Who won the debate? CNN tells you that Clinton won. I tell you that CNN won and we all lost. Here is why.
You Tube Debate Analysis
July 25, 2007
Winner of the last Democratic presidential debate: CNN
Loser: The American people.
Here is why:
- CNN is terrified that you might actually notice Dennis Kucinich.
During the Debate moderated by Wolf Blitzer (June 3), Edwards stated that he was the first candidate to have a comprehensive health care plan. Of course that is wrong. Dennis Kucinich in conjunction with John Conyers produced HR 676, a comprehensive health care bill, months before Edwards said anything about health care. HR 676 would change the health care in America to the same system that the rest of the industrialized nations have. Kucinich only managed to correct that misinformation by jumping in at the end of the question. Blitzer did everything in his power to cut Kucinich off as soon as he started speaking. In fact, Blitzer came back and let the leading candidates have a second chance at this question and still cut Kucinich off as soon as he could.
In this last debate Anderson Cooper admitted that they were overwhelmed by questions about healthcare from You Tubers. So, logically, they spent less time on healthcare than they had in the previous debate. Edwards immediately repeats the lie that he was the first with a comprehensive health care plan and Dennis Kucinich was not allowed to respond at all. In fact, Kucinich’s mike is turned off until the last question where he is to say something nice about Mike Gravel. This way he could not even talk about his health plan if he was asked a question about another topic.
The American people in both instances are not offered an alternative to the corporate, insurance-driven health care with which we are already hobbled. I saw some of the You Tube questions. The American public are sick to death of this system and are hungry for a real change. Most of the candidates have not even produced a plan—including Hillary Clinton. (Those who have are Obama, Edwards, Gravil, and Kucinich.) One would think that CNN would ask the few people who have produced a plan since this is one of the few areas that distinguish the candidates from each other.
- CNN needs to fire its "fact checker".
Not only does the health care fact checkers miss the lie told by John Edwards but they leave pie on the face of CNN when talking to Michael Moore. They miss quoted his movie and accuse him of "fudging" the numbers in his movie. When Moore’s web site accuses them of slander, they do retract one clearly factious number and say the "fudging" refers to the fact that Mr. Moore chose numbers that were inaccurate. The number in question was the amount an average American would spend for health care that was calculated by the US government for this year. (CNN’s "more accurate number" was calculated by the BBC from 3 years ago.) Some how I do not buy the argument that Mr. Moore is the one who is fudging.
- Both Wolf Blitzer and Anderson Cooper are the lap pets of the insurance industry.
The truth is that these are not oversights. CNN keeps making the same high-school-paper caliber of mistakes should indicate that they are desperate to nix any real discussion of change in the health care system. CNN and the other news agencies are supported by insurance agency advertising dollars. So not only are the leading candidates supported by corporate health care but the mass media, from which most Americans get their information, are nothing but well behaved lap dogs. That is why at the end of every debate when CNN is supposed to analyze the candidates they will always pick Obama and Clinton (the 2 that have accepted the most corporate money from the health care industry). Even if Clinton just gives beauty queen answers all night and does not give any solid policy answers or make any promises the analysts always find her "the winner".
The American people don’t have a chance.
References #1: From the June 3 Debate:
EDWARDS: Let me say, first, I think it's a very healthy thing that we have Democrats coming out with health care plans. This country's health care system is completely dysfunctional. I am proud of the fact that I was the first person to come out with a specific, truly universal health care plan.
Senator Obama came out with a plan just a few days ago, which I don't believe is completely universal, but he deserves to be credited because he laid out what the cost is, and exactly how he was going to pay for it.
I do believe that -- and by the way, you didn't say this, but my plan costs $90 billion to $120 billion a year.
I'd pay for it by getting rid of Bush's tax cuts for people who make over $200,000 a year.
And I believe you cannot cover everybody in America, create a more efficient health care system, cover the cracks, you know, getting rid of things like pre-existing conditions and making sure that mental health is treated the same as physical health, I don't think you can do all those things for nothing. That's not the truth.
And I think people have been so sick of listening to politicians who come and say, "We're going to give you universal health care. We're going to change the way we use energy in America. We're going to strengthen the middle class, have middle class tax cuts, and, in the process, we're going to eliminate the federal deficit."
BLITZER: Thank you.
EDWARDS: That is not the truth. And we need to be honest with people about that
...........
BLITZER: Hold on one second. I promised Congressman Kucinich...
KUCINICH: I reject this whole approach.
And the American people should know that with half the bankruptcies in the country connected to people not being able to pay their doctor bills or hospital bills, premiums, co-pays and deductibles are going so far through the roof, 46 million Americans with no health care, another 50 million underinsured, there is only one way to get health care coverage for all Americans. And that is to have a universal, single-payer, not-for-profit health care system, Medicare for all.
Wolf, I have written the bill. It is H.R. 676, with John Conyers, supported by 14,000 physicians.
And you know what? What Senator Clinton, Senator Edwards, Senator Obama are talking about, they're talking about letting the insurance companies stay in charge. They're talking about continuing a for-profit health care system. And I think...
BLITZER: All right, hold on...
(APPLAUSE)
KUCINICH: ... we need a president who is ready to challenge that.
(APPLAUSE)
And I'm ready to challenge the insurance companies.
BLITZER: All right, let's go to the next question.
http://transcripts.cnn.com/...
Reference #2: July 23 Debate
http://www.cnn.com/...