Feature, Feb 22 - Eleven days before Texans, and voters
in three other states head to the polls, Barack
Obama and Hillary Clinton participated
in a CNN and Univision debate in Austin.
The very first question from the Univision
anchor was on Cuba. Here they showed a slight policy difference.
Senator Obama
said he would meet with Cuba's new leader Raul Castro with out pre-conditions.
"One
other thing I've said as a show of good faith that we're interesting in perusing,
potentially, a new relationship is that what I've called for is a loosening
of the restrictions on remittances on family members to the people of Cuba
as well as travel restrictions for family members who want to visit their
family members in cuba. I think that imitating that change in policy as tart
then suggestion an agenda gets set up would be useful but I would not normalize
relations until we starting seeing some progress."
Obama did favor an immediate return to normalized
relations with Cuba in the past.
Here's Clinton:
"I would not meet with him until there is evidence change is
happening because I think it's important that they demonstrate clearly that
they are committed to change the direction."
"There wasn't that much new ground
covered which is unfortunate. I am glad Senator Obama mentioned Latin America
"Our
entire foreign aid to Latin America is 2.7 billion dollars, approximately
what we spend in Iraq in a week. Is it any surprise that you've seen Hugo
Chzes and countries like China move into the void because we've been neglectful.
And
on Afghanistan: Iraq "has diverted attention from Afghanistan where Al Qaeda
that killed 3000 Americans are stronger now than anytime during 2001," Obama
says.
Again Sanho Tree:
"Why wasn't there more discussion of that? In Afghanistan
we're loosing ground in a very drastic way. Half the county is no longer
safe for international aid workers to travel in."
Sanho Tree also says the debates
ignored many crucial foreign policy points.
"There's a lot going on in Africa, the creation of AFRICOM,
Bush's trip there. There's all these other issues that didn't get mentioned
which is very unfortunate."
As
for Iraq, the candidates debated their points. Obama maintains that he had
the right judgment from the beginning to oppose the war. Clinton says she'll
bring troops out with in 60 days. Again, she gives no plan beyond those 60
days.
Health care, still a key platform for both candidates.
"When I proposed universal
health care plan, as did Senator Edwards, we took a big risk because we know
it's controversial to say we're going to cover everyone. And you chose not
to do that , and you chose not to do that. You chose to put forth a health
care plan that will leave out at least 15 million people. That's a big difference."
"We've
got a lot of similarities in our plan.Weve got a philosophical difference
which we've debated repeatedly. And that is that Senator Clinton believes
the only way to achieve universal health is to force everyone to purchase
it. And my belief is that the reason people don't' have it is not because
they don't want it but because they can't afford it.
"Where the dispute is how significant
is it where you make it a legal obligation to purchase health insurance or
not. There's arguments on both sides of the argument even with in the progressive
legal community which is better."
Immigration was a key issue, as it is to many
Texans. Both candidates seemed to alter their positions in Texas last night
on the border fence. Both Clinton and Obama said they do not support a border
fence. They both voted for it in the Senate last year.
"Both candidates when they were asked about the
wall didn't just backtrack, the flip flopped in a huge way... I mean you
have them previously both voting for border wall and now both of them said
they no longer support it but they might support it in some areas which is
a diplomatic way of flip flopping out of diplomatic support.
In some areas, policy differences
are drastic, and in others, they are non existent. Obama maintains his platform
of unity, Clinton claims experience.
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