At a forum sponsored by AFSCME, the predominately public employee union which has shown the most strength of any union in the country over the last ten years or so, most of the declared Democratic candidates appeared and traded soft jabs, mainly over Iraq. They unanimously endorsed "universal health care," without specifying details like costs or effectiveness, and generally viewed the Bush Administration unfavorably.
Barack Obama campaigned in Iowa instead. Hard to cry "previous commitment" with the sort of notice given by one of the most powerful unions in the country, but if you are afraid Hillary might bitch-slap you on national TV, maybe it is best to hide in a cornfield somewhere.
In Obama's absence, John Edwards pretended he was the main challenger. The word is out that if Edwards' poll numbers don't improve soon, he may fire his campaign manager AND chief hair stylist, and he is reportedly already auditioning potential cute mixed-race kids for possible adoption, but the full focus group results aren't in yet.
Willie Albright reports for Reuters:
At a union-sponsored forum for Democratic White House hopefuls in Nevada, Clinton again sidestepped a question about why she will not call her 2002 Senate vote authorizing the war a mistake, but said "I have taken responsibility for my vote."
Rival John Edwards, a former senator who also voted to authorize the war but has called that a mistake, did not name Clinton but drew an indirect comparison between her stance and President George W. Bush's reluctance to admit mistakes in Iraq."We've had ... six years of a president who is incapable of admitting that he was wrong, incapable of admitting that he's made a mistake. It's time for a different kind of leadership in this country," Edwards said.
Read it all at the link above.
This campaign is showing all the signs of a slow motion train wreck. Bring your own snacks, folks - the vendors at these things always gouge the prices.
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Filed under:
2008 Presidential Race, Democrats
Tags: 2008, debate, Democrat, Edwards, Hillary Clinton, Obama
