
Photograph, above, of Barack Obama with his wife and daughter at the Great Skates Fun Center in Lafayette, Indiana by Jae C. Hong/AP; photograph, below, of Hillary and Bill Clinton in Indianapolis by Elise Amendola/AP
Barack Obama narrowly won yesterday's Guam caucuses, with a Guam election official saying the margin of victory was just 2 votes. Which means he and Hillary Clinton each picked up 2 delegates, ahead of Tuesday's Indiana and North Carolina primaries.
The differences between the two candidates' economic stances has come to the forefront, as deepening economic woes take hold. The NY Times looks at their economic platforms, noting how Clinton "tends to favor narrowly focused programs, like the gas-tax holiday, that speak to specific voter concerns" while Obama "leans toward broader programs meant to help nearly all middle- and low-income families."
The two candidates' disagreement over gas tax plan (Obama says a gas-tax holiday is Clinton's "calculated" move to "win elections instead of actually solving problems") has become the topic du jour, with Clinton fielding questions about it from George Stephanopoulos on a live, studio-audience edition of This Week. Clinton said oil companies are manipulating the market and making record profits, and says a gas tax suspension would save people money:
STEPHANOPOULOS: Economists say that's not going to happen. They say this is going to go straight into the profits of the oil companies. They're not going to actually lower their prices. And the two top leaders in the House are against it. Nearly every editorial board and economist in the country has come out against it. Even a supporter of yours, Paul Krugman of the New York Times, calls it pointless and disappointing.
Can you name one economist, a credible economist who supports the suspension?
CLINTON: Well, you know, George, I think we've been for the last seven years seeing a tremendous amount of government power and elite opinion basically behind policies that haven't worked well for the middle class and hard-working Americans. ...Well, I'll tell you what, I'm not going to put my lot in with economists, because I know if we get it right, if we actually did it right, if we had a president who used all the tools of the presidency, we would design it in such a way that it would be implemented effectively.
Interesting side note: When discussing NAFTA, Clinton brought up
Stephanopoulos's days working for her husband, "George and I actually were against NAFTA...
I'm talking about him in his previous life, before he was an objective journalist."
GUAM!S!A!
GUAM!S!A!
GUAM!S!A!
GUAM!S!A!
GUAM!S!A!
WOW! I never thought Guam would go that way.
Viva the Guamista! Viva the revolucion!
Do you think Bill will dump Hillary if she doesn't win the primary? I don't blame him if he does, but?
We're doomed.
So, she hates activists, economists, and MoveOn, and cordial with Bill O'Reilly...
...sounds like the current person sittin' on the chair in the Oval Office.
ObamaRAMA!
Shes a fool. We pay some of the lowest gas taxes on the planet. Why do you think the Europeans have such expensive gas? They tax the shit out of it thats why, and for good reason too.
The Federal Gas tax funds maintenance for the interstate highway system as well as many other federal transportation projects and subsidies state and local transportation projects as well. All it will do is knock off less then 20 cents off each gallon of petrol, which will go right back plus some when demand kicks up because of the gas tax suspension.
The Economists are right. Clinton should listen to some experts for a change.
Who did they vote for in the last Japanese presidential race?
Whover wins in November, NAFTA has to go!
This anti-intellectual crap Hillary is spewing sounds a lot like something Bush would do.