Oh-eight (D): Hillary wants to start early
Posted: Monday, September 17, 2007 9:10 AM by Domenico Montanaro
Filed Under:
Democrats
Previewing today’s Laborers’ forum in Chicago, the Chicago Sun-Times reports that Clinton, Edwards, and Biden will appear today at the two-day conference, while Obama will not be attending this hometown event.
CLINTON: At the Harkin Steak Fry yesterday, Clinton continued her inevitability push by announcing that the day after winning the election, she'll begin traveling the world (even before her inauguration) to declare that the era of "cowboy diplomacy is over. America is back."
On Saturday, the Wall Street Journal previewed Clinton’s health-care plan. “The most significant element of the Clinton plan is expected to be a new requirement for all Americans to have insurance. That disturbs some liberals, who worry that low-income families won't be able to afford it, as well as some conservatives, who object to such a sweeping government mandate. But many health-policy experts say it's essential that everyone be in the insurance system so that healthy people with low medical costs can balance out the sick.”
The New York Times did the same on Sunday. “[A]ides and advisers who spoke on condition on anonymity said that Mrs. Clinton would propose expanding the Children’s Health Insurance Program as a step toward universal coverage… Clinton aides said her plan would preserve a large role for private insurance companies; would promote the use of health information technology and low-cost generic drugs; and would create a public-private institute to evaluate and compare drugs, devices and medical treatments.”
“‘It puts the consumer in the driver's seat by offering more choices and lowering costs,’ Neera Tanden, Clinton's top policy adviser, told The Associated Press. ‘If you like the plan you have, you keep it. If you're one of tens of millions of Americans without coverage or don't like the coverage you have, you will have a choice of plans to pick from and you'll get tax credits to help pay for it.’”
The AP also breaks down where all the candidates stand on health care.
The Hsu news continued over the weekend. The New York Times and LA Times examined how he worked his way into the Clinton fundraising world.
Gen. Wesley Clark (D), who ran for president in 2004, endorsed Clinton on Saturday, NBC/NJ’s Athena Jones reports. “I’m very pleased today to announce my endorsement of Sen. Clinton to be our next president of the United States,” Clark said in a conference call with reporters. “I think she’s a remarkable person. She’s had incredible experiences. She’s smart; she does her homework; she’s decisive; she’s strong. I think she’ll be a great leader for the United States of America and I think she’ll be a great commander in chief for the men and women in uniform.”
Later in the day, Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D) also endorsed Clinton, NBC’s Abby Livingston notes. “Frankly, on manufacturing there’s nothing more important to us than changing the way we fund health care in this country and nobody in this country understands what we need to do or has the ability to do that more than Hillary Clinton,” Stabenow said.
EDWARDS: Unlike the Obama camp -- which is trying to push a different subject this week (the economy -- Edwards is focused on health care, trying to set his plan up as the one that's most frequently compared to Clinton's health care plan. In Chicago today, NBC’s Kevin Corke reports, Edwards is expected pledge that -- if elected -- he will call for the elimination of the health coverage of the president, vice president, Congress and all political appointees by July 20, 2009 unless Congress passes a universal healthcare coverage plan.
The Concord Monitor writes: “Edwards's service projects have arguably been the most visible of any candidate's in the Democratic primary.”
On Saturday, NBC/NJ’s Tricia Miller reports, Elizabeth Edwards addressed a group of about 60 people at the Latinos Unidos of Iowa health care conference in Des Moines. The group had invited all of the presidential candidates to speak at the conference, but only Edwards made an appearance. Both the Edwards and Obama campaigns had booths at the event.
KUCINICH: The Ohio congressman issued a statement on Saturday complaining about not being invited to Harkin’s Steak Fry and a forum on Thursday in Davenport, IA. "The whole purpose of the primary and caucus season is to provide voters with opportunities, not to enable a carnival of interest groups to subvert the process," he said. "When Party leaders and their allies pre-select which candidates they will allow the voters to hear, it's a disservice to the voters. Iowans deserve better than a rigged game." The release added that “statewide and national polls consistently show Kucinich running ahead of Senators Joe Biden and Christopher Dodd, who were invited to participate.”
OBAMA: In an email this morning, the Obama campaign previewed the candidate’s speech on the economy. “Using the subprime mortgage crisis that has led to today’s economic uncertainty as an example, Obama will discuss why the American economy and the American people benefit from policies that ensure openness, transparency, and honesty in the marketplace.”
So the Washington Post decided to look into the mindset of Obama and his political standing at the time he made his now-famous 2002 speech against the war. The picture painted is not one of a profile in courage. One key anecdote: "Dan Shomon, a political strategist who was advising Obama at the time, said Obama told him he was concerned he would be perceived as a pacifist if he attended the rally. Shomon told Obama it was important to speak on a core issue, particularly with longtime allies such as Saltzman organizing the event." Of course, you should ask yourselves how many of these folks are upset with Obama that they don't have a role on the current campaign.
