Tonight's forum
Posted: Thursday, September 20, 2007 8:59 AM by Domenico Montanaro
Filed Under:
Democrats
Per NBC/National Journal’s Carrie Dann, PBS’s Judy Woodruff moderates tonight’s forum, which takes place in Davenport, IA at 8:00 pm ET. Woodruff will present questions submitted by AARP members with a focus on issues that matter to seniors -- especially health care and financial security. "This will really be the first time that candidates will really have a chance to talk about these issues in depth," says Bruce Koeppl, campaign manager for the "Divided We Fail" voter outreach effort, a partnership among the AARP, SEIU, and the Business Roundtable that are spearheading the forum. "Candidates will really have an opportunity to get beyond the sound bites."
Health care promises to be a big issue at the forum, given Clinton's policy address this week on the issue. But another prominent story, Dann says, will be who is NOT going to be there. Obama declined AARP's invitation as a result of his campaign's blanket policy -- announced in August -- to bypass the majority of forums not sanctioned by the DNC.
Two other absences are long-shot candidates Gravel and Kucinich, who did not fulfill the forum's requirements for having active campaigns in the state. Yesterday, Kucinich released a statement saying that AARP has "a $4 billion vested interest in preserving the role of private, for-profit insurance companies in the health care industry.” Kucinich supports a single-payer health care system that would eliminate the role for private insurers.
Dann adds that although all the participating candidates will share the stage together for the 90- minute event, its organizers have dubbed it a "forum" rather than a "debate" -- because candidates will only answer questions posed by Woodruff and not by other candidates. But the rules allow for Woodruff to direct follow-up questions to anyone, and each participant will give a 90-second closing statement.
The Quad-City Times previews the forum setup. The best tidbit: "In the event that Obama 'shows up at the door, as [Iowa Public Television event manager Robert] Fuller put it, they’ll be ready. 'We brought an extra podium, and we have extra lights,' he said." (IPTV spokeswoman Jennifer Konfrst confirmed, but told NBC News that "it's standard operating procedure" to prepare for unexpected arrivals.
In advance of tonight’s forum, Biden is releasing a Social Security plan that “would require employers who don't offer retirement plans to allow employees to contribute to individual retirement accounts.”
And this morning, the RNC released an email criticizing Clinton before she speaks at the forum tonight. One of the headlines claims Clinton “Dusts Off Husband's Playbook Of Jeopardizing Financial Security Of Seniors.”
