Barack Obama in Congressional Black Caucus debate
On Budget & Economy:
Account for every single dollar for new proposed programs
Q: You have some $50 billion worth of new programs that you cannot account for.A: We account for every single dollar that we propose. This is one of the things that’s happened during the course of this campaign, that there’s a set of assertions made b
Clinton and her husband, that are not factually accurate. Part of what the people are looking for right now is somebody who’s going to solve problems and not resort to the same typical politics that we’ve seen in Washington. That is something that
I hear all across the country. So when Clinton says I wasn’t opposed to the war from the start or says it’s a fairytale that I opposed the war, that is simply not true. Clinton asserts that I said that the Republicans had better economic policies since
1980. That is not the case. The viewers are concerned about is who’s actually going to help the get health care, how are they going to get their kids going to college, and that’s the kind of campaign I’ve tried to run.
Source: 2008 Congressional Black Caucus Democratic debate
Jan 21, 2008
On Budget & Economy:
Help the homeowners actually living in their homes
It is important to make sure that we’re not helping out the speculators, but instead are helping out the homeowners who are actually living in their homes, who have the capacity to make the payments if they’re not seeing a huge increase in their mortgage
payments. But understand this, this is not new. We have a history in this country of preying on low-income peoples because they don’t have access to banks. The Community Reinvestment Act is oftentimes not enforced as it should be. We’ve got to open up
bank branches. We’ve got to give people access to financing so that they’re not going to a payday loan operation. I two years ago introduced a provision that would eliminate predatory lending, something that I had already helped to get passed at the
state level. We’ve got to give ordinary working people access to financing. Part of the reason that they are borrowing on their homes, they’re borrowing on credit cards, is that the banks and financial institutions have dominated policy in Washington.
Source: 2008 Congressional Black Caucus Democratic debate
Jan 21, 2008
On Budget & Economy:
Bankruptcy bill pushed by banks & financial institutions
OBAMA: When we talked a while back, we talked about the bankruptcy bill, which had been pushed by the banks and the financial institutions, that said, basically, it will be harder for folks who have been lured into these teaser rates and then see their
credit cards go up to 30%, that they would have a tougher time getting out of bankruptcy. In the last debate, Clinton said she voted for it but hoped that it wouldn’t pass. Now, I don’t understand that approach to legislation.CLINTON: I regretted
voting for the bankruptcy bill and I was happy that it didn’t get into law. By 2005, there was another run at a bankruptcy reform, motivated by the credit card companies and the other big lenders. I opposed that bill. There was a particular amendment
that is very telling. It was an amendment to prohibit credit card companies from charging more than 30% interest. It was one of the biggest lobbyist victories on that very bad bill that the bankruptcy bill represented.
Source: 2008 Congressional Black Caucus Democratic debate
Jan 21, 2008
On Budget & Economy:
Capping credit card interest rates at 30% is not enough
I thought 30 percent potentially was too high of a ceiling. So we had had no hearings on that bill. It had not gone through the Banking Committee. I don’t know about a lot of folks, if they’ve got a credit card, are paying 29 percent. So under this
provision, that would’ve been fine. There had been no discussion about how we were going to structure this and this was something that had not gone through the committee and we hadn’t talked about. It didn’t make sense for us to cap interest rates.
Source: 2008 Congressional Black Caucus Democratic debate
Jan 21, 2008
On Budget & Economy:
Voted against limiting credit to 30%, because 30% too high
Clinton and Obama battled over their votes on bankruptcy bills and an amendment to cap interest charged on credit, at 30%. Obama claimed, “I thought 30% potentially was too high of a ceiling.”Obama did vote against--and Clinton voted for--an amendment
that would have placed a 30% cap on the interest rate that could be charged on any extension of credit. The amendment failed by a vote of 74 to 24 in 2005. When the amendment came up for a vote, Obama was standing next to Sen. Paul Sarbanes,
D-MD, the senior Democrat on the banking committee and the leader of those opposing the landmark bill, which would make it harder for Americans to get rid of debt.
As for whether the 30% cap was too high, that’s certainly a matter of opinion.
Sen. Mark Dayton of Minnesota, sponsor of the amendment, said on the Senate floor that such a cap “is still consumer abuse” but is much better than rates of more than 300%, which he said were being charged by some loan operations in the country.
