(2/3/2008) Obama outshines Hillary 3 to 2 in the pre-Super-Tuesday Democratic Presidential Primary Debate
Analysis by Sam Mishra, President, Franteractive
Boy, I loved the way Mitt silver-spoon Romney kept getting silver medals in key republican primaries, and giving those silver medal speeches, bean-counting the number of delegates those second-best finishes gave him. Until he hit Florida, with the winner take all, where the silver medal finish did not give him anything. No wonder, throughout the speech he gave in the aftermath of his second-best finish in Florida, his wife was kind of frowning, not smiling… Apparently, Romney has a bottomless pit full of money for campaigning, and I can't blame his wife for being unhappy about pouring it into campaigns which increasingly show a not so good ROI, in the words of Obama. (If this paragraph disappears in due course, please be noted that this blog got ten thousand dollars from the Romney campaign to have this paragraph permanently removed).This brings us to the main focus of this article: who is better for our country --- Obama or Clinton? I have used the debate between the two this past Tuesday in Hollywood, California to analyze the pros and cons. So, let's take the issues one by one, on which the two Democrats debated, in what I saw to be the friendliest of sparrings in recent memory.
Issue# 1: Health care
Hillary: We must have universal health care …
Obama: 95% of what we are both saying is similar. (He also mentioned his mother's pre-existing condition which debarred her from getting some benefit).
My two cents go for Hillary: Well, Hillary had tried her hands on universal health care when she was the first lady, back in 1993, and failed. So, she is asking for a second chance to do it… Also, she claims that one million children in California have health care because of her efforts, and she can't get it done in other states because of the presidential veto. However, Obama is willing to put the deliberations in Congress on C-Span for the whole world to see! Nevertheless, let's give the point to Hillary, she has deserved it for being there first on this crucial issue.
So, let the scoring begin… Obama: 0, Hillary: 1
Further investigation #1: Did Obama really get health care for everyone in Illinois by getting the democrats and republicans together? Needs to be investigated and reported in a future blog.
Issue#2: Mortgage Crisis
Hillary: 95000 homes in foreclosure in California. I will issue a ninety-day moratorium on all foreclosures.
Obama: I will have a $10 billion foreclosure prevention fund to bridge the gap between the lender and the borrower. … I don't want an interest rate freeze, since it will increase the mortgage interest rates, harming those who are trying to get mortgages.
My two cents (one cent actually) go for Obama: Obviously, Obama has better advisers, since he thought about not only the poor people getting foreclosed, but the poorer people who don't have a home yet (or a home anymore, because they got foreclosed or what have you, and might be planning to buy that first home). Having said this, don't you think the ideas from both the camps are at least a year away from implementation? Meanwhile, what happens to those 95000 home-owners here in California? Please! Nevertheless, Obama scores slightly over Hillary over this issue, showing better insight into the plights of not only those who are getting foreclosed, but those who don't own a home yet and might be trying to get that first mortgage. Since two cents equal one point, Obama gets half a point on this issue.
Score… Obama: 0.5; Hillary: 1
Further investigation #2: In-depth research on how / why an interest rate freeze will jack up mortgage interest rates. Details can be published in a subsequent blog.
Issue# 3: War on Iraq
My two cents go for Obama: This one is clearly tipped on Obama's side. He opposed the war to start with, Hillary voted in favor of military intervention in Iraq in the aftermath of September 9/11, tacitly voting FOR the war. Even Wolf, the moderator from CNN asked Hillary why she should not just admit that the vote was a mistake? So, Obama scores a point here.
Score --- Obama:1.5; Hillary: 1
Issue# 4: Influence of lobbyists in Washington
This came in as a corollary from the healthcare issue, when Obama mentioned that if a Congressman was carrying water for a drug manufacturer, let the American public see that on C-span…
Obama: I will reduce the influence of lobbyists in Washington.
Clinton: (I didn't hear her say anything… Obviously, having been associated with government for 35 years, as she claims, she is under the influence, of lobbyists, that is).
Opinion - I give one cent to Obama: Obama did not defend himself when Hillary accused him of letting a lobbyist run his New Hampshire campaign, back in a debate preceding the NH primary. So, Obama does not score a full point on this one, but only half-a-point.
Score --- Obama: 2, Hillary: 1
Question for both candidates: There's been no acknowledgement by any of the presidential candidates of the negative economic impact of immigration on the African-American community. How do you propose to address the high unemployment rates and the declining wages in the African-American community that are related to the flood of immigrant labor?"
Obama: … Before the latest round of immigrants showed up, you had huge unemployment rates among African-American youth. And, so, I think to suggest somehow that the problem that we're seeing in inner-city unemployment, for example, is attributable to immigrants, I think, is a case of scapegoating that I do not believe in, I do not subscribe to..
