Barack Obama in 2008 Democratic primary debate, sponsored by Facebook, Jan. 5, 2008
On Homeland Security:
Rebuild a nuclear nonproliferation strategy
I’ve worked on nuclear proliferation in the Senate, to improve interdiction of potentially nuclear materials. It is important for us to rebuild a nuclear nonproliferation strategy, something that this administration has ignored, and has made us
less safe as a consequence. It would not cost us that much, for example, and would take about four years for us to lock down the loose nuclear weapons that are still floating out there, and we have not done the job.
Source: 2008 Facebook/WMUR-NH Democratic primary debate
Jan 6, 2008
On War & Peace:
Al Qaida is based in northwest Pakistan; strike if needed
Q: You said back in August you would go into western Pakistan if you had actionable intelligence to go after it, whether or not the Pakistani government agreed. Do you stand by that? A: I absolutely do stand by it. We should do everything in our power
to push and cooperate with the Pakistani government in taking on Al Qaida, which is now based in northwest Pakistan. And what we know from our national intelligence estimates is that Al Qaida is stronger now than at any time since 2001. And so, back in
August, I said we should work with the Pakistani government, first of all to encourage democracy in Pakistan so you’ve got a legitimate government, and secondly that we have to press them to do more to take on Al Qaida in their territory; and if they
could not or would not do so, and we had actionable intelligence, then I would strike. The two heads of the 9/11 Commission a few months later wrote an editorial saying the exact same thing. I think it’s indisputable that that should be our course.
Source: 2008 Facebook/WMUR-NH Democratic primary debate
Jan 6, 2008
On Health Care:
FactCheck: No, US costs are not twice as much as others
Obama repeated an old chestnut about health care costs, saying “Our medical care costs twice as much per capita as any other advanced nation.” This is an exaggeration. The United States does spend nearly twice as much on average as most developed
nations, but it is inaccurate to say that it spends twice as much as “any other.”In a 2007 Kaiser Family Foundation report comparing the health care spending of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development member countries, the
United States came in first at $5,711 per capita. But Luxembourg spent $4,611, only $1,100 less per capita than the U.S. The next biggest spender, Switzerland, spent $3,874, also far more than half of
U.S. spending. KFF noted, however, that the United States’ spending was “over 90% higher than in many other countries that we would consider global competitors.”
Source: FactCheck.org on 2008 Facebook/WMUR-NH Democratic debate
Jan 5, 2008
On Homeland Security:
FactCheck: Promised to repeal Patriot Act, then voted for it
Clinton took direct aim at Obama and connects fairly solidly: “You said you would vote against the Patriot Act; you came to the Senate, you voted for it.” Clinton is correct to say that Obama opposed the Patriot Act during his run for the Senate. She’s
relying on a 2003 Illinois National Organization for Women questionnaire in which Obama wrote that he would vote to “repeal the Patriot Act” or replace it with a “new, carefully crafted proposal.” When it came time to reauthorize the law in 2005, though,
Obama voted in favor of it. He started out opposing it: In Dec. 2005, Obama voted against ending debate--a position equivalent to declaring a lack of support for the measure. Then in February of that year, Obama said on the floor that he would support the
Patriot Act’s reauthorization. In March 2006, Obama both voted for cloture and for the Patriot Act reauthorization conference report.Clinton, by the way, followed exactly the same path on the 2005 bill, from speaking in opposition to voting for it.
Source: FactCheck.org on 2008 Facebook/WMUR-NH Democratic debate
Jan 5, 2008
On War & Peace:
FactCheck: No, violence in Iraq is LOWER than 2 years ago
Obama vastly understated the improvement in the security situation in Iraq when he said, “We saw a spike in the violence, the surge reduced that violence, and we now are, two years later, back where we started two years ago.” There was indeed a spike in
the violence in Iraq during the last two years that has been receding as of late. Most recently, nearly all statistical indicators show that violence is sharply lower than it was two years ago, according to the Brookings Institution’s Iraq Index.