Source: FactCheck.org on 2008 Congressional Black Caucus Dem. Debate
Jan 21, 2008
On Civil Rights:
People want to move beyond our divisions
I am absolutely convinced that white, black, Latino, Asian, people want to move beyond our divisions, and they want to join together in order to create a movement for change in this country. I’m not entirely faulting the media because, look, race is a
factor in our society. There’s no doubt that in a race where you’ve got an African-American, and a woman, and there’s no doubt that that has piqued interest. They are desperate to move beyond the same, old arguments that we’ve been having and start
actually getting something done in this country. The Republicans may have a different attitude, because they haven’t been appearing before forums that are diverse. The policies that they have promoted have not been good at providing
ladders for upward mobility and opportunity for all people. That is a fight that all of us will fight. But I don’t want us to get drawn into this notion that somehow this is going to be a race that splits along racial lines.
Source: 2008 Congressional Black Caucus Democratic debate
Jan 21, 2008
On Crime:
Have a civil rights division enforce laws fairly and justly
If we know that in our criminal justice system, African-Americans and whites, for the same crime, receive--are arrested at very different rates, are convicted at very different rates, receive very different sentences. That is something that we have to
talk about. But that’s a substantive issue and it has to do with how do we pursue racial justice. If I am president, I will have a civil rights division that is working with local law enforcement so that they are enforcing laws fairly and justly. But I
would expect a white president or a woman president should want to do the same thing, because I believe the pursuit of racial equality, of the perfection of this union, is not just a particular special interest issue of the African-American community.
That is how all of us are going to move forward. And to the extent that we don’t deal with those issues, those longstanding, deep-seated issues, we will continue to be hampered. We will be competing with the world with one hand tied behind our backs.
Source: 2008 Congressional Black Caucus Democratic debate
Jan 21, 2008
On Foreign Policy:
Never negotiate out of fear, and never fear to negotiate
As commander-in-chief, all of us would have a responsibility to keep the American people safe. That’s our first responsibility. I would not hesitate to strike against anybody who would do Americans or American interests’ harm.
What I do believe is that we have to describe a new foreign policy that says, for example, I will meet not just with our friends, but with our enemies, because I remember what
Kennedy said, that we should never negotiate out of fear, but we should never fear to negotiate. Having that kind of posture is the way we effectively debate the Republicans on this issue. Because if we just play into the same fear-mongering that they
have been engaged in since 9/11, then we are playing on their battlefield, but, more importantly, we are not doing what’s right in order to rebuild our alliances, repair our relationships around the world, and actually make us more safe in the long term.
Source: 2008 Congressional Black Caucus Democratic debate
Jan 21, 2008
On Free Trade:
Enforce environmental & labor provisions in trade agreements
EDWARDS: [to Obama]: The problem with the Peru trade agreement [which Obama voted for] is you are leaving the enforcement of environmental and labor regulations in the hands of George Bush.
I wouldn’t trust George Bush to enforce anything, certainly not trade obligations.OBAMA: Well, in a year’s time, it’ll be me who’s enforcing them.
We’re going to make sure that the right thing is being done. It is absolutely critical for us to understand that NAFTA was an enormous problem. The permanent trade relations with China, without some of the enforcement mechanisms that were in there,
that you voted for, was also a significant problem. And we’ve got to all move forward as Democrats to make sure that we’ve got trade deals that work for working people and not just for corporate profits.
Source: 2008 Congressional Black Caucus Democratic debate
Jan 21, 2008
On Government Reform:
Never took money from federal lobbyists or their companies
I don’t take PAC money. I don’t take money from federal lobbyists. I’m not taking money from their companies. It is true that there are employees of all sorts of companies that have given to my campaign because, frankly, I’ve raised a lot of money, and
sometimes in $25, $50, $100 donations. But that does mean that I’ve gotten a bunch of money from drug lobbyists. It’s important to make that distinction. With respect to universal coverage, understand what this debate is about.
This is a legitimate policy debate. I respect the positions that Edwards and Clinton have taken. They have decided that we should mandate coverage for all adults. I believe that the problem--and understand what that means. A mandate means that, in some
fashion, everybody will be forced to buy health insurance. Edwards has been honest that that may mean taking money out of people’s paychecks in order to make sure that they’re covered. Clinton has not been clear about how that mandate would be enforced.
