In summary, this debate featured A LOT more sniping back and forth between candidates. Probably frustration with Clinton's continuing large lead and large gap between first tire and rest of candidates. Clinton was intent on blurring the differences between the candidates (probably a good strategy for the front-runner), even presumptuously speaking for other candidates' positions on several occasions. Edwards provided many juicy tidbits for the media attacking other candidates (causing several raucous moments), being much more explicit with his responses (and I think directly answering questions) and less politically correct. Wolf Blitzer did a pretty good job except for his annoying, impossible to answer hypotheticals but certainly more professional than Chris Matthews. Because of the way this debate was structured, I'll lay out comments by order of issue/question rather then by candidate.
1st Hour: Questions and follow-ups
War funding bill:
Edwards burned Clinton and Obama about being silent in lead-up while he and Dodd were brave and outspoken. He emphasized how important it is to be a leader, not a follower.
In return, Obama burned Edwards for not opposing war from beginning, being 4 years late. Clinton is right, that it is Bush's war fundamentally but there are significant differences between the candidates about what to do about the mess. In contrast to her image as a polarizer, she's emphasizing similarities within the whole Democratic field and differences with the Republicans as a whole because it benefits her among the Democratic base to gloss over her relative hawkishness. Edwards was correct in that there was very little leadership from Clinton and Obama in retaining the timeline in the war funding bill, even if they did eventually vote the right way.
Richardson was asked if morally acceptible to leave iraq if it causes genocide?
He avoided the question completely, wants no residual troops. I think Democrats really need to think more about this question. What are the terms of engagement once we get out for getting back in to try to stop violence, and how many residual troops, if any, are we going to leave?
Should Clinton have read NIE before Iraq war?
I don't think there's any question they all should have although both her and Edwards disagree. They note that they both got briefed and knew major arguments. Apparently this was not enough because if you accept the premise that the Iraq war wasn't worth it and was unjustified which they do then they OBVIOUSLY got duped. And sorry Clinton, arguing about past IS important, it affected policy (Senator Bob Graham from Florida read the full report and cited it as reason to vote against the Iraq war authorization) and will in the future. Edwards AGAIN emphasizes judgment before the war and apologized for his vote, a topic which Clinton soooo desperately wants to avoid. The fact that Clinton trusted Bush on anything in the context of everything else that administration had already mislead on at that point, she wasn't paying enough attention and that's a serious mark against her candidacy.
Gravel is correct that the war vote was a political decision, all the consultants (See Shrum, Bob) were telling their candidates that they had to vote for the war or they'd be perceived as weak in a "rally round the flag" moment, even though I'm sure they all had serious doubts.
Immigration Bill and Amnesty
If he opposes it, it's from left (it would divide too many families etc.) There's an important difference between amnesty and granting citizenship. Amnesty actually means without punishment and in a way, it does provide amnesty insofar as we don't actually deport all the illegals (which as Biden notes, is not feasible). But the word amnesty become a meaningless shock word like "liberal." The bill doesn't grant blanket citizenship and if anything the requirements are too harsh and doesn't necessarily incentivize coming out of the shadows all that much.
Should English be the official language of the US?
It's a divisive issue as Obama says. English is obviously the prevalent (aka national) language in the US but the question is posed in the context of a bill that would make it impossible to print bilingual ballots and have translators at various public agencies as Clinton noted.
Taxes and Health Care
The choice between candidates' health care plans should be framed as how fundamental a change in the system do we need to make? I think it's totally dysfunctional and health insurance needs to be mandated. Fundamentally I don't think the candidates' plans are THAT different from eachother but Edwards is clearly dying to distinguish between him and Obama and Clinton. Edwards and Obama had a little spat about whether Obama's new plan would actually create universal coverage or not and whether there should be mandates. Clinton learned from her experience of not building political coalitions in 1994. She needs to realize, however, that savings around the edges is not enough. Anything proposed, even if it makes health care more efficient, will inevitably drive up costs without underlying, fundamental changes. Richardson emphasized his record (immunized and insured all children under 5 in New Mexico), but how universal health care be achieved without at least rescinding Bush's tax cuts on the rich?
