Obama: It's 'part of the experience'

[babylonsister]

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/11/08/456214.aspx

Obama: It's 'part of the experience'

ALBIA, IA -- In an unscheduled stop at a local gas station today, Obama responded to the recent comment by Bill Clinton that the healthcare reform his administration had tried to pass in the early nineties failed because of him rather than his wife. Hillary Clinton had spearheaded the effort to reform health care in the 1990s.

“I’m not sure about previous characterizations,” Obama said. “All I know is that part of the record she’s running on is on health care, so its hard to gauge if one of her claims is to have experience in this issue and then to suggest somehow that she didn’t have anything to do with the way it didn’t work.”

When asked if the comment was a mixed message, Obama first hedged before elaborating that the comment brought into question Clinton’s claim that her experience trying to pass healthcare in the 1990s had allowed her to learn from her mistakes and would help her to pass universal healthcare if she were to win the presidency.

“What I was saying is if part of your basis for experience is what you did on healthcare,” Obama said, “…that’s part of the experience as well.”

But the Senator wouldn’t bite when asked if Bill Clinton was getting too involved in the race, in light of his recent comments about his wife, including that the attacks on her regarding drivers licenses for immigrants were equivalent to the swift boat attacks that John Kerry faced in 2004.

“We’re trying to focus on the kind of president I would be and the kind of nominee I would be for the Democratic Party,” Obama said. “Last time I checked, President Clinton wasn’t on the ballot.”

[CyberPieHole]

1. "we're trying to focus on the kind of president I would be..."

Since when? :eyes:

[babylonsister]

2. Ya just can't deny his presidentialness, as much as you'd like to.

Enjoy!

[CyberPieHole]

8. What "presidentialness"?

His pandering to bigots and homophobes? His age-ist comment against Senator Clinton (although he himself is in her generational group---Baby-Boom). The fact that he doesn't bother to vote on legislation? Is that his "presidentialness"?

:rofl:

[Evergreen Emerald]

3. obama is part of Iraq war. After all he is in the congress now...he needs to take responsiblity for

it.

[babylonsister]

4. No, I think the candidate who voted for it and won't apologize is

a big 'part' of the the illegal occupation, not the one who didn't.

[Evergreen Emerald]

5. now now...he must follow the same rules he creates for others.

If the fact that Congress vilified Clinton over the health care issue is HER fault because she was there, then he must take responsiblity for the Iraq war--after all he is in Congress currently.

[cuke]

7. ANd Obama has voted to fund the war he opposes

[cuke]

6. Sen Byrd killed UHC in 1993

His decision to not allow the legislation to be included in the budget meant that it needed a filibuster proof 60 votes (which it couldnt get) instead of the 50 votes (which it could get) a budget needs. Budgets can't be filibustered under Senate rules

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reconciliation_(Senate)

The Congressional Budget Act of 1974 created reconciliation. (See Pub.L. 93-344, § 310; 88 Stat. 297; 2 U.S.C. § 641.) But Congress came to use it in the 1980s. Congress used reconciliation to enact President Bill Clinton's 1993 (fiscal year 1994) budget. (See Pub.L. 103-66, 107 Stat. 312.) President Clinton wanted to use reconciliation to pass his health care plan, but Senator Robert Byrd insisted that the health care plan was out of bounds for a process that is theoretically about budgets.