The tone of the debate started out as if the pair were sent to the Principal's office and Hillary was responding to allegations of less-than-lady-like behavior.
The debate picked up and turned presidential when Obama talked about the mailings that had Hillary hollerin' and the mandate Sen. Clinton has in her health care plan. She wants to make the uninsured who can afford it, buy health care (like mandatory car insurance) and fine them if they don't buy it on their own.
Then I got it--she is trying to insure the uninsurable. People
who make too much to qualify for state-sponsored health care
but can't qualify for regular insurance because of a
pre-existing illness.
It shouldn't take all of this to get a point across.
However, getting fined for not having health care is just dumb.
"The insurance companies would be happy to have a mandate"
Obama said.
Hillary does seem rather close to the insurance companies but I
haven't figured that part out yet.
Mandating parents to buy children health care is
understandable. Obama's plan should enforce that. Hillary says that won't work either.
Both are government-sponsored health care plans.
Maybe after Obama wins the nomination and then the presidency,
they can both pull the best parts from each plan and make it
work.
NAFTA
Hillary's husband signed the agreement in a deal brokered with the
Republican Congress. I watched him sign it. He didn't seem to
want to and I can't remember what he got for the people out of
the deal. Clinton, when asked, said she is willing to
re-negotiate NAFTA but not get out of it.
Tim Russert got on her about it. Lots of suffering has
occurred.
She said she has been fixing and duct taping NAFTA since it was
signed (my words, her meaning). It hasn't really been working
for the betterment of America and it's people.
People care about jobs, folks, j-o-b-s.
Can I get one? Can I join the union?
Obama said he would renegotiate so that it is better for the
worker (he is a Civil Rights attorney and was a Constitutional Rights professor) not corporate profits.
Times were good then and we didn't listen to the portion of the
American public who begged us not to take the deal.
Then again, this country forgets on a regular basis to buy
American.
Obama is on top of NAFTA standards.
Foreign Policy--Obama is clearly the leader in this area. I
trust his judgement thoroughly.
He has the temperament to do this and do it well--effectively
well--not just with style and grace.
Hillary loves to jab, punch and kick. Everyone is looking for
her to take higher ground. People don't like to be pushed
around--they get defensive--something the enemy is accustomed to
doing-- taking the offensive.
(I was for the war myself--that is why I am not leading the free
world.)
We entered this war without an exit strategy. We did not fund
it properly--all of that money couldn't have gone to help soldiers stay safe. All we had to do is follow what the military
asked us to do--like give them the tools to win. The thing
about being tough is that when being tough, you have to be
really tough--no half stepping. Being tough means taking
punches--hard punches. We would rather discuss the issues like civilized people.
Tim Russert set both of them up with the "get out" of Iraq question.
When we leave, all hell will break loose over there and we will
feel it over here.
Obama's plan is workable. There is no black or white here but
many gray areas--when not considering corporate profits. It
is time to let go the hand of the oil companies and find our
own energy resources so that we have firm ground to stand on
when we interact with the warring nations. Most of this cannot
be discussed in public because it is a matter of national
security. Afghanistan is hot.
We need to keep the fireworks in the sandlot--not in American
cities. Keep your enemies closer.
I don't like Hillary's plan. The
attitude is too cavalier. (away with them!) I can see her
fanning them away and turning her head now. I would never turn
my head on them. They are out for blood and they will never
quit.
Barack took Hillary's grandstanding about his idealism in good
humor--see how he does? He didn't get defensive, he took the
opportunity to further his platform.
He plans on getting the real people real help they need to
survive. He knows what we are going through.
(Not all of us have $5 mill on hand to lend) She said she would
get $55 billion back from "special interest groups" that
Congress had been pushing into their pockets and invest it in
the middle class. Okay! How is it you have that much sway with
the special interest groups? How is it they are willing to give
back money? I smell a deal in the works. What will we lose this
time? (I'm tired of losing)
I know no one will bother to explain these things to me because
I'm not important enough. The Invisible Girl already knows she
doesn't matter. But see, it's not just me. There are lots of
Invisible Girls and Boys in this country that Sen. Obama
promises to recognize--that is why we recognize him.
(I like the idea of Green Jobs--now that is Change we can
believe in. Who wouldn't want to build a windmill?)
And in my opinion, Presidential Candidate Barack Obama won
tonight's debate.
I bet Hillary doesn't want to go first on certain questions because she believes Barack will follow or build on her response.
However, he nailed the Russia question. He is on top of things internationally.
I have so much confidence in his leadership abilities.
(We are all ignoring Tim Russert and Hillary Clinton's inability to let the Farrakhan issue go--that was over the top. Barack already had said he rejected the Minister's controversial ideas--including the ideas he has on Jewish people or Jewish issues.)