Obama is slightly wrong about one point, I know lots of young adults who avoid buying health care not because they literally couldn't afford it if it was their number one priority but because they feel invulnerable and it's not their priority at that point in their lives. In that context a mandate could be helpful. As in last debate, Kucinich is right in that ideally health care should be single-payer but I don't know if it's politically feasible at this point.
Gays in Military
Hillary correct about fundamentals and defends Bill for "compromise policy" of don't ask don't tell. All agree it's time to get rid of it. Edwards agrees with civil unions in NH but he fudges marriage question. That question probably had something to do with Edwards' former advisor Bob Shrum claiming in his recent book that Edwards said he wasn't "comfortable with those people," referring to gays in a discussion about gay marriage.
Gas prices and energy independence
The premise of this question assumes that we need lower gas prices. Actually in comparison to the rest of the world, they are NOT that bad. In terms of regulating global warming, a carbon tax is absolutely the way to go. I wish someone would bring up increasing gas taxes a la Friedman but I know how unpopular it sounds, even for the Democratic base. Gravel is correct, nothing we need to do to reduce prices right now. Edward pulls a populist claiming we need an investigation of oil companies but I don't think root problem is price gouging. But obviously we should eliminate dirty fuel subsidies and improve mandatory car millage standards.
2nd Hour: Town-hall style questions from undecided NH voters...
Armed Forces
I don't think Kucinich should have emphasized cutting military funding in responding to a question from a military wife even though there are cold war relics should be cut. Perhaps it would have been smarter to talk about reassigning existing funding to troops away from Star Wars missile defense and Cold War submarines. Obama wants to build size of military, which is justifiable considering the repeat tours of duty many of the troops are experiencing.
How to deal with Iran.
Clinton insists that she wants to use diplomacy and we need to talk as we did with the Soviet Union but she's very concerned. Iran having a nuclear weapon is unacceptable but she won't get into hypotheticals about if it did. Edwards sounds very knowledgeable and clearly connecting with the old woman who lived in Iran suggesting economic leverage (as from European banks) which I think is key to applying pressure and getting other countries involved. Biden expanded on this but says at end of day if a missile was pointed at us he'd take it out (duh).
Darfur.
Everyone HATES Blitzer's hypotheticals (Should we use force to stop genocide in Darfur?). They do suck, they don't have easy yes or no answers. Biden proposes using force based on his visit there. Everyone thinks there should be more UN peacekeepers and such.
I missed the last half hour of the debate due to a phone call, so I'll update when I get a chance to finish it!
1st Hour: Questions and follow-ups
War funding bill:
Edwards burned Clinton and Obama about being silent in lead-up while he and Dodd were brave and outspoken. He emphasized how important it is to be a leader, not a follower.
In return, Obama burned Edwards for not opposing war from beginning, being 4 years late. Clinton is right, that it is Bush's war fundamentally but there are significant differences between the candidates about what to do about the mess. In contrast to her image as a polarizer, she's emphasizing similarities within the whole Democratic field and differences with the Republicans as a whole because it benefits her among the Democratic base to gloss over her relative hawkishness. Edwards was correct in that there was very little leadership from Clinton and Obama in retaining the timeline in the war funding bill, even if they did eventually vote the right way.
Richardson was asked if morally acceptible to leave iraq if it causes genocide?
He avoided the question completely, wants no residual troops. I think Democrats really need to think more about this question. What are the terms of engagement once we get out for getting back in to try to stop violence, and how many residual troops, if any, are we going to leave?
Should Clinton have read NIE before Iraq war?
I don't think there's any question they all should have although both her and Edwards disagree. They note that they both got briefed and knew major arguments. Apparently this was not enough because if you accept the premise that the Iraq war wasn't worth it and was unjustified which they do then they OBVIOUSLY got duped. And sorry Clinton, arguing about past IS important, it affected policy (Senator Bob Graham from Florida read the full report and cited it as reason to vote against the Iraq war authorization) and will in the future. Edwards AGAIN emphasizes judgment before the war and apologized for his vote, a topic which Clinton soooo desperately wants to avoid. The fact that Clinton trusted Bush on anything in the context of everything else that administration had already mislead on at that point, she wasn't paying enough attention and that's a serious mark against her candidacy.
