Barack Obama in 2007 Des Moines Register Democratic debate
On Budget & Economy:
Bush & GOP dug budget hole; need years to dig out
Q: Would it be a priority of your administration to balance the federal budget every year? A: Over the last seven years, what we’ve seen is an economy that’s out of balance because of the policies of George Bush and the Republicans in Congress.
Not only do we have fiscal problems, but we’ve got growing inequality. People are working harder for less and they’re seeing costs go up. So what I want to do is get the long-term fundamentals right. That means that we are investing in education
& infrastructure, structuring fair trade deals, and also ending the war in Iraq. That is money that can be applied at home for critical issues.
Q: So a priority to balance the federal budget, or not?
A: We are not going to be able to dig ourselves out
of that hole in 1 or 2 years. But if we can get on a path of sustained growth, end the war in Iraq, end some of the special interest loopholes and earmarks that have been clogging up the system, then I think we can return to a path of a balanced budget.
Source: 2007 Des Moines Register Democratic debate
Dec 13, 2007
On Budget & Economy:
Save $150 billion in tax cuts for people who don’t need them
Every proposal I’ve put forward during this campaign we have paid for, and we have specified where that money is going to come from. Let’s just look at our tax code because it’s a great example of how we could provide relief to ordinary citizens who are
struggling to get by. Right now we’ve got a whole host of corporate loopholes and tax havens. There’s a building in the Cayman Islands that houses supposedly 12,000 US-based corporations. That’s either the biggest building in the world or the biggest tax
scam in the world, and we know which one it is. If we close some of those loopholes, we’ve put forward tax relief plans, that will not only restore fairness to our tax code, but it also puts money into the pockets of hard-working Americans who need it
right now, who will spend it, and will actually improve our economic growth over time, particularly at a time when we’re seeing a credit crunch. But it requires leadership from the white house that restores that sense that we’re all in this together.
Source: 2007 Des Moines Register Democratic Debate
Dec 13, 2007
On Corporations:
Cap the farm subsidies for Fortune 500 companies
We’ve got folks in Manhattan and Fortune 500 companies who are getting farm subsidies, while family farms are getting squeezed out. This is something you hear about all across rural Iowa. I would cap those subsidies. We have to have a structure that are
provides protection for farmers if a drought or collapse in market prices, but we have to take that money that is saved, invest in conservation, invest in organic and alternative crops, invest in nutrition programs. Through that process we cannot only
save the land, but we can also improve the economic engines in a lot of these rural communities, and that is something that I’m absolutely committed to doing as president, but it’s going to require overcoming the excess influence of agribusiness lobbying
There were elements of the [Senate farm bill] to replace traditional subsidies for certain crops and shift the money to conservation and nutrition and biofuels programs that did not make the changes I would have, so I would have voted against it.
Source: 2007 Des Moines Register Democratic Debate
Dec 13, 2007
On Education:
Get parents re-engaged in educating the children
Oftentimes minority children are already behind when they start school. Not just talking about how great teachers are but giving them more money and more support. Changing no child left behind so that we’re not just teaching to a test and crowding out
programs like art and music that are so critical. You asked earlier about sacrifices that I’ll ask from the American people. One of the things that I want to do is get parents reengaged in instilling a sense of excellence in their children.
And I’ve said this all across the country when I talk to parents about education, government has to fulfill its obligations to fund education, but parents have to do their job too. We’ve got to turn off the TV set, we’ve got to put away
the video game, and we have to tell our children that session not a passive activity, you have to be actively engaged in it. If we encourage that attitude and our community is enforcing it, I have no doubt we can compete with anybody in the world.
Source: 2007 Des Moines Register Democratic Debate
Dec 13, 2007
On Environment:
Promote green technologies and fuel efficiency standards
I want to make sure the planet is as beautiful for my daughters as it was for me. Now, what that means is there are going to be some increases initially in electricity prices. For example, if we have a cap and trade system, over time technology will
adapt because investors and people who are looking to make money will see that they can make money through green technologies. In Keokuk they’re opening a plant right now that is going to provide 400 well-paying jobs to build wind turbines. In order for
this to happen, we’ve got to be courageous enough to not just talk about it in front of the Sierra Club or organizations already sympathetic to us. When I announced my proposal to increase fuel efficiency standards on cars, I went to Detroit in front of
the automakers and said they had to change their ways. I have to say the room was quiet and nobody clapped, but that’s okay. Part of what the next president has to do is not just tell the American people what they want to hear, but what they need to hear
Source: 2007 Des Moines Register Democratic Debate
Dec 13, 2007
On Foreign Policy:
Obama Doctrine: ideology has overridden facts and reality
Q: How will future historians describe your foreign policy doctrine?A: The Obama Doctrine is not going to be as doctrinaire as the Bush Doctrine because the world is complicated. Bush’s ideology has overridden facts and reality. That means that if
there are children in the Middle East who cannot read, that is a potential long-term danger to us. If China is polluting, then eventually that is going to reach our shores. We have to work with them cooperatively to solve their problems as well as ours.
