Democrate Debate on Health Care now on PBS

By Rick Pearson
Chicago Tribune

DAVENPORT, Iowa — Agreeing on the need for universal health care, five major Democratic presidential contenders used a debate Thursday night to spar over which of them was most likely to turn campaign rhetoric into reality.

Sen. Joseph Biden of Delaware contended his better-polling rivals lacked the ability to gain needed Republican votes in Congress to approve their expansive plans for health care and financial security.

Former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina issued a backhanded welcome to Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York for proposing a plan to create universal health care months after Edwards unveiled a similar proposal.

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson said he expanded several health care programs in his state while Sen. Christopher Dodd of Connecticut contended he was the most experienced at working among disparate groups to advance legislation in Congress.

The candidates’ back-and-forth was part of a free-wheeling 90-minute debate broadcast nationwide by the Public Broadcasting Service in which the contenders also pledged to keep Social Security solvent, though differing on whether the current cap on income taxed to pay for the program should be lifted to capture more revenue.

Sponsored by a consortium called “Divided We Fail” made up of the seniors’ organization AARP, the Business Roundtable and the Service Employees International Union, the forum held special interest since it was targeted toward an older demographic that regularly makes up the majority of Iowa caucus-goers.

Biden was the most outspoken in challenging his rivals. At one point, Biden criticized Richardson for touting his record as governor of a small state to what he could do as president, contending it was the equivalent of saying, “I played halfback when I was in high school (so), I can play in the pros. It’s a different deal.”

Richardson countered that Biden appeared to be “denigrating experience” as he proposed a plan to use health-care technology to let more older Americans remain in their homes.

Biden also asked voters “what’s changed” to make them believe Clinton and Edwards could get the necessary support from Republicans to enact the programs that Democrats were proposing. Biden contended his record in the Senate showed he could work with lawmakers from Republicans states.

Edwards said he found it “very hard for me to be critical” about Clinton’s universal health care proposal which, like the former North Carolina senator’s, would mandate that individuals obtain health insurance.

“I’m proud of the fact that, you know, six, seven months later, Sen. Clinton came out with a plan that’s similar to mine,” Edwards said.

Recalling the failure of her proposal for expansive government-run health coverage as first lady in the early 1990s, Clinton said she went through a “lonely struggle” for universal health care and now found it “tremendous” that Democratic contenders were supporting such plans.

“We’re going to work together on this, but I think my experience, having gone through it, makes me a lot better prepared to deal with it and get it done this time,” she said.

But Dodd indicated Clinton’s previous efforts on health care were not enough.

“It’s not enough to talk about efforts we’ve made and failed. We need to talk about people who know how to do this,” Dodd said. “We’ve been through six years of on-the-job training. We now need leadership in this country that can truly bring people together to get this done.”

Among the contenders not participating was Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, who previously espoused a policy of limiting his appearances at candidate forums. Obama was attending fundraisers in Atlanta, but some Quad Cities-area supporters said privately they were disappointed in his decision because it was targeted to a caucus-going audience and because its location was across the Mississippi River from his home state of Illinois.

Former Alaska Sen. Mike Gravel and Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio were not invited to participate under a provision requiring candidates to have at least one full-time paid staffer actively working in Iowa. But Kucinich blasted his exclusion and contended AARP had profited by licensing its name to private health insurers.

The hours before the debate were marked by controversy when Elizabeth Edwards told CNN that Clinton had copied her husband’s plan for universal health care, which she rolled out earlier this week.

“I don’t call it Sen. Clinton’s health plan,” Elizabeth Edwards said. “I call it John Edwards’ health-care plan as delivered by Hillary Clinton.” Echoing her husband’s criticism of Clinton for accepting special-interest donations, Elizabeth Edwards contended the New York senator was “willing to sell special access to the government if you just have the check.”