Gravel is correct that the war vote was a political decision, all the consultants (See Shrum, Bob) were telling their candidates that they had to vote for the war or they'd be perceived as weak in a "rally round the flag" moment, even though I'm sure they all had serious doubts.
Immigration Bill and Amnesty
If he opposes it, it's from left (it would divide too many families etc.) There's an important difference between amnesty and granting citizenship. Amnesty actually means without punishment and in a way, it does provide amnesty insofar as we don't actually deport all the illegals (which as Biden notes, is not feasible). But the word amnesty become a meaningless shock word like "liberal." The bill doesn't grant blanket citizenship and if anything the requirements are too harsh and doesn't necessarily incentivize coming out of the shadows all that much.
Should English be the official language of the US?
It's a divisive issue as Obama says. English is obviously the prevalent (aka national) language in the US but the question is posed in the context of a bill that would make it impossible to print bilingual ballots and have translators at various public agencies as Clinton noted.
Taxes and Health Care
The choice between candidates' health care plans should be framed as how fundamental a change in the system do we need to make? I think it's totally dysfunctional and health insurance needs to be mandated. Fundamentally I don't think the candidates' plans are THAT different from eachother but Edwards is clearly dying to distinguish between him and Obama and Clinton. Edwards and Obama had a little spat about whether Obama's new plan would actually create universal coverage or not and whether there should be mandates. Clinton learned from her experience of not building political coalitions in 1994. She needs to realize, however, that savings around the edges is not enough. Anything proposed, even if it makes health care more efficient, will inevitably drive up costs without underlying, fundamental changes. Richardson emphasized his record (immunized and insured all children under 5 in New Mexico), but how universal health care be achieved without at least rescinding Bush's tax cuts on the rich?
Obama is slightly wrong about one point, I know lots of young adults who avoid buying health care not because they literally couldn't afford it if it was their number one priority but because they feel invulnerable and it's not their priority at that point in their lives. In that context a mandate could be helpful. As in last debate, Kucinich is right in that ideally health care should be single-payer but I don't know if it's politically feasible at this point.
Gays in Military
Hillary correct about fundamentals and defends Bill for "compromise policy" of don't ask don't tell. All agree it's time to get rid of it. Edwards agrees with civil unions in NH but he fudges marriage question. That question probably had something to do with Edwards' former advisor Bob Shrum claiming in his recent book that Edwards said he wasn't "comfortable with those people," referring to gays in a discussion about gay marriage.
Gas prices and energy independence
The premise of this question assumes that we need lower gas prices. Actually in comparison to the rest of the world, they are NOT that bad. In terms of regulating global warming, a carbon tax is absolutely the way to go. I wish someone would bring up increasing gas taxes a la Friedman but I know how unpopular it sounds, even for the Democratic base. Gravel is correct, nothing we need to do to reduce prices right now. Edward pulls a populist claiming we need an investigation of oil companies but I don't think root problem is price gouging. But obviously we should eliminate dirty fuel subsidies and improve mandatory car millage standards.
2nd Hour: Town-hall style questions from undecided NH voters...
Armed Forces
I don't think Kucinich should have emphasized cutting military funding in responding to a question from a military wife even though there are cold war relics should be cut. Perhaps it would have been smarter to talk about reassigning existing funding to troops away from Star Wars missile defense and Cold War submarines. Obama wants to build size of military, which is justifiable considering the repeat tours of duty many of the troops are experiencing.
How to deal with Iran.
Clinton insists that she wants to use diplomacy and we need to talk as we did with the Soviet Union but she's very concerned. Iran having a nuclear weapon is unacceptable but she won't get into hypotheticals about if it did. Edwards sounds very knowledgeable and clearly connecting with the old woman who lived in Iran suggesting economic leverage (as from European banks) which I think is key to applying pressure and getting other countries involved. Biden expanded on this but says at end of day if a missile was pointed at us he'd take it out (duh).
Darfur.
Everyone HATES Blitzer's hypotheticals (Should we use force to stop genocide in Darfur?). They do suck, they don't have easy yes or no answers. Biden proposes using force based on his visit there. Everyone thinks there should be more UN peacekeepers and such.
I missed the last half hour of the debate due to a phone call, so I'll update when I get a chance to finish it!