Source: 2008 Congressional Black Caucus Democratic debate
Jan 21, 2008
On Government Reform:
FactCheck: Yes, Obama cast 130 “present” votes in IL Senate
Clinton was mostly right when she attacked Obama for casting 130 “present” votes as an Illinois state senator. But she was wrong when she added, “the Chicago Tribune, his hometown paper, said that all of those present votes was taking a pass. It was for
political reasons.”It’s true that Obama voted “present” nearly 130 times, rather than casting a yes or no vote, an option in the state Legislature. But the article that said he “essentially took a pass” was an op-ed piece quoting a Clinton endorser,
not the Chicago Tribune’s editorial board.
Beyond that, there’s some substance to Clinton’s general criticism. Obama says some of his votes were part of intricate parliamentary maneuvering, not just avoiding political heat. The NY Times found a mixed
record: “Sometimes the ‘present’ votes were in line with instructions from Democratic leaders or because he objected to provisions in bills that he might otherwise support. But in at least a few cases, the issue was politically sensitive.”
Source: FactCheck.org on 2008 Congressional Black Caucus Dem. Debate
Jan 21, 2008
On Health Care:
The problem with health care is about affordability
The problem is not that folks are trying to avoid getting health care; the problem is they can’t afford it. My plan emphasizes lowering costs, not only setting up a government plan so that people who don’t have health insurance can buy into it and will
get subsidized, but also making sure that those who have health insurance but are struggling with rising co-payments, deductibles, premiums. Under Bush, families are paying 78% more on health care than they were previously. We put in a catastrophic
re-insurance plan that will help reduce those premiums for families by an average of about $2,500 per year. Every expert that’s looked at this has said there is not a single person out there who’s going to want health care who will not get it under my
plan. My plan also says children will be able to stay on the parents’ plan up until the age of 25. Both Edwards and Hillary have a hardship exemption, where, if people can’t afford to buy health care, you exempt them, so that you don’t count them.
Source: 2008 Congressional Black Caucus Democratic debate
Jan 21, 2008
On Health Care:
Subsidies to people who can’t afford care--not single payer
If, in fact, we are not making healthcare affordable enough, which is what’s happening right now, and you mandate on families to buy health insurance that they can’t afford and if they don’t buy it you fine them or in some other way take money for them.
What is happening in Massachusetts right now, which is that folks are having to pay fines and they don’t have health care. They’d rather go ahead and take the fine because they can’t afford the coverage.
My core belief is that people desperately want coverage, and my plan provides those same subsidies. If they are provided those subsidies and they have good, quality care that’s available, then they will purchase it. That is my belief.
I never said that we should try to go ahead and get single payer. What I said was that if I were starting from scratch, if we didn’t have a system in which employers had typically provided health care, I would probably go with a single-payer system.
Source: 2008 Congressional Black Caucus Democratic debate
Jan 21, 2008
On Health Care:
FactCheck: Yes, Obama favored single-payer, despite denial
Clinton charged that Obama’s position has shifted on health care, from favoring a single-payer, universal system when he was a Senate candidate to the plan he favors now, which has no requirement. Obama denied that he had ever said he would work to get a
single-payer plan, saying, “I never said that we should try to get single-payer. I said that if I were starting from scratch, I would probably go with a single-payer system.”But Obama’s denial doesn’t hold up. In a speech in June 2003, Obama said: “I
happen to be a proponent of a single-payer health care program. I see no reason why the US cannot provide basic health insurance to everybody. A single-payer health care plan, a universal health care plan. And that’s what I’d like to see.“
After his election, Obama tempered his position, saying in May 2007, ”If you’re starting from scratch, then a single-payer system would probably make sense. But managing the transition would be difficult. So we may need a system that’s not so disruptive.
Source: FactCheck.org on 2008 Congressional Black Caucus Dem. Debate
Jan 21, 2008
On Homeland Security:
Al Qaida is stronger now than in 2001 as Iraq distracted us
We are seeing Al Qaida stronger now than at any time since 2001. That is a significant threat that has to be dealt with. Because we have been distracted, we have ended up seeing a more dangerous situation, and so we are not--this is not just a matter of
who is right and who is wrong about having gone to war or the surge. It’s also, how do we deal with the future threats? And as long as we’re bogged down in Iraq, we are not going to be able to deal with those future threats.
