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Democrats take a deep breath and dial back on rhetoric that could hurt all of them |
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 By J. Patrick Coolican, Michael Mishak
Wed, Jan 16, 2008 (2 a.m.)
After weeks of increasingly sharp rhetoric about race and heated arguments about minor policy differences, the Democratic candidates used a televised Las Vegas debate Tuesday to stress civility, articulation and agreement.
As such, there was no clear victor among the candidates. But that’s not to say there were no winners.
Viewers were treated to a reasoned, substantive conversation about
important issues, the sort of discussion serious voters often find
lacking in political campaigns.
For the Democratic Party, the debate turned into a free two-hour
advertisement for its ideas, even as the Republican race was thrown
into more turmoil. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney won the
Michigan primary Tuesday, a victory by a third different candidate in
as many contests.
Nevada residents were also clear winners: They saw the candidates argue
about killing Yucca Mountain and who would do it with more alacrity.
If there were losers, Tim Russert was among them. The NBC News veteran
used his patented style of questioning: You once said this, now you say
that. Will you renounce this? Will you renounce that? The purpose was
to draw the candidates into conflict and provide sound bite moments.
They declined to take the bait.
Voters trying to choose a favorite based on the issues got little help
from the candidates, with Illinois Sen. Barack Obama and New York Sen.
Hillary Clinton in apparent agreement on most subjects. Former North
Carolina Sen. John Edwards, however, did distance himself from the two
front-runners on a handful of issues.
The softer tone of the evening likely flows from Clinton’s surprise New Hampshire triumph.
That victory came days after a sharp New Hampshire debate that often featured Clinton in disputes with Obama and Edwards.
In the days after, anecdotal evidence suggested that women resented the
two men for attacking Clinton. Also, Obama was criticized for saying
coolly to Clinton, “You’re likable enough” while looking down.
Clinton has had reasons of her own to cool the rhetoric. After her New
Hampshire victory, she has less urgent need to try to drive up negative
impressions of her opponents. Doing so could risk a backlash for being
seen as too harsh, especially against two candidates regarded
positively by much of the Democratic Party.
Some of Clinton’s supporters in recent days have made sometimes clumsy
statements about Obama and his admitted teenage drug use, as well as
other statements that seem to push stereotypes about black men.
When Obama and Clinton were pressed to talk about the racial issue at
Tuesday’s debate, held on Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, they
blamed supporters and staff for being overzealous. They called for
unity.
Jon Ralston's analysis
The debate was not, however, an uninterrupted political lovefest. The
three candidates occasionally faulted each other’s policy positions and
-- at least obliquely -- questioned their opponents’ readiness for the
presidency.
Clinton pointedly refused to acknowledge that she considers Obama and
Edwards qualified to be president. “I think that’s up to the voters to
decide,” Clinton responded.
Later, Clinton, trying to position herself as the candidate most
ardently against the proposed nuclear waste dump at Yucca Mountain,
pointed out that one of Obama’s biggest financial supporters is the
Exelon Corp., an energy company that favors Yucca, and that Edwards
voted for the dump while in the Senate.
Obama and Edwards responded with strong rebuttals.
“It’s a testimony to my commitment and opposition to Yucca Mountain
that despite the fact that my state has more nuclear power plants than
any other state in the country, I’ve never supported Yucca Mountain,”
Obama said.
Edwards said “the science that has been revealed” since his two Senate votes has left him unalterably opposed to Yucca.
With just three candidates on the stage, the front-runners were able to
conduct a detailed and articulate discussion of issues, including many
important to Nevadans, including the economy, the foreclosure crisis,
energy, the Iraq war and the Second Amendment.
Some highlights:
Edwards and Clinton expressed regret for voting for a 2001 bill that
would have made it harder for people to clear away their debts when
declaring bankruptcy. (Obama was not yet a U.S. senator at the time.)
Though the bill did not pass Congress, it paved the way for a 2005
measure that became law. Obama and Clinton opposed the bill. (Edwards’
term had expired.)
Questioned about the economy, the candidates used the opportunity to
talk about the subprime mortgage crisis, which has hit Nevada harder
than any other state -- and, as Clinton noted, the black and Latino
communities in particular.
All three candidates are in broad agreement: They support a moratorium
on foreclosures and a freeze of rising mortgage interest rates to give
homeowners time to convert to more affordable fixed-rate loans. They
also propose a fund to help affected homeowners cope with the crisis.
Clinton is calling for a 90-day moratorium on foreclosures and a
five-year rate freeze, both dependent on the voluntary cooperation of
lenders.
By contrast, Edwards would effectively make those measures mandatory
from the outset. He proposes protecting homeowners from foreclosures
until their lenders offer assistance, and freezing interest rates for
seven years.
Both Clinton and Edwards support some kind of reporting system to track the progress of lenders in converting subprime loans.
Obama has proposed a new tax credit on mortgage interest for people who
do not itemize their deductions and cannot currently deduct their
interest payments. He also supports a government fund to help victims
of loan fraud.
All three support a change in bankruptcy law that would allow homeowners to renegotiate the terms of their mortgages.
On Iraq, Obama pledged to withdraw troops by the end of 2009 -- a
promise Clinton and Edwards echoed. Still, Edwards sought to draw a
distinction with his two main rivals, who have vowed to keep a small
military presence in the country to guard the embassy and to maintain a
strike force outside the country to respond to terrorist training camps.
“As long as you keep combat troops in Iraq,” Edwards said, “you
continue the occupation. If you keep military bases in Iraq, you’re
continuing the occupation. The occupation must end.”
As Clinton’s request, Obama promised to join her in bringing
legislation that would forbid President Bush from making any agreements
with the Iraqi government about continuing U.S. presence in Iraq beyond
his term of office without congressional approval.
Even though the sponsors of the debate included black and Hispanic
activist groups and it was billed as the “black and brown debate,” the
discussion largely ignored issues important to those communities,
including stagnating wages and minority health care, affordable rental
housing and mass transit.
The genteel behavior onstage continued after the debate as Clinton
addressed a crowd of about 1,200 at Desert Pines High School. “We are
all Democrats,” she said. “We all believe in the power and possibility
of America.”
Of the caucuses, Clinton said: “Bring your friends, family and
neighbors. When people say, ‘I like all the candidates,’ say, ‘We do,
too.’
“It’s great that we have this young man from the South who grew up in a
mill town, an African-American who has so much to give our country, and
we have a woman. This is good news for our country.”
Obama spoke to a group of Culinary Union workers at Paradise Cantina
off the Strip. He made no reference to the debate and simply thanked
supporters for their help. The union has endorsed Obama.
Edwards had no public appearance.
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