what got rejected--people in costumes...kids...kids asking adult questions...
the "most viewed" didn't necessarily make it to the final questions...anderson cooper called out sen. biden as being the instigator of trying to get a particular question on..
they're at the Citadel...hmmm...
1st question: will you be different than do-nothing officials who can't do their jobs?
dodd--blah blah blah
obama: we're not doing anything about health, education, yada yada i'm a community organizer blah blah blah...
2nd question (to kucinich):
kucinich: i'm the only guy who has been 100% against this war the whole time. "strength through peace"
clinton: we can't take another 4-8 years of republican leadership. i've got 35 years of being awesome.
obama: this is a problem of both parties. i don't take special interest money.
3rd question (for hillary!): how do you define "liberal"? would you describe yourself as liberal? hillary: it means you are for freedom, ability to achieve. i prefer the term "progressive".
gravel: none of these other guys are gonna be any different than anyone else...(takes a huge shot at obama regarding some shady donor)
obama: responds, claims he has introduced legislation to stop this...?
4th question: what republican would you pick as a running mate?
biden: sen. chuck hagel
edwards: hagel good choice...goes on to dis "triangulation"...says how he fights big corporations & etc...
5th question (for edwards): is african americans ever gonna get reparations for slavery (sic sic sic)?
edwards: not for reparations, but he's got other ways (mortgages, etc...) to help AA's along...
obama: investment in schools (huge applause).
kucinich: FOR reparations. the only one to respond in the affirmative to anderson coopers question: is anybody for this?
A: <
6th question (for dodd): do you think that if katrina hit somewhere else the response would be different?
dodd: one of the most shameful incidents in history. if it would've hit whitey, there would be a much more aggressive response.
7th question (for clinton/obama): everytning written about u2 is about your race or gender. what say you?
obama: we want to get beyond race...but the legacy of jim crow is still felt.
clinton: i'm proud to be running as a woman. break glass ceilings. i'm the most qualified to hit the ground running in 2009.
cooper: sen edwards, your wife says you would be a better advocate for women than hillary. ? edwards: more women affected by min wage than men. raise it to $9.50/hr by 2012. i've got the strongest, boldest ideas.
clinton: i've got the strongest admiration for elizabeth edwards. i went to beijing for women's conference.
8th question: gay marriage?
kucinich: yes. because the constitution says we're equal.
dodd: civil unions, not marriage. richardson: full civil unions, ability to serve in military, no discrimination.
9th question (for edwards): why does edwards think gays don't deserve full & equal rights? edwards: i have ENORMOUS PERSONAL CONFLICT. i'm on a journey. elizabeth for it, i'm not.
**(pee break...plus beer) oh, lucky me...commercial time!!**
Q: darfur? send troops?
richardson: diplomacy, UN troops, no-fly zone. don't just worry about oil, europe, etc... PERMANENT UN force.
biden: we should send troops. by the time diplomacy is done they'll be dead. we can save them.
gravel: we need global governance. african nations afraid of us.
clinton: we need to act, not talk. divestment, sanctions, get china involved, no-fly zone. american troops don't belong. UN troops do. we're losing in afghanistan to bin laden.
Q: how do we pull out (of iraq) now?
obama: i opposed this from the start. we can be as careful getting out as we were careless getting in. begin phased withdrawal, troops out by March 31 next year.
biden: we can't pull out now. 1) it'll take at least a year. 2) split the country up along sectarian lines. 3) ?
Q: 2006 election gave mandate to pull troops. do the dems fear withdrawal will be used by republican spin machine?
clinton: there is no military solution, iraqis REFUSE to do political solution. i got dissed by the pentagon...(haha)
kucinich: the voters expected us to END the war. CUT THE FUNDS.
dodd: i don't support timetables usually, but the iraqis need to have a kick in the ass.
cooper: are the democrats playing politics?
richardson: bring the troops home. it's a quagmire.
Q: vietnam deaths in vain? (for gravel):
gravel: soldiers in vietnam died in VAIN!!! you can buy a baskin robbins ice cream cone now in saigon!!
obama: i don't think the troops die in vain. the civilian leaders need to make sure the plans are good.
edwards: they don't die in vain. turn up the heat on bush.