Source: 2008 Congressional Black Caucus Democratic debate
Jan 21, 2008
On Immigration:
Health plan: not enough resources for illegal immigrants
Q: Does your health care plan cover the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants?A: It does not. We’ve got limited resources. When we’ve got millions of citizens that aren’t yet covered, it’s important for us to make sure that they are provided coverag
We have an obligation to make sure that children are covered. The only way we’re going to be able to overcome the insurance companies, & the drug companies, & the HMOs who are profiting from the current system is if we are having all these negotiations
in a public setting, we are very clear about who’s carrying water for the drug companies and the insurance companies, and who is looking out for the families who are struggling. Those who have health care are looking at such high premiums that effectivel
it’s not really health insurance, it’s house insurance. They’re paying premiums, in case they get hit by a car, they don’t lose their home. But they never go to a doctor. We’ve got to have the American people clear about the choices that we face.
Source: 2008 Congressional Black Caucus Democratic debate
Jan 21, 2008
On Principles & Values:
Objected to Republican ideas; did not compliment them
CLINTON: Obama has said that he really liked the ideas of the Republicans over the last 10 to 15 years, and we can give you the exact quote. They were bad ideas for America. They were ideas like privatizing Social Security, like moving back from a
balanced budget and a surplus to deficit and debt. Obama have a lot of money that you want to put into foreign aid, a very worthy program. There is no evidence as to how you would pay for it. It’s important because elections are about the future.OBAMA
I did not compliment Republican ideas. That is not true. What I said was is that Reagan was a transformative political figure because he was able to get Democrats to vote against their economic interests to form a majority to push through their agenda,
an agenda that I objected to. While I was working on those streets watching those folks see their jobs shift overseas, Clinton was a corporate lawyer sitting on the board at Wal-Mart. What I said had nothing to do with their policies.
Source: [Xref Clinton] 2008 Congressional Black Caucus Dem. debate
Jan 21, 2008
On Principles & Values:
Made the right decisions that were not politically popular
I opposed legislation that now is being used against me politically to make sure that juveniles were not put in the criminal justice system as adults, even though it was not the smart thing to do politically. It was not smart for me to oppose the
war at the start of this war, but I did so because it was the right thing to do. Don’t question the fact that on issue after issue that is important to the American people, I haven’t simply followed, I have led.
Source: 2008 Congressional Black Caucus Democratic debate
Jan 21, 2008
On Principles & Values:
I am a proud Christian who believes deeply in Jesus Christ
I am a proud Christian. When you don’t show up, if you’re not going to church, then you’re not talking to church folk. That means that people have a very right-wing perspective in terms of what faith means and of defining our faith.
As somebody who believes deeply in the precepts of Jesus Christ, particularly treating the least of these in a way that he would, that it is important for us to not concede that ground. Because we can go after those folks and get them.
Source: 2008 Congressional Black Caucus Democratic debate
Jan 21, 2008
On Principles & Values:
Clinton earned a great relationship with African-Americans
Q: Do you think Bill Clinton was our 1st black president? A: Clinton did have an enormous affinity with the African-American community, and still does. That’s well earned. I’m always inspired by young men & women who grew up in the South when segregation
was still taking place, when the transformations that are still incomplete but at least had begun had not yet begun. To see that transformations in their own lives that is powerful & hopeful, because what it indicates is that people can change.
Source: 2008 Congressional Black Caucus Democratic debate
Jan 21, 2008
On Principles & Values:
Campaigning on change from the bottom up that King stood for
Q: If Martin Luther King were alive today, why should he endorse you?A: I don’t think Dr. King would endorse any of us. What he would call upon the American people to do is to hold us accountable, and this goes to the core differences in this campaign
Change does not happen from the top down. It happens from the bottom up. Dr. King understood that. It was those women who were willing to walk instead of ride the bus, union workers who are willing to take on violence and intimidation to get the right to
organize. It was women who decided, “I’m as smart as my husband. I’d better get the right to vote.” arguing, mobilizing, agitating, and ultimately forcing elected officials to be accountable, that’s the key. That has been a hallmark of my career,
transparency and accountability, getting the American people involved. That’s how we’re going to bring about change. That’s why I want to be president of the US, to respect the power of the American people to bring about change.
