Biden on MoveOn. They’ve been a positive force on some things. They’re part of the party, but it’s not their party.
Kucinich on a $3 gas tax. No. Next president needs to have been right about Iraq and Patriot Act. And he’s short. [much hilarity ensues]
Gravel says put on a carbon tax. We just have to want to do it. Gas tax allows playing favorites. Need to include coal and oil.
Dodd on banning toys from China. We’d shut down an American company who did this in 20 minutes. The idea that the president would not suspend the importation of these products was surprising. We need to manage imports.
Obama on Jena 6. Should you have gone? No — I was in DC trying to end Iraq war. I spoke out before any other candidate on Jena. This is not black or white — it’s American justice that has to work for everyone.
Richardson on Boy Scouts and sexual orientation. No, I would not accept the position as honorary chairman of Boy Scouts [apparently the president is automatically the honorary chair -ed.]. I would lead on prohibiting discrimination on basis of sexual orientation. Also, I won’t eavesdrop on US citizens, etc. By the way, my plan ends the war, and no one else’s does.
Obama: have to tell American people the truth. Fastest withdrawal pace is 1-2 brigades a month, and we can’t do social security magically. We have to tell people what they need to hear.
Edwards on more nuclear power? No.
Obama – nukes? We can’t take nuclear power off the table. Need to find capacity to store waste safely and reduce terrorist threats.
Kucinich says no more war. Gravel says no nukes, yay wind.
Clinton: won’t rule out expanding nuclear power, but don’t favor it unless we can reduce costs of construction and find a waste solution. I oppose Yucca Mountain.
Russert now asks the “24” question — we capture the guy who knows where the bomb is. Can we torture him?
Obama: American can’t sanction torture. But I will do whatever it takes to keep America safe. But we can’t have a policy for a loophole or exception sanctioning torture.
Biden: no exceptions. I met with 17 generals who all said we should never torture, because it does not work. Part of the reason we got bad info on Iraq was someone who gave us whatever answer he thought we wanted.
Clinton: agree with Biden and Obama. As a matter of policy, no. There is very little evidence that it works. These hypotheticals are very dangerous — open a big hole in what our attitude should be.
Russert says it was Bill Clinton who thought we should be allowed to torture. Hillary says “well he’s not standing here right now.” This is a cheap shot on Russert’s part — so the f*&k what if that’s what Bill thinks?
Dodd: torture is a dreadful way to gather information.
Richardson: I will fight terrorists, but we should not become like terrorists. Bush administration has been doing waterboarding — I would not permit it.
Edwards: the problem is much bigger than this hypothetical. “What America is” has been undermined over the last seven years. I will close Guantanamo. No more secret prisons. End the illegal spying.
Kucinich favors strength through peace.
