Democrats Meet to Discuss Their Presidential Agendas
By Heidi Taylor
WASHINGTON—Although they came to discuss children’s issues, the nine candidates running for the Democratic presidential nomination-who made their first joint appearance in Washington last night-were first asked to listen to some choice leadership advice.
Nicky, a fourth grader from Charlotte, North Carolina advised the Democratic hopefuls that power is the strength to do the right thing. “And when you make a mistake,” she added, “admit it.”
Oscar, also a fourth grader from North Carolina said that “A leader acts responsible and fair, and he shows justice.”
The forum, sponsored by the Children’s Defense Fund, a non-profit advocacy group that says President Bush is not living up to his promise to leave no child behind, offered candidates the chance to introduce their campaign agendas and their ideas on children’s issues. But first, moderator Judy Woodruff of CNN asked each to touch on the war in Iraq-the issue, perhaps, that divides the candidates most noticeably.
Four, including Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass, and Joe Lieberman, D-Conn, supported the war and defended their positions. With Saddam Hussein’s regime all but toppled last night and news stations airing footage of Iraqis cheering in the streets, the candidates said that, as a great and powerful nation, the United States did have the responsibility to liberate the people of Iraq from tyranny.
However, not one commended Bush’s tactics.
“I voted for the resolution to provide the President with the credible threat-force which I believe the President has to have,” Kerry said, but added that he had presumed that Bush would respect multilateral institutions like the United Nations and would work with the world rather than going it alone.
But with the United States alone funding the now $80 billion dollar war, and with only American and British troops in the battle, Kerry said, “I have been very critical of the way this administration went at it.”
Although the forum was meant to focus on children’s issues, the panel of journalists had many hard-ball questions for the candidates, asking them to discuss topics ranging from abortion to affirmative action.
Asked about his controversial pledge this week that, as president, he would nominate only supporters of abortion rights to the Supreme Court, Kerry responded that he believes that women in this country have the constitutional right to privacy.
“Women have the right to make that critical, painful, and difficult decision,” Kerry said, adding, “and the government has no business intervening in it.”
Among the many topics, there was one area of agreement between the candidates: Americans in general, and Democrats especially, must be willing to open a dialogue on race relations.
Asked to comment what they would do as president if the Supreme Court overturned affirmative action in the University of Michigan case they are now hearing, Kerry responded that the matter at hand is the “greatest unresolved issue” in the country. He promised, as did the Reverend Al Sharpton and former Illinois Senator Carol Moseley Braun-the two African American candidates running-as well as all the other candidates, that he would restore affirmative action if he became President.
At the end of the evening, as the candidates made their closing remarks focusing mostly on children, Lieberman caught the crowd’s attention when he said that although many in this nation think it will be impossible for a Democrat to beat Bush in the 2004 presidential election, he knows otherwise. “Because,” he said, “I did it with Al Gore in 2000.”
Published in The Newburyport Daily News, The Gloucester Daily News, and The Salem News in Massachusetts.