AFL-CIO Presidential Forum: 96 Minutes Of…
The Democratic presidential debate hosted by the AFL-CIO on Tuesday night has come and gone. So, who came out on top? That's not our call but feel free to play Monday morning quarterback by posting a comment here.
One thing was clear -- all seven candidates desperately, desperately wanted to be "The Labor Candidate." No surprise there. The folks at the AFL-CIO blogged throughout the event and they had some interesting thoughts…
-- "Diana" from Cooksville, Tenn., who submitted her question via the Internet, said she lost her job and can't find health insurance. Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio touted the bill he introduced to offer health care coverage to all Americans.
-- Many of the candidates talked about how withdrawing troops from Iraq would help us focus more on al Qaeda around the world.
-- Sen. Christopher Dodd of Connecticut said a "robust" diplomacy effort is needed. "We shouldn't be selling arms to Saudi Arabia while they're refusing to help us in Iraq."
-- John Edwards said if he were president today, 40 to 50,000 troops would be withdrawn from Iraq immediately.
-- On lobbying, Edwards and Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois touted the fact that they don't accept donations from registered lobbyists.
-- Delaware Sen. Joseph Biden was asked about considering hiring a Republican for cabinet positions. He said he would because he wants to bring the country together and hire the best people for the job.
-- Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York called for someone to report directly to the president about rebuilding New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.
-- The last question was about the lengthy presidential campaign cycle. "Campaigns last too long, and they cost too much money," Obama said.
Read more on the AFL-CIO blog. The Huffington Post was also live-blogging.
Categories:
Campaign 2008
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