Democrats: Party of Detail So Far in '08

[JohnLocke]

Democrats: Party of Detail So Far in '08
By Nancy Benac--Associated Press
Saturday, Saturday, 2007
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WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic presidential contender Bill Richardson was discussing his health care plan recently when he paused to toss out a question and a request. "How will I pay for it? Ask me!"

He was asked and quickly obliged with an answer.

The Democrats who are running for president are flush with policy proposals, position papers and fact sheets. The leading Republican contenders, not so much.

Rudy Giuliani has his "12 Commitments." Mitt Romney has his "Strategy for a Stronger America." John McCain still serves up his "straight talk." But, whether by design or default, they leave far more to the imagination than do the Democrats in discussing the big issues.

For the Democrats, it is as if one candidate lays out a plan and others feel compelled to answer with their own. In contrast, the Republicans are more inclined to hold their fire.

"Democrats are trying to prove who's the most committed," said Steven Smith, a political scientist at Washington University in St. Louis. "Vagueness is seen as a sign of weakness."

John Edwards set the bar for Democrats when he released his detailed health care plan in February. When Hillary Rodham Clinton released hers last week, Edwards' wife, Elizabeth, pointedly noted that Clinton was "the last one out of the box."

"And then for her to come up with one that looks like John's, it's almost as if she hasn't been willing to have the courage independently to be a leader on these things," Elizabeth Edwards said.

On a host of issues, the Democrats wade deep into the weeds.

*Edwards' education plan includes a provision to raise teacher pay in high-poverty areas;
*Clinton's 10-point recovery plan for the Gulf Coast includes a proposal for a federal-state-local board that would hire thousands of workers and apprentices;
*Barack Obama's environmental platforms includes a proposal to help automakers with health care costs if they participate in a program to build more hybrids.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5i0hginvWtl4-XuQE911u_s0nusSQ

[patrice]

1. It doesn't matter who or what a Repuglican candidate is about,

they will vote for anything with an R after its name, even the Grim Reaper himself.

Democratic candidates have to earn their votes.

[Forkboy]

2. No surprises there.

What's sad is that we have good candidates and we still have to worry that they could run some inbred moran and possibly win. x(