Q: should women register for the draft?
dodd: against draft, for a national service.
clinton: yes. doesn't support draft. it is fair to call upon every young american. supports public service academy.
obama: something about tuskegee airmen....blah blah blah
edwards: women can serve courageously and honorably
gravel: i ended the draft, but if we have one, women should be in it too
Q: (from military dude) muslims see women as 2nd class citizens. sen clinton, do you think they would take you seriously?
clinton: thanx 4 your service. i've met with a bunch of leaders in muslim countries. women leaders are taken seriously all over the world.
Q: meet with iran, syria, venezuela, north korea, etc...to bridge the gap?
obama: even reagan spoke to enemies. find ways to move forward.
clinton: i won't promise to meet these leaders in the first year, i won't be used for propaganda. test the waters with hi-level envoys, etc...
edwards: i would meet with chavez, castro. the president needs to tell the world "who we are"...
Q: how many of your children are serving? dodd: non-answer, he was in the reserve.
richardson: get troops out in 6 months, no residual forces. our troops are targets.
biden: we can't get the troops out in 6 months.
Q: who was your favorite teacher & why?
.....................
Q: would you scrap or revise the no child left behind program?
richardson: scrap. min wage for teachers 40K/year. emphasize science & math.
biden: i voted for it, will scrap it. i respected ted kennedy.
Q: send your kids to public or private school?
edwards: all my kids went to public school.
clinton: chelsea went to pub school thru 8th grade...security reasons for private after
obama: i taught at private school, so my kids went to private school
biden: private school i'm a catholic so i believe in catholic school
kucinich: public
gravel: we need competition
dodd: public
Q: (planned parenthood): do you support age-appropriate sex education?
edwards: me and my wife taught our children about inappropriate touching and i think where babies came from
obama: i've got a 9 and a 6 year old and we've taught them how to tell us when somebody's touching them wrong.
Q: (from weird hillbillies from tennessee) is al gore running again? does that hurt your feelings?
biden: i think people in tennessee's feelings are hurt (laughter)
Q: (snowman question) global warming--what will you do to reduce it?
kucinich: i'm the best on global warming...i get the whole connection.
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(MY FAVORITE MOMENT!!)
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Q: how do you get americans to conserve ( to reduce GW)
gravel: (whatever he said)
dodd: 50 mpg standard by 2017, corporate carbon tax, move away from fossil fuels
cooper: who took a private jet? show of hands?
everybody: (looked around to see who raised hands)
Q: there's a consensus about man-made climate change. opinion about nuclear power?
edwards: against, too expensive, etc...
obama: explore nuke power, solar, etc...
clinton: do what america does best...technology
Q: why can't we standardize voting?
richardson: paper trails, get republicans to stop suppressing votes
Q: national minimum wage: would you be willing to serve as president for the national minimum wage?
gravel: we need a living wage
clinton: sure
obama: most folks on this stage are rich
biden: i don't have obama money
kucinich: my neighbors need an increase in min wage
Q: social security:
dodd: trust fund something...
obama: preserve social security, do like reagan & tip o'neill and put it on a firm footing
Q: raise taxes or cut benefits to stop US from going broke?
richardson: (missed it…oops)
biden: there's people who need to pay more taxes, don't need tax breaks.
Q: over-taxed.
kucinich: duh. No.
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to hell with all of the post-debate spin...(editor's note: i made the big mistake of drinking a full 16 oz can of miller hi life every time i heard someone pandering..)
anderson cooper got a great line in at the end when dennis kucinich pointed out that there was nobody on his left (the question was ~"say something good about the candidate on your left and say something bad about them"). cooper pointed out to kucinich that there was NOBODY on his left (but kucinich completed the circle by praising gravel on his support of the pentagon papers etc........)
oh yeah, and so that old perv joe biden said he liked kucinich's wife...
all in all, this was a FUN debate. the candidates were animated in their responses, which was a lot different than their usual lame scripted answers to questions from "respected journalists".
i've got to say, hillary was the most impressive of the democratic candidates tonight. i'm a big believer that she has been in the white house and was probably a decision-maker while she was in there, and she probably knows the deep underground of the problems we face with islamist terrorism etc..., and is probably the strongest in that area.
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