Source: FactCheck.org on 2008 Facebook/WMUR-NH Democratic debate
Jan 5, 2008
On Energy & Oil:
Cap-and-trade is more specific on reducing greenhouse gases
I proposed a cap-and-trade system, because you can be very specific in terms of how to reduce the greenhouse gases by a particular level. What you have to do is you have to combine it with a 100% auction. Every little bit of pollution sent up into the
atmosphere, that polluter is getting charged for it. Not only does that ensure that they don’t game the system, but you’re also generating billions of dollars that can be invested in solar & wind & biodiesel. On a carbon tax, the cost will be passed on
to consumers. Under a cap-and-trade, plants are going to have to retrofit their equipment. That’s going to cost money, and they will pass it onto consumers. We have an obligation to use some of the money that we generate to shield low-income and
fixed-income individuals from higher electricity prices. We’re also going to have to ask the American people to change how they use energy. Everybody is going to have to change their light bulbs and insulate their homes. It’s a sacrifice that we can meet
Source: 2008 Facebook/WMUR-NH Democratic primary debate
Jan 6, 2006
On Health Care:
Focus on the affordability of a broad healthcare plan
Our medical care costs twice as much per capita as any other advanced nation. Given that half of the people are getting, already, employer-based health care, that it would be impractical for us to do so, which is why my plan says anybody can get
health care that is the same as the health care that I have as a member of Congress. The problem is, they can’t afford it. As a consequence, we focus on reducing costs. This is a legitimate argument for us to have, but it’s not true that I leave them out
Source: 2008 Facebook/WMUR-NH Democratic primary debate
Jan 6, 2006
On Homeland Security:
Going after Al Qaeda in Pakistan is not Bush-style invasion
Q: You stand by your statement that you would go into western Pakistan if you had actionable intelligence to go after al Qaeda, whether or not the Pakistani government agreed. Isn’t that essentially the Bush doctrine?
We can attack if we want to, no matter the sovereignty of the Pakistanis?A: No, that is not the same thing, because here we have a situation where Al Qaida, a sworn enemy of the
United States, that killed 3,000 Americans and is currently plotting to do the same, is in the territory of Pakistan. We know that. And this is not speculation. This is not a situation where we anticipate a possible threat in the future.
And my job as commander in chief will be to make sure that we strike anybody who would do America harm when we have actionable intelligence do to that.
Source: 2008 Facebook/WMUR-NH Democratic primary debate
Jan 6, 2006
On Homeland Security:
Rebuild the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
We would obviously have to retaliate against anybody who struck American soil, whether it was nuclear or not. It would be a much more profound issue if it were nuclear weapons. That’s why it’s so important for us to rebuild the Nuclear Non-Proliferation
Treaty that has fallen apart under this administration. We have not made a commitment to work with the Russians to reduce our own nuclear stockpiles. That has weakened our capacity to pressure other countries to give up nuclear technology.
We have not locked down the loose nuclear weapons that are out there right now. These are all things that we should be taking leadership on. Part of what we need to do in changing our foreign policy is not just end the war in
Iraq; we have to change the mindset that ignores long-term threats and engages in the sorts of actions that are not making us safe over the long term.
Source: 2008 Facebook/WMUR-NH Democratic primary debate
Jan 6, 2006
On Principles & Values:
Enlist the American people in the process of self-government
Part of the change that’s desperately needed is to enlist the American people in the process of self-government. One of the areas that I have constantly worked on is not only pushing aside the special interests--this past year, passing the toughest
ethics reform legislation since Watergate--but also making sure that the government is transparent and accountable. That’s what I think people were responding to in Iowa. They want somebody who’s talking straight to them about the choices that are ahead.
They want to make sure that government is responding to them directly, because folks out there feel the American dream is slipping away. They are working harder for less. They are paying more for health care, for college, for gas at the pump.
They are having a tougher time saving and retiring. What they don’t feel is that the government is listening to them and responding to them. That’s the kind of change that I think we need.