Source: 2007 Des Moines Register Democratic debate
Dec 13, 2007
On Foreign Policy:
China is a competitor but not an enemy
Q: Given China’s size, its muscular manufacturing capabilities, its military buildup, at this point--and also including its large trade deficit--at this point, who has more leverage, China or the U.S.?A:
Number one is we’ve got to get our own fiscal house in order. Number two, when I was visiting Africa, I was told by a group of businessmen that the presence of China is only exceeded by the absence of America in the entire
African continent. Number three, we have to be tougher negotiators with China. They are not enemies, but they are competitors of ours. Right now the United States is still the dominant superpower in the world.
But the next president can’t be thinking about today; he or she also has to be thinking about 10 years from now, 20 years from now, 50 years from now.
Source: 2007 Des Moines Register Democratic debate
Dec 13, 2007
On Free Trade:
Enforce existing safety laws against Chinese products
Q: What would you do in order to give the U.S. more leverage, to be able to deal with China at least as an equal partner? And are you willing to do that despite the consequences?A: We have laws on the books now that aren’t being enforced. This is what
I mean in terms of us negotiating more effectively with them. Part of the problem is, is that the relationship has shifted over time. I would say toys cannot come in. We will have our own safety inspectors on the ground for food.
Source: 2007 Des Moines Register Democratic debate
Dec 13, 2007
On Free Trade:
NAFTA needs to be amended
There’s no doubt that NAFTA needs to be amended. I’ve already said I would contact the president of Mexico and the prime minister of Canada to make sure that labor agreements are enforceable.
But I did want to just go back briefly to the issue of trade and human rights that you had mentioned. We have to stand for human rights, and that should be part of the trade equation.
Source: 2007 Des Moines Register Democratic Debate
Dec 13, 2007
On Health Care:
Reforms in prevention and drug price negotiation save money
I emphasize how important prevention & cost savings can be in the Medicare system. Many of the reforms in my healthcare plan will reduce costs not just for the overall system, but also for Medicare. We’re not going to make some of these changes unless we
change how business is done in Washington. The reason we can’t negotiate prescription drugs under the Medicare prescription drug plan is because the drug companies specifically sought and obtained a provision in the Bill that prevented us from doing it.
Source: 2007 Des Moines Register Democratic Debate
Dec 13, 2007
On Health Care:
FactCheck: Reducing obesity would save $18B, not $1T
Obama used an estimate of uncertain provenance when discussing Medicare savings, saying “If we went back to the obesity rates that existed in 1980, that would save the Medicare system a trillion dollars.” Obama got this claim from a “candidate briefin
book” put out by the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank run by former Clinton chief of staff John Podesta. CAP cites the CDC & the Commonwealth Fund as sources for the estimate, but representatives from both organizations told us that the
claim was unfamiliar to them.
We worked up our own back-of-the-envelope estimate: The CDC officially estimates that obesity cost $75 billion in 2003; & that approximately half of the cost burden for both overweight and obese people is borne by Medicaid
and Medicare; & obesity rates doubled between 1980 and 2000. So if obesity rates returned to “rates that existed in 1980” they would be cut in half, and Medicare & Medicaid would save about a quarter of $75 billion, or roughly $18.75 billion per year.
Source: FactCheck on 2007 Des Moines Register Democratic debate
Dec 13, 2007
On Jobs:
Paying more at Wal-Mart is worth it for having US jobs
Q: Are any of you willing to state frankly that, if you do what you’re talking about, that Americans are going to pay more for consumer goods at Wal-Mart, and you believe it’s worth it?A: I actually believe that
China will modify its behavior if we actually are tough in our negotiations. Look, we are the biggest market for China. They can’t afford to just say, “See ya later.” They’re going to have to sell here.
And if we tell them you have to meet certain safety standards, that you have to enforce certain labor and environmental agreements, they will meet them. Now, could there potentially be some higher costs in the front end?
Probably. But I guarantee you I don’t meet a single worker in Iowa who’s been laid off who says, “I wouldn’t rather pay a little bit more for sneakers at Wal-Mart but still have a job.”
Source: 2007 Des Moines Register Democratic debate
Dec 13, 2007
On Principles & Values:
Focus on Iraq, revising presidential power, and healthcare
In the first year of my presidency, I will call in the Joint Chiefs of Staff and tell them to in a responsible, careful way end this war in Iraq, bring our combat troops home. I’ll call in my new attorney general to review any executive order that’s been
made by bush. We’re going to have an open conversation with all the key players in the health care arena to make sure that we are moving forward on a plan to provide coverage to every single American so we can actually afford it over the long haul.
Source: 2007 Des Moines Register Democratic Debate
Dec 13, 2007
On War & Peace:
Iran: Bush does not let facts get in the way of ideology
Q: Do you agree with the president’s assessment that Iran still poses a threat?A: It is absolutely clear that Pres. Bush continues to not let facts get in the way of his ideology. And that’s been the problem with the administration’s foreign policy
generally. It is important for the president to lead diplomatic efforts, to try to offer to Iran the prospect of joining the World Trade Organization, potential normalized relations over time, in exchange for changes in behavior.
Source: 2007 Des Moines Register Democratic debate
Dec 13, 2007
Page last updated: Nov 30, 2018