Iowa 2004 presidential primary precinct caucus and caucuses news, reports and information on 2004 Democrat and Republican candidates, campaigns and issues

Iowa Presidential Watch
Holding the Democrats accountable

Bush Beat / Clinton Comedies / Quotables / Cartoons / Kerrytales


01-04-2004

Iowa Debate Analysis
by Roger Wm. Hughes

The Iowa Des Moines Register debate covered little new ground but demonstrated that each candidate has chosen the line on which they will fight out their campaign.

Howard Dean may have made the most revealing comment when he began to talk about the fact that he will “balance the budget in the sixth or seventh year of his term.” It was reminiscent of the kind of mistake made by President H. W. Bush when he looked at his watch while candidate Bill Clinton was responding to the issue of people suffering because of the poor economy of the time. Whether it becomes a signature of Dean’s style of mis-speaking and presuming the candidacy is yet to be seen. After Dean made his statement the audience began laughing at Dean’s presumptive second term. He was clearly dazed and blankly unaware as to why the laughter erupted from the live audience at his statement…

In a signal as to the nature of the divided labor support in this election, the greatest rift and desire to mix it up came over Dick Gephardt’s charge that he was the only one who had opposed NAFTA and the Chinese trade agreement. Everyone wanted to take on a piece of Gephardt and defend their position on that front. John Edwards made the most point against Gephardt by getting him to admit that Edwards did not vote against NAFTA. Edwards also listed a number of trade agreements that he opposed including fast track trade agreement authority for the President.

Gephardt still made points and left the closing statement for the large number of industrial unions supporting him:

"Howard, you were for NAFTA, you came to the signing ceremony. You were for the China agreement ... It's one thing to talk the talk, you've got to walk the walk," Gephardt said.

Dean took several hits from the traditional triad of Dick Gephardt, John Kerry and Joe Lieberman on Iraq, running against Washington, raising taxes on the middle class and the hypocrisy of not opening up his sealed records. In addition, Dennis Kucinich hit him for not agreeing to pull the troops out of Iraq now.

Kerry, in a clear statement aimed at Dean, said Democrats can't defeat Bush by being light on national security ... “We can't go back to raising taxes on the middle class. We need a president who has the temperament and the judgment to be able to convince America that we know how to make this country safe.”

Lieberman’s attack was, "I don't know how anybody could say that we're not safer with a homicidal maniac, a brutal dictator, an enemy of the United States, a supporter of terrorism, a murderer of hundreds of thousands of his own people ... in prison instead of in power."

Dean’s rebuttal was that we have lost 23 more troops since the capture of Saddam, and we are canceling airline flights and we should have concentrated on Osama bin Laden:

“I actually don't believe that, because I think, given the time that's elapsed, we could have done the proper thing, which George Bush's father did, and put together a coalition to go after somebody who was a regional threat but not a threat to the United States.”

“Our resources belong in fighting Al Qaida. Al Qaida has got us in a position where we're now worried because we're at level orange. We need a concentrated attack on Al Qaida and on Osama bin Laden. Saddam Hussein has been a distraction.”

Lieberman offered this rebuttal:

“… Howard Dean's criticism of my statement that we're safer with Saddam Hussein gone. You know what? We had good faith differences on the war against Saddam. But I don't know how anybody could say that we're not safer with a homicidal maniac, a brutal dictator, an enemy of the United States, a supporter of terrorism, a murderer of hundreds of thousands of his own people in prison instead of in power.”

“And to change the subject as Howard does and to say that we haven't obliterated all terrorism with Saddam in prison is a little bit like saying somehow that we weren't safer after the Second World War after we defeated Nazism and Hitler because Stalin and the communists were still in power… We have many threats to our security, there is no question. We are a lot stronger... “

Dean made his frequent argument regarding the Bush middle class tax cut -- that property taxes for schools, college tuition and health insurance premiums have all increased higher than the Bush middle class tax cuts, which Dean targeted at $304.

Lieberman chastised Dean for not recognizing the middle class tax cut and said that in Iowa it was closer to approximately $1,800 for a middle income family of 4.

Dean was also challenged on not being the only Democrat candidate who balanced a budget -- Gephardt argued he had gotten the votes for President Clinton’s plan to balance the budget.

For the full transcript of the debates visit the Washington Post.

 

homepage


Paid for by the Iowa Presidential Watch PAC

P.O. Box 171, Webster City, IA 50595

privacy  /  agreement  /    /  search engine / copyright use & information

this page was last updated: 02/23/04