Source: 2008 Facebook/WMUR-NH Democratic primary debate
Jan 6, 2006
On Social Security:
Raise the cap on the payroll tax on wealthy individuals
What we need to do is to raise the cap on the payroll tax so that wealthy individuals are paying a little bit more into the system, if we are going to deal with this problem specifically. Right now, somebody like Warren Buffet pays a fraction
of 1 percent of his income in payroll tax, whereas the majority of the audience here pays payroll tax on 100 percent of their income. I’ve said that was not fair.
Source: 2008 Facebook/WMUR-NH Democratic primary debate
Jan 6, 2006
On Tax Reform:
Specific tax relief for families making $75,000 or less now
I have proposed specific tax relief now, immediately, so that we would offset some of the payroll tax, that we would immediately put some additional dollars in the pockets of American families, making $75,000 a year or less, to not only stimulate the
economy, but also to balance out a tax code. I would pay for it specifically by closing tax loopholes & tax havens. What we’ve had is a top-down agenda that is skewed toward the wealthiest Americans. It is making worse some of the trends of globalization
Source: 2008 Facebook/WMUR-NH Democratic primary debate
Jan 6, 2006
On War & Peace:
Al Qaida is stronger than before thanks to the Bush doctrine
Part of the reason that we neglected Afghanistan, part of the reason that we didn’t go after bin Laden as aggressively as we should have is we were distracted by a war of choice. That’s the flaw of the Bush doctrine.
It wasn’t that he went after those who attacked America. It was that he went after those who didn’t. As a consequence, we have been bogged down, paid extraordinary--an extraordinary price in blood and treasure, and we have fanned the anti-
American sentiment that actually makes it more difficult for us to act in Pakistan. It is absolutely true that we have to, as much as possible, get Pakistan’s agreement before we act. And that’s always going to be the case.
But we have to make sure that we do not hesitate to act when it comes to Al Qaida. Because they are currently stronger than they were at any time since 2001, partly because we took our eye off the ball.
Source: 2008 Facebook/WMUR-NH Democratic primary debate
Jan 6, 2006
On War & Peace:
The surge reduced violence, but at enormous cost
The bar of success has become so low that we’ve lost perspective on what should be our long-term national interests. It was a mistake to go in from the start, and that’s why I opposed this war from the start. It has cost us upwards of $1 trillion.
It may get close to $2 trillion. We have lost young men and women on the battlefield, and we have not made ourself safer as a consequence. I had no doubt, and I said when I opposed the surge, that given how wonderfully our troops perform, if we place
30,000 more troops in there, then we would see an improvement in the security situation and we would see a reduction in the violence. We started in 2006 with intolerable levels of violence and a dysfunctional government. We saw a spike in the violence.
The surge reduced that violence, and we now are, two years later, back where we started two years ago. We have gone full circle at enormous cost to the American people.
Source: 2008 Facebook/WMUR-NH Democratic primary debate
Jan 6, 2006
On War & Peace:
Begin a phased redeployment to send a clear signal
What we have to do is to begin a phased redeployment to send a clear signal to the Iraqi government that we are not going to be there in perpetuity. We should be as careful getting out as we were careless getting in. I welcome the reductions of violence
that have taken place, although I would point out that much of that violence has been reduced because there was an agreement with tribes in Anbar province. Sunni tribes, who started to see, after the Democrats were elected in 2006, the
Americans may be leaving soon. We should start negotiating now. That’s how you change behavior. That’s why I will send a clear signal to the Iraqi government. They will have ample time to actually pass an oil law, which they’ve been talking about now
for years. We can’t continue to ignore the enormous strains that this has placed on the American taxpayer, as well as the anti-American sentiment that it is fanning, and the neglect that’s happening in Afghanistan as a consequence.
Source: 2008 Facebook/WMUR-NH Democratic primary debate
Jan 6, 2006
Page last updated: Dec 01, 2018