Sens. Joseph Biden, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Christopher Dodd, Barack Obama, former Sen. John Edwards and Gov. Bill Richardson meet for the last time before the Iowa caucuses on Jan. 3.
We've got two fewer participants than in the Republican candidates forum yesterday, which should mean more time for Qs & As. And thanks to their not having met the Register's participation requirements, we are spared having to hear from two guys with zero chance of winning the nomination. (Sorry, but we're late enough in the game to dispense with pretense.)
The Republican candidates were quite reserved, considering how much they've been attacking each other on the ground and on the air. Because the Register is taking pains to ask more serious questions of the candidates -- as opposed to fishing for sound bites -- we can expect something of the same today. We'll see, though, how far Clinton goes now that she finds herself on defense. The juggernaut-that-was has been associated with one misstep after another, most of them uncharacteristically amateurish.
So: Clinton Collapse or Clinton Correction? Headline writers are at their marks. Stay tuned.
Photo Illustration: Reuben Dalke
Posted at 4:10 PM
Posted to:
Barack Obama, Bill Richardson, Campaigns, Christopher Dodd, Democrats, Economy, Education, Health, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Iraq, John Edwards, Joseph Biden, Middle East, Republicans, Taxes, Trade, WH 2008
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