This time only two candidates were able to show up in Los Angeles for this week's installment of the Democratic debate. The Kodak Theatre hosts a lot of stuff, but since the writers are on strike I guess it is a little less crowded and so they fit Hillary and Barack in. So what is the big thing here? Well basically it is that Democrats can remain civil and dare I say, friendly, while last night we saw McCain and Romney beat each other with figurative baseball bats. One could say the air is different over the hills in Simi Valley as opposed to Hollywood, but rather unlikely.
Of course there were differences as well. The two minorities diverge on Iraq, immigration and health care to name a few. On Iraq, Hillary defended her vote for the Authorization to Use Military Force in Iraq, saying that she trusted George Bush that war was a last resort. Obama called her out on this and restated he has been against the war since it started. If anyone believes that Hillary had full faith in the words of George Bush, that should disqualify her right there. That is one reason I can't vote for her in the primary.
Immigration was another thing that caught the eyes and ears of the blogosphere, from DailyKos:
Interesting difference in how they answered the immigration question and how immigration affects job losses. Obama emphasized that he won't scapegoat, a position that would be popular with Latinos. Clinton emphasized that there are job losses caused by illegal immigration, which should appeal more to working class white voters, especially in the Midwest. Both are correct, but it's an interesting difference in emphasis.
Slight difference but its still there.
And then there's health care:
The two candidates also gently tangled on the universal health care issue with Obama criticizing the mandated purchase of insurance policies that are the center of Clinton's plan. "You can mandate it but there still will be people who cannot afford it," Obama said. Obama said he was intent on "bringing all parties together" to get a plan approved and that those negotiations would be "broadcast on C-Span."
Clinton rebutted the argument saying her plan "has been designed to be affordable with health care tax credits." Clinton said she was "proud " of her record on the issue.
I'm proud of her attempts in 1993 and 1994, but ever since then she has been a friend of the industry, not the uninsured and underinsured. I'm a big believer in following the money....and there's a lot of cookie jars being delivered to Hillary care of the health insurance industry.
Despite these differences, both are far and away better than anything that the Republicans can come up with and the voters have shown this so far in the primary states that have voted already. Like the crowd at the Kodak Theater, Democrats are charged up and excited about 2008, the same can not be said of the GOP.
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