Source: 2008 Congressional Black Caucus Democratic debate
Jan 21, 2008
On Principles & Values:
FactCheck: Obama praised GOP for having ideas, not GOP ideas
Clinton attacked Obama for supposedly supporting Republican ideas, saying Obama “has said in the last week that he really liked the ideas of the Republicans over the last 10 to 15 years.” Obama pushed back, saying he had never endorsed such notions.
Clinton is referring to what Obama told the editorial board of the Reno Gazette-Journal on Jan. 14: “The Republican approach has played itself out. I think it’s fair to say that the
Republicans were the party of ideas for a pretty long chunk of time there over the last 10, 15 years, in the sense that they were challenging conventional wisdom. Now, it’s all tax cuts.“
There’s a difference between praising someone for having ideas and praising the idea itself. Obama is doing the former--and just as clearly not doing the latter. He says the GOP approach has ”played itself out,“ for example.
Source: FactCheck.org on 2008 Congressional Black Caucus Dem. Debate
Jan 21, 2008
On Principles & Values:
FactCheck: Took Rezko’s donations, but never represented him
Clinton reminded voters of Obama’s relationship with a longtime contributor who is now under federal indictment, saying Obama was “representing your contributor, Rezko, in his slum landlord business in inner city Chicago.” Obama responded that “I did
about five hours worth of work” with Antoin Rezko.According to an investigation last year, Antoin Rezko was involved in developing at least 30 low-income housing buildings. A number of the buildings fell into disrepair, collecting housing code
violations, and Rezko was sued on many occasions. Obama was associated with a law firm that represented the community groups working with Rezko on several deals. There’s no evidence that Obama spent much time on them, and he never represented Rezko
directly. So it was wrong for Clinton to say he was “representing Rezko.”
Obama has known Rezko, however, for many years, and Rezko has been a major contributor and campaign fundraiser for him since Obama’s first campaign for the Illinois state Senate.
Source: FactCheck.org on 2008 Congressional Black Caucus Dem. Debate
Jan 21, 2008
On Tax Reform:
Stimulus package: $500 tax cut, & Social Security supplement
Q: How much money would your stimulus plan put in the pockets of the average citizen?A: It is absolutely critical right now to give a stimulus to the economy. We’ve got to get tax cuts into the pockets of hard-working Americans right away.
And it is important for us to make sure that they are not just going to the wealthy. They should be going to folks who are making $75,000 a year or less, and they should be going to folks who only pay payroll tax, but typically are not paying income tax.
Q: Do you agree with Sen. Clinton that $650 is a good number for a tax rebate?
A: Well, I think that we are going to have to get some immediate money. What I say is, $500 for a tax rebate per typical family. But also, for senior citizens, a
supplement to their Social Security check, because they get that every month. That would provide seniors all across the country right away some money to help pay for their heating bills and other expenses that they’ve got right now.
Source: 2008 Congressional Black Caucus Democratic debate
Jan 21, 2008
On War & Peace:
$2 trillion and the loss of life in Iraq are not sustainable
I want to be as careful getting out as we were careless getting in, but I want to make sure that we get all our combat troops out as quickly as we can safely. Now, the estimates are maybe that’s two brigades per month. At that pace it would be some time
in 2009 that we had our combat troops out, depending on whether Bush follows through on his commitment to draw down from the surge. We don’t know that yet. We are spending $9 billion to $10 billion every month. That’s money that could be going in South
Carolina to lay broadband lines in rural communities, to put kids back to school. When McCain says we’ll be there for 50 or 60 or 100 years, it is not just the loss of life, which is obviously the most tragic aspect of it, it’s also the fact that
financially it is unsustainable. We will have spent $2 trillion at least, it’s estimated, by the time this whole thing is over. That’s enough to have rebuilt every road, bridge, hospital, school in the US, and still have money left over.
Source: 2008 Congressional Black Caucus Democratic debate
Jan 21, 2008
Page last updated: Dec 01, 2018