Clinton: … I believe that in many parts of our country, because of employers who exploit undocumented workers and drive down wages, there are job losses. And I think we should be honest about that. There are people who have been pushed out of jobs and factories and meat processing plants, and all kinds of settings. And I meet them. You know, I was in Atlanta last night, and an African-American man said to me, "I used to have a lot of construction jobs, and now it just seems like the only people who get them anymore are people who are here without documentation." So, I know that what we have to do is to bring our country together to have a comprehensive immigration reform solution…
My two cents (actually one cent) go to Obama: You know what, both are right in their own way. Problems in the African-American community, including unemployment, are much more a function of teenage pregnancies, inner-city drug related issues, inner-city lack of sustainable education for kids born out of wedlocks, etc.; than a function of some poor Latinos taking the jobs of poor blacks. Yet, Hillary is right too… construction jobs are currently the fiefdom of illegal immigrants who will work for below minimum wage, and the trends are going to continue in the aftermath of the real-estate subprime mortgage plus foreclosure carnage / meltdowns... But Obama comes across as more HUMANE / compassionate, and has the same policy as the latino Bill Richardson who has dropped out of the primary in terms of allowing illegal immigrants to have driver's licenses (living in California, I would like the illegal to stop and proudly present his insurance credentials if he hits my car, even though I carry the uninsured motorists insurance coverage --- apparently one-third of all California motorists don't have insurance??? Wow!), and Hillary Clinton does not think that we should give them driver's licenses. To appreciate Obama's courage (even though he can lose votes on this one from more entrenched Americans) when he defends his "HUMANE" policy towards illegal immigrants by asserting that they come here to work, not to drive, and unpopular though it may seem, it is the right thing to do; I bump his score up by half a point…
Final score ---- Obama: 2.5; Hillary: 1
Last call for alcohol, I mean my last two cents:
Obama: … I can say this about who I want not just as vice president but as a cabinet member. Part of what I would like to do is restore a sense of what is possible in government…And that means having people of the greatest excellence and competence. It means people with integrity. It means people with independence, who are willing to say no to me so that, you know, no more yes-men or women in the White House. Because I'm not going to be right on every single issue. But you know, it is really important, I think, for us also to give the American people this sense, as they are struggling with their mortgages and struggling with their health care and trying to figure out how to get their kids in a school that will teach them and prepare them and equip them for this century, that they get a sense that government's on their side, that government is listening to them, that it's carrying their voices into the White House. And that's not what's happened over the last seven years. And whether it's my cabinet or it is the lowest federal civil servant out there, I want them to understand they are working for the American people, to help the American people achieve their dreams. That's the reason I'm running for president of the United States of America.
My last two cents (one cent actually) go for Obama: As I read the above concluding remarks in the debate, the cynical skeptic in me tells that Obama is one clever animal (for in a sense, we are all animals, trying to get past the other in the food-chain) who knows what he is doing. Yet on the other hand, I think that this is clearly the kind of leadership that this country (and the world) needs right now, i.e., someone who might really do what he says, i.e, change Washington from top to bottom. Whereas Hillary did not accept the moderator's proposal that she made a mistake while voting for the Iraq war, Obama, to his credit, states here that he may not be right on every single issue, albeit in a moment of emotion, inspiration, and eloquence… Even though this tacit acknowledgement that too err is human is an oxymoron to his previous arguments that it is important not only to be ready, but to be right (as a counter-argument to Hillary's assertion that she would be ready the first day as the President), I have to give him one cent for what seems like an honest appeal. (Remember, two cents equal one point, so one cent is half a point).
So, final final score --- Obama: 3; Hillary: 1
Conclusion
As per my initial analysis of the Hollywood debate, Obama comes across with a thumping win over Hillary. However, I am not that heartless, Hillary. I know you desperately want to be President. So, let me give you a point.
Hollywood California Democratic Primary Debate FINAL Score --- Obama: 3; Hillary: 2
=== READER COMMENTS (2 Comments)====
Anonymous wrote (Feb 4, 2008):
I actually enjoyed reading it. I read it twice. I called Barack Obama Campaign office at 631-425-9217 and pointed to the site for the article to publish.
Sam Mishra replied (Feb 5, 2008):
Thanks, Anonymous…. By the way, after Hillaryblog won't let me post a comment with a link to this website (the five Romney brothers blog won't do it either, because they are all enjoying the passing on of the silver-spoon from generation to generation, at least 3 of the five brothers got admitted to the Harvard MBA program, just like their MBA dad), I am upset that even in the blogosphere, the Hillary camp is trying to stifle free-voice. When Hillary tries to campaign for change by saying that she has been working on 35 years of change, it seems to me like more of 35 years of status-quo. If it takes 35 years to change something, that is not change! I believe in radical change, and Obama is the best shot…BTW, since Hillary blog administrators won't let me in, I presented this question on their website yesterday night during Hillary's town-hall meeting, and I will expand on this theme in a subsequent blog ---
"Hillary,
People are anxious to send you and Bill back to the white house. But is it not true that the economy was already in the decline by March 2000, when Bill was still in power. In particular, the stock markets kept going down as early as March 2000... So, it is not strictly true that everything was hale and hearty during Bill's regime... Now, what can you do to convince me that history will not repeat itself again during your regime? I.e, you will be the harbinger of another bubble, which will burst too, leaving the economy shattered again??
Thanks for taking this important question on the economy."
. . .
It is not as if I lack compassion, but the Hillary camp does give a chilly, eerie feeling of power-mongering, more of the same status-quo, and punishment if you don't follow the bosses. In fact, Hillary is truly a power-hungry person --- it is clear from one of her earlier debates, when Bill Richardson was also participating, when Hillary quipped at him --- "my husband gave you a job." (Bill Richardson was in Bill Clinton's cabinet in the early 1990s). So, she wants to get that power, so that she can dole out the jobs etc. This is more of the old way of thinking…
In a subsequent article, I will expand on the theme that while Bill Clinton certainly did balance the budget, the economy did get out of hand towards the end, with stock markets crashing in March / April 2000, and jobs vanishing in Silicon Valley here in by late 2000, early 2001, and Bill Clinton was still in power! So, the people who are voting for Hillary thinking that the good times of the 1990's would return can do better by voting for change. In fact I saw a comment on the McCain blog, with one reader saying that he / she was a conservative first, and a Republican afterwards; and she would vote for Hillary before voting for McCain; and in her opinion, Hillary was more conservative than McCain!!
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