In Honor of Martin Luther King,We Are Watching History In The Making!
I made my two Black sons watch this debate tonight. Sure, I'm a Republican who's still undecided about which GOP candidate really speaks to me. But in the meantime, this Myrtle Beach debate sponsored by the Congressional Black Caucus was riveting on so many levels.
Whether it was discussions about the economy, social security, health care, race, national defense or who would Dr. King endorse, most of this was overshadowed by heated exchanges between Hillary and Barack, and Bill falling asleep at a King Day celebration.
But I digress. A new CNN poll is suggesting that nearly 60 percent of Black registered Democrats were backing Obama as the presidential nominee, with 31 percent supporting Clinton. That's a major shift from October, when African-Americans backed Clinton over Obama, 57 percent to 33 percent. This as Americans are saying they're more ready for a brotha than a sister.
In South Carolina, Senator Clinton and Senator Obama started arguing almost as soon as the debate began. The two Democratic front-runners took shots at each others' economic plans and criticized the accuracy of recent accusations the two campaigns have traded. How about that Walmart quip that Barack made about Hillary??? And Obama saying that both Hillary and Bill Clinton's charge that fiscal responsibility isn't a priority for him "isn't true."
"This is one of the things that has happened in the course of this campaign. There are a set of assertions made by Sen. Clinton as well as her husband that are not factually accurate," Obama said, raising the criticisms the Clintons made about him in recent days.
Clinton replied she was referring to differences in Obama's position toward the Iraq war. "It was more about the distinction between words and action. And I think that is a fair assessment for voters to make."
At one point, Clinton said that Obama had represented a "slum landlord business" in Chicago when he was practicing law. Obama shot back at Clinton. "Now, it's fine for her to throw that out, but the larger reason that I think this debate is important is because we do have to trust our leaders and what they say," he said. "...Truthfulness during campaigns makes a difference."
Wanting to get into the frenzy, former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards jumped in, saying, "This kind of squabbling -- how many children is this going to get health care? How many people are going to get education because of this? How many kids are going to get to go to college because of this?" Edwards said to cheers from the crowd.
Edwards said he would have all combat troops out of Iraq and there would be no permanent military bases in Iraq. "I have not heard either of them say that definitively," he said. Obama responded saying, "I want to be as careful getting out as we were careless getting in, but I want to make sure that we get all of our combat troops out as quickly as we can safely."
When Clinton was asked if she is looking to end the war in Iraq or win it, she indicated, "I'm looking to bring our troops home, starting within 60 days of my becoming president. There is no military solution, and our young men and women should not remain as the referees of their conflict."
So far in the Democratic contests, Clinton has won New Hampshire, Nevada and Michigan. In Michigan, she was the only major candidate on the ballot. Obama, a senator from Illinois, won in Iowa and is in a strong position to take South Carolina. Edwards is 0-4.
Whether it was discussions about the economy, social security, health care, race, national defense or who would Dr. King endorse, most of this was overshadowed by heated exchanges between Hillary and Barack, and Bill falling asleep at a King Day celebration.
But I digress. A new CNN poll is suggesting that nearly 60 percent of Black registered Democrats were backing Obama as the presidential nominee, with 31 percent supporting Clinton. That's a major shift from October, when African-Americans backed Clinton over Obama, 57 percent to 33 percent. This as Americans are saying they're more ready for a brotha than a sister. In South Carolina, Senator Clinton and Senator Obama started arguing almost as soon as the debate began. The two Democratic front-runners took shots at each others' economic plans and criticized the accuracy of recent accusations the two campaigns have traded. How about that Walmart quip that Barack made about Hillary??? And Obama saying that both Hillary and Bill Clinton's charge that fiscal responsibility isn't a priority for him "isn't true."
"This is one of the things that has happened in the course of this campaign. There are a set of assertions made by Sen. Clinton as well as her husband that are not factually accurate," Obama said, raising the criticisms the Clintons made about him in recent days.
Clinton replied she was referring to differences in Obama's position toward the Iraq war. "It was more about the distinction between words and action. And I think that is a fair assessment for voters to make."
At one point, Clinton said that Obama had represented a "slum landlord business" in Chicago when he was practicing law. Obama shot back at Clinton. "Now, it's fine for her to throw that out, but the larger reason that I think this debate is important is because we do have to trust our leaders and what they say," he said. "...Truthfulness during campaigns makes a difference."
Wanting to get into the frenzy, former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards jumped in, saying, "This kind of squabbling -- how many children is this going to get health care? How many people are going to get education because of this? How many kids are going to get to go to college because of this?" Edwards said to cheers from the crowd.
Edwards said he would have all combat troops out of Iraq and there would be no permanent military bases in Iraq. "I have not heard either of them say that definitively," he said. Obama responded saying, "I want to be as careful getting out as we were careless getting in, but I want to make sure that we get all of our combat troops out as quickly as we can safely."When Clinton was asked if she is looking to end the war in Iraq or win it, she indicated, "I'm looking to bring our troops home, starting within 60 days of my becoming president. There is no military solution, and our young men and women should not remain as the referees of their conflict."
So far in the Democratic contests, Clinton has won New Hampshire, Nevada and Michigan. In Michigan, she was the only major candidate on the ballot. Obama, a senator from Illinois, won in Iowa and is in a strong position to take South Carolina. Edwards